I just want to say two things:
Dell isn't any better. iDRAC enterprise and all that.
And, these keys are really popular online, like, some people just post them in forums.
this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2024
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graybeard
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I don't know what any of that means but I 100% agree
iLO (HP branding) is a remote access service to a server that allows one to control said server. A completely separate circuit - a really neat thing. One of such controls is a remote console - you can connect to a server miles away as if you had a keyboard and screen attached to it locally. What HP has done was build the functionality, but disable it once the server has booted.
I understood most of those words.
Honestly HP is pure shite on every level and my one hope is that somehow their leadership gets yeeted into the sun
Now if you'll excuse me I have some crayons to eat
All the vendors do this. Dell (iDRAC), HP (iLO), Sun (ILOM), etc.
Super micro seems to be fairly good, only requiring a fee for major upgrades.
Might be some shitty in there somewhere, but I've had good experiences so far.
i googled for ILO keys and eventually found one on reddit that worked.
Yeah, Fuck HP
This is normal behavior for all server manufacturers. You get iLO from HPe, iDRAC from Dell and BMC from IBM, all have free modes and licensed modes.
Well then they can all fuck right off, can't they.
Generally you just bake this in when you buy the server. The license is like a hundred bucks for servers that can cost six figures.
Yeah, I never let one out the door sales wise wo/ a enterprise iDRAC. It pays for itself ONCE in man hours lost when you have to drive out to a site at 1am!!!
This is the nature of Licensing. Welcome to the party. It sucks no matter what the actual issue is. For instance, it's possible that HP is actually Licensing these features themselves and it's required by their upstream manufacturer of the backplane chip to license each individual user for iLO. You never know with this BS.
You don't own your hardware. You especially don't own your software. I don't know what the FOSS alternative would be unless there was like a libreBootserver with a libreILO type firmware.
I know what you mean and I fully agree.
But.
This is a pathetic thing to do and I do not want anyone to think it is in any shape or form OK, acceptable or tolerable. Hardware is the money maker, not this bullshit. The server cost ~40k at the time, this license bollocks is a few hundred over the years. The inconvenience introduced will not, ever, pay off in the long run.
You're not wrong.
I feel like we need an open source printer, framework one day maybe?
I guess you can always run a cyclade server, slap a free version of Linux on the server to manage the console connections, honestly if your running in a data center you should already be doing that on top of iLO connections anyway.
Also fuck your company for not buying the license. It should be a mandatory purchase. Not that I’m a fan of licensing on this shit but still, if you’re gonna get a server remote mgmt should be part of that cost of purchase.
It shouldn’t even be a mandatory purchase of a license. There shouldn’t be any license needed around the OOB controller, and in the past there never was. You wanted an OOB controller, you paid for the hardware and that was that.
I don't think that's entirely correct depending on what you call the "past", I have an HP server that is about 10-15 years old that I cant use iLO after post because of the same message. They have charged for OOB management for years, but I think it was rolled into support contracts. This server was from an old job and iLO worked when it was dcommed
It’s correct based on my timeframe in IT 😂. Call me old but just because they’ve been doing as long as you remember doesn’t make it right. I remember a time when that wasn’t the case.
HP has been doing it for at least 20 years, I remember doing HW scans to send for contract renewals and I'm almost positive that included iLO licensing. Back then it was a "luxury" because we still had most of our servers on prem and could walk up to the KVM if needed. But, maybe you're talking about back before that time.
However, I agree, it doesn't make it right, but it also doesn't mean it hasn't been done for a long time.
Before license keys it was physical hardware. It’s the exact same thing, you just don’t have an object you can hold onto any longer.
Yeah iDrac enterprise was a literal module you installed on the motherboard.
Yep. The last server I had that didn't require iLO advanced licence for post boot console was a Pentium 4-class xeon, and the iLO was a PCI card with extra cables to route standby power, keyboard, mouse, and the reset and soft-power switches. If I'm not mistaken, iLO 2.
Also fuck your company for not buying the license.
It's worse than that. It was bought, as I've found out, but never applied. Naturally - lost to the whims of time.
It should be a mandatory purchase. Yes, but my issue is with this requiring the license in the first place. It's just so petty and pathetic. There's no technical barrier getting in the way - it's the bloody suits looking for a payday.
I completely agree that there shouldn’t be all sorts of a la carte expenses and licenses. It’s horrible for the sake of organization, trickle expenses for “renewals” because it turns into a subscription eventually, etc.
At the same time it’s the reality and has been for a long time.
It isn’t just hp that plays this game, but still - fuck hpe.