HP RX2620 Integrity, iLO firmware update only?

[Rich Jordan]

Just got asked but I'm buried in another problem right now. Can the iLO firmware (iLO 2) on an Integrity RX2620 be updated by itself, via the iLO GUI, or can it only be done as part of the entire system firmware updates (BMC, system, etc). There doesn't seem to be (on a very quick check) just the iLO firmware available for download.

This is for a VMS system that has been running quietly in a back room for years and still has VMS V8.2-1 and 2006-7 firmware on it. The customer wants to update it to at least HP VMS V8.4 ( it is under support); we're discussing VSI with them also.

Thanks

[Robert A. Brooks]

Post by Rich Jordan
Just got asked but I'm buried in another problem right now. Can the iLO
firmware (iLO 2) on an Integrity RX2620 be updated by itself, via the iLO
GUI, or can it only be done as part of the entire system firmware updates
(BMC, system, etc). There doesn't seem to be (on a very quick check) just
the iLO firmware available for download.

I don't have any 26xx-class systems to check, but in general, I've always done
the iLO firmware upgrades directly from iLO itself, for both rack servers and
blades, both IA64 and Proliant. I do it from a Windows system using a browser
to iLO, and navigate my way through the menus to the firmware upgrade option,
with the iLO firmware binary on that Windows system.

Post by Rich Jordan
This is for a VMS system that has been running quietly in a back room for
years and still has VMS V8.2-1 and 2006-7 firmware on it. The customer wants
to update it to at least HP VMS V8.4 ( it is under support); we're discussing
VSI with them also.

Have you reached out to us (VSI) for a quote yet?

[Eberhard Heuser]

Post by Rich Jordan
Just got asked but I'm buried in another problem right now. Can the iLO firmware (iLO 2) on an Integrity RX2620 be updated by itself, via the iLO GUI, or can it only be done as part of the entire system firmware updates (BMC, system, etc). There doesn't seem to be (on a very quick check) just the iLO firmware available for download.
This is for a VMS system that has been running quietly in a back room for years and still has VMS V8.2-1 and 2006-7 firmware on it. The customer wants to update it to at least HP VMS V8.4 ( it is under support); we're discussing VSI with them also.
Thanks
_______________________________________________
Info-vax mailing list
http://rbnsn.com/mailman/listinfo/info-vax_rbnsn.com

This might be an option:

http://ajmckean.com/upgrade-hp-ilo-via-ssh/

[Stephen Hoffman]

Post by Rich Jordan
Just got asked but I'm buried in another problem right now. Can the
iLO firmware (iLO 2) on an Integrity RX2620 be updated by itself, via
the iLO GUI, or can it only be done as part of the entire system
firmware updates (BMC, system, etc). There doesn't seem to be (on a
very quick check) just the iLO firmware available for download.
This is for a VMS system that has been running quietly in a back room
for years and still has VMS V8.2-1 and 2006-7 firmware on it. The
customer wants to update it to at least HP VMS V8.4 ( it is under
support); we're discussing VSI with them also.

Haven't seen device-specific firmware update since the Alpha-era
firmware. Not aware of anything specific for iLO firmware, other than
the server platform firmware kits, either. Whole-box only, from what
I've encountered.

Usually used the bootable CD kit
https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/swd/public/detail?swItemId=ux_48525_1 and
have sometimes used the EFI kit
https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/swd/public/detail?swItemId=ux_48526_1 and
have also used the network-boot firmware updates and that mostly to see
if it worked. It did work, too. The host-based firmware update kits
were limited to specific hardware and specific operating systems.

Given the lack of a field-accessible failsafe loader if something does
get corrupted, and that I can load the disk into the server's binder
for the folks that have dedicated three-ring or similar binders
associated with their servers, I usually choose the CD kit.

HPE hardware services folks will be involved for the firmware, if you
haven't previously downloaded copies of one or both of the files listed
above from HPE, or downloaded yet newer EFI firmware. (A quick search
found those EFI 4.21 web pages, and have not checked whether that's the
current firmware or not.)

iLO 3 and particularly iLO 2 were hardware-constrained around security
and related details. The iLO hardware reportedly can't support current
security.



For various configurations, ssh downgrades are required when connecting
into iLO processors. The following ssh connection-downgrade command
works with most OpenVMS ssh daemons and most iLO configurations:
ssh -o HostKeyAlgorithms=ssh-rsa,ssh-dss -o
KexAlgorithms=diffie-hellman-group1-sha1 -o Ciphers=aes128-cbc,3des-cbc
-o MACs=hmac-md5,hmac-sha1 -o ServerAliveInterval=300 -o
ServerAliveCountMax=2 ***@ilo.example.com


And has been mentioned, VSI is the path forward. HPE support has less
than two years remaining for new-patch support.



FWIW... Here's an old EFI firmware intro for the rx2600-era
environment that might interest a few folks, and a newer UEFI-firmware
where-we're-headed presentation:
http://www.openmpe.com/cslproceed/HPW04CD/papers/3204.pdf
https://firmware.intel.com/sites/default/files/resources/UEFI_Plugfest_2015_Challenges_in_the_Cloud_Whitepaper_0.pdf