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HP ProLiant Gen9 Servers Abstract This document details how to access and use the HP Intelligent Provisioning software, including tasks such as installing OSs, updating firmware, software, and drivers, and to performing some diagnostic tests. Intelligent Provisioning is included in the optimized HP ProLiant server support software from the HP Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP).
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The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Step 2: Activating Intelligent Provisioning...................10 Step 3: Registering for Insight Remote Support................10 HP remote support......................11 Data collected by Insight Remote Support................12 Using Insight Remote Support with HP Proactive Care service...........13 Prerequisites........................13 Registering for Insight Online direct connect................14 Registering for Insight Remote Support central connect............16 Registering for Insight Remote Support after the initial configuration and registration tasks...18...
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Using Secure Erase......................72 5 Advanced topics..................73 Using a provided script to create an Intelligent Provisioning update mirror........73 Creating an Intelligent Provisioning update mirror...............73 Using the HP USB Key Utility....................76 6 Troubleshooting..................81 Troubleshooting overview......................81 Troubleshooting general issues....................81 UEFI Boot Mode failures caused by unsupported option cards..........81 Troubleshooting Windows-specific issues..................82...
HP ProLiant servers and server blades and their enclosures. HP ProLiant Gen9 servers are preloaded with a basic set of firmware and OS components, which are installed along with Intelligent Provisioning 2.xx. After the server is running, use the Intelligent Provisioning Firmware Update utility to install additional components and update any components that have been outdated since the server was manufactured.
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Intelligent Provisioning: ◦ Configure and Install menu (“Configuring the server and installing an OS” (page 20)) NOTE: The Configure and Install option is not available for HP ProLiant SL, SE, and XL Servers. ◦ Perform Maintenance menu (“Performing maintenance” (page 33)) To exit Intelligent Provisioning, reboot the server by clicking the power icon at the top right of the page.
Navigating Intelligent Provisioning To navigate through and modify settings in this menu-driven interface, use the navigation icons displayed at the top right-hand corner and bottom left- and right-hand corners of the Intelligent Provisioning window. These navigation icons are screen sensitive and are not displayed on all screens. Item Icon name Function...
The following applications are not installed automatically with Intelligent Provisioning. They can be installed by running the SPP. ◦ HP ProLiant Agentless Management Service ◦ HP Network Configuration Utility for Windows ◦ HP Smart Storage Administrator (HP SSA) ◦ HP Lights-Out Online Configuration Utility ◦...
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IPv4 Static—Selecting IPv4 adds four new fields: the static IPv4 address, network mask, gateway address, and DNS address. Off—Selecting Off makes this server unavailable through iLO. For more information about using iLO, see the HP iLO 4 User Guide on the HP website (http:// www.hp.com/go/ilo/docs).
Step 3: Registering for Insight Remote Support HP Insight Remote Support provides automatic submission of hardware events to HP to prevent downtime and enable faster issue resolution. You can register directly to HP or through an Insight RS Hosting Device.
Remote Support centralized Hosting Device in your local environment. Insight Online will be your primary interface for remote support information. Insight Online is an HP Support Center feature that enables you to view your remotely monitored devices anywhere, anytime. It provides a personalized dashboard for simplified tracking of IT operations and support information, including a mobile dashboard for monitoring when you are on the go.
By registering for Insight Remote Support, you agree to send registration, service events, configuration, and Active Health System data to HP. All data collected and sent to HP will be used to provide remote support and quality improvement. The collected data is managed according to the HP privacy statement, available at http://www.hp.com/go/privacy.
This information is used for troubleshooting issues and closed-loop quality analysis. For information about the data that is collected, see the HP iLO 4 User Guide. Using Insight Remote Support with HP Proactive Care service...
In most cases, your HP Passport user ID is the same as the email address you used during the HP Passport registration process. If you changed your user ID in the HP Support Center, be sure to enter your user ID and not your email address.
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HP Privacy Statement, which you can review at the following website: http:// www.hp.com/go/privacy. When Step 1 is completed, the following message appears: Step 1 of 2: Completed using HP Passport Credentials: <HP Passport User ID>. Step 2 of 2: Complete Registration in HP Insight Online (www.hp.com/go/InsightOnline).
The server name is displayed in Insight Online and Insight RS, and can be viewed by HP Support and your authorized service provider, reseller/distributor, and installer. To protect your privacy, do not use sensitive information in the name of an HP ProLiant server.
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The default port is 7906. Click Register. By registering, you agree to send registration, service events, configuration, and Active Health System data to HP. For more information about the type of data collected, see “Data collected by Insight Remote Support” (page 12).
The server name is displayed in Insight Online and Insight RS, and can be viewed by HP Support and your authorized service provider, reseller/distributor, and installer. To protect your privacy, do not use sensitive information in the name of an HP ProLiant server.
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Download the latest Intelligent Provisioning ISO from the HP Intelligent Provisioning website (http://www.hp.com/go/intelligentprovisioning). Boot to the Intelligent Provisioning recovery media. The installation automatically begins. When the update is complete, the server automatically reboots. Reinstalling Intelligent Provisioning...
3 Configuring the server and installing an OS To use Intelligent Provisioning to configure the hardware and install an OS on your HP ProLiant server, follow the on-screen prompts in the Configure and Install menu to complete the tasks in the following four screens: “Step 1: Hardware Settings”...
Either of these SD cards can be used as an alternative to hard drive or solid state drive storage for deploying an OS on HP ProLiant servers. Using an SD card as a target for deploying an OS provides the following advantages:...
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IMPORTANT: If unsupported media devices are connected at this point, an error appears. To resolve the issue, remove the unsupported media device, and make sure you have network share information available, or a disk or ISO, or USB drive installed when prompted. Select the power management System Profile to use.
Recommended Settings—The HP Smart Storage Administrator polls any drives that are present and builds an appropriate array for those drives. For example, if two drives are connected to the Smart Array card, the setup defaults to RAID 1. HP recommends selecting this option when initially provisioning a server.
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If the OS you want to install is not listed, it might not be supported for use with your controller model, or you might need to update HP ProLiant firmware. For information about supported OSs and OS drivers, see the HP Operating Systems and Virtualization Software Support website (http://www.hp.com/go/supportos).
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Options may include: Recommended—Uses HP-defined defaults to configure the server software and firmware, partition storage, and install the OS with HP drivers. HP recommends selecting this option for first-time server setup. For more information about recommended installation options, “OS information required for recommended installations” (page 27).
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Select the source media from which you are installing the OS. Media types include: Physical DVD or iLO virtual media (default)—A standard bootable OS DVD/CD-ROM media, and virtual media through iLO. NOTE: Select this option when using a DVD drive connected to a USB port. Microsoft Windows or Samba Network Share—The network share that contains the OS installation files.
31). HP StoreVirtual VSA (Virtual Storage Appliance) software During OS installation you can deploy HP StoreVirtual VSA, which enables you to create fully featured shared storage on a virtualized server. The HP StoreVirtual VSA software is a virtual machine that supports hypervisor environments. VSA provides shared storage for both VMware ESX / ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor environments.
From the HP Software-Defined Storage page you can deploy HP StoreVirtual VSA. Select a VSA type. If you do not want to deploy the HP StoreVirtual VSA software, select Continue without deploying VSA and click the Continue right arrow. A screen is displayed indicating VSA will not be installed.
Entering VSA contact information You must provide all required contact information to deploy HP StoreVirtual VSA. If you do not wish to provide contact information, it will be necessary to select Continue without deploying VSA. NOTE: The collected contact data is managed according to the HP privacy statement, available at http://www.hp.com/go/privacy.
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To protect your privacy, do not use sensitive information for the computer name. This name is visible in HP Insight RS and HP Insight Online, and can be viewed by HP support and your authorized service provider, reseller/distributor, and installer.
Step 4: Review The Review screen displays your hardware and OS settings. Continuing past this screen installs the OS and configures the server. CAUTION: Continuing past this screen resets the drives to a newly installed state and installs the selected OS. Any existing information on the server is erased. This does not affect a first-time setup, because there is no data present on the server.
If the Firmware Update screen is displayed, follow the on-screen prompts to obtain and install the latest firmware on server components. When the updates are complete, the Installing OS page is displayed, ready to begin the OS installation. For more information about updating firmware, see the following sections: ◦...
“Using License Management” (page 70) “Using the Erase Utility” (page 71) Downloading Active Health System data HP support uses the Active Health System log file for problem resolution. To download Active Health System data: On the Intelligent Provisioning home screen, click Perform Maintenance.
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If you inserted the USB key after launching Active Health System Download, click Rescan. Select the duration of data retrieval from the menu. HP recommends retrieving seven days of data, which creates a 10 to 15 MB file. Enter contact information (optional) in the form provided. The contact information helps HP customer services to provide better assistance.
NOTE: Firmware Update reflects the latest updates available as per the baseline defined in the latest HP Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP). Newer updates that were added outside of the latest SPP baseline do not appear on the updates list.
NOTE: If the Installed Version (displayed on the left side of the window) is newer than the version listed on the right side of the window, do not select the check box and install that component. Select the items to update, and then click Install. The table is redisplayed, with only the selected items listed.
Deployment Settings enable you to create a server configuration package that you can deploy to one or more HP ProLiant Gen9 servers and server blades using a USB key and HP iLO Scripting. Using Deployment Settings is an alternative to using the HP Scripting Toolkit.
NOTE: Creating a deployment setting from the Assisted Installation option is only supported for Windows installs. When you open Deployment Settings, you can choose to manage an existing Deployment Settings profile or create a new one. Creating a Deployment Settings package To create a Deployment Settings package: From the Deployment Settings window, select one of the following: To create a new, custom Deployment Settings profile or modify an existing Deployment...
As the deployment runs, a validation screen applies settings for the following elements: ROM Settings Array Settings System Options Firmware Update ERS Settings The validation screen indicates the results of the settings, using icons described in the following table. Icon Result Question mark Status unknown...
The following table defines the available actions. Task Description Click the Copy to local server icon to copy a selected deployment from the Copy a deployment to a local attached USB key to a local server. server Click the Copy to USB key icon to copy a selected deployment from the server Copy a deployment to a USB key to the attached USB key.
Internet connections to obtain the latest firmware from the HP website and install it on the server. Local Repository—The URL of the local repository where the firmware has previously been uploaded.
Select an OS family. Enter the OS media path, which can be a Windows Share or an FTP site on the local network. Installation of Windows from an FTP site is not supported. Based on this setting, the system automatically pulls the ISO from the specified location to install it.
Select the boot order. Choose whether to enable SATA devices when they are available. Choose whether to install a Virtual Install Disk (VID) that contains drivers from HP. When VID is enabled, during the OS installation process, a USB mass-storage device appears with the name of VID.
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Displays on-screen tips for individual steps of a configuration procedure In HP SSA, you can select a controller from the menu at the top left-hand side of the screen, or you can choose to configure or diagnose an available controller from the same menu.
More information — Provides an in-depth display of available information for the currently selected device and all of its child devices, when applicable. Diagnostics/SmartSSD Under Actions click Diagnose to access the diagnostic reporting tools. Using HP Smart Storage Administrator (HP SSA)
Using HP Insight Diagnostics HP Insight Diagnostics provides a comprehensive suite of offline system and component tests, providing in-depth testing of critical hardware components for devices such as processors, memory, and hard drives. HP Insight Diagnostics captures system configuration information and provides detailed diagnostic testing capabilities.
NOTE: If you accidentally double-click the HP Insight Diagnostics icon, a message is displayed, notifying you that you attempted to have two sessions of Insight Diagnostics open at the same time. To correct the situation, follow the instructions provided in the message.
Configs screen is presented in the “Step 1: Hardware Settings” (page 21) screen. If the server does not have HP DIMMs installed, the following Power Profiles might not all be available: Balanced Power and Performance—Optimum settings to maximize power savings with minimal impact to performance for most OSs and applications.
Using iLO Configuration Utility Use the iLO Configuration Utility to view and change iLO settings through Intelligent Provisioning, instead of through the iLO web interface. For more information about iLO, see the HP iLO 4 User Guide. You must configure iLO network settings to register the server with the HP Insight Remote Support registration process.
System ROM—The family and version of the active system ROM You can also view this information on the Overview screen in the iLO web interface. For more information, see the HP iLO 4 User Guide on the HP website (http://www.hp.com/go/ilo/docs). NOTE: The rest of the procedures in this section are written with the assumption that you have selected iLO from the Maintenance window.
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Functionality is disabled. To re-enable iLO functionality, use the iLO 4 Configuration Utility (in the UEFI System Utilities) to set iLO Functionality to Enabled. For more information see the HP UEFI System Utilities User Guide. Using iLO Configuration Utility...
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CLI command vsp log. The Virtual Serial Port buffer size is 128 KB. ◦ Disabled (default)—Virtual Serial Port activity is not logged. This feature is part of an iLO licensing package. For more information, see the following website: http://www.hp.com/go/ilo/licensing. Performing maintenance...
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Minimum Password Length—Specifies the minimum number of characters allowed when a user password is set or changed. The character length must be a value from 0 to 39 characters long. The default value is 8. Server Name—Enables you to specify the host server name. You can assign this value manually, but it might be overwritten by the host software when the operating system loads.
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SNMP Trap Port—The industry-standard (default) SNMP trap port is 162 for SNMP alerts (or traps). If you customize the SNMP Trap Port value, some SNMP monitoring applications (such as HP SIM) might not work correctly with iLO unless those applications support the use of a nonstandard SNMP trap port.
Select the check box to enable IPMI/DCMI, or clear the box to disable it. Click Apply. Editing iLO Management Settings Management–SNMP Settings NOTE: Read Community supports the following formats: A community string (for example, public). A community string followed by an IP address or fully qualified domain name (for example, public 192.168.0.1).
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SNMP traps. The default setting is iLO Hostname. iLO SNMP Alerts—Alert conditions that iLO detects independently of the host OS can be sent to specified SNMP alert destinations, such as HP SIM. Forward Insight Management Agent SNMP Alerts—Alert conditions detected by the host management agents can be forwarded to SNMP alert destinations through iLO.
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(for example, CPQLOCFG), click the browser refresh button to display the updated URL. Level of Data Returned—This setting controls the content of an anonymous discovery message received by iLO. The information returned is used for HP SIM HTTP identification requests. The following options are available: ◦...
Host Name—The DNS name of the iLO subsystem (for example, iLO instead of ilo.example.com). This name can be used only if DHCP and DNS are configured to connect to the iLO subsystem name instead of the IP address. For more information, see the HP iLO 4 User Guide.
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This name can be used only if DHCP and DNS are configured to connect to the iLO subsystem name instead of the IP address. For more information, see the HP iLO 4 User Guide. ◦ Domain Name—The iLO domain name. If DHCP is not used, enter a domain name.
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◦ 100BaseT, Half-duplex—Forces a 100 Mb connection using half duplex. ◦ 10Base T, Full-duplex—Forces a 10 Mb connection using full duplex ◦ 10Base T, Half-duplex—Forces a 10 Mb connection using half duplex. To edit the settings on the General tab: In the iLO Configuration Utility window, click Network Settings.
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◦ Use DHCPv4 Supplied Time Settings—Specifies whether iLO uses the DHCPv4 server-supplied time. ◦ Use DHCPv4 Supplied WNS Servers—Specifies whether iLO uses the DHCP server-supplied WINS server list. If not, enter the WINS server addresses in the Primary WINS Server and Secondary WINS Server boxes.
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If you have enabled DHCPv4, clear the check box. Edit the setting(s) as necessary. Click Apply. Network Settings–IPv6 iLO Client Applications use IPv6 first—When both IPv4 and IPv6 service addresses are configured for iLO client applications, this option specifies which protocol iLO tries first when accessing a client application.
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Static Default Gateway—Enter a default IPv6 gateway address for cases in which no router advertisement messages are present in the network. Static Route #1 (Destination/Gateway), Static Route #2 (Destination), Static Route #3—Enter static IPv6 route destination prefix and gateway address pairs. You must specify the prefix length for the destination.
If you enabled DHCPv4 or DHCPv6 time settings, clear the appropriate check box. Edit the setting(s) as necessary. Click Apply. Editing User Administration User Accounts—Displays available users. ◦ User Name—Appears in the user list on the User Administration page and on the iLO Overview page.
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In the iLO Configuration Utility window, click User Administration. The User Administration window appears. Click New. The Add User window appears. Enter the user name. The maximum length for a user name is 39 characters. The user name must use printable characters. Enter the login name.
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Click Add. To edit an existing user’s account: In the iLO Configuration Utility window, click User Administration. The User Administration window appears. Click Edit. The Edit User window appears. Enter the User Name for the user’s account you are editing. Enter the user’s password.
In the iLO Configuration Utility window, click User Administration. The User Administration window appears. In the User Accounts drop-down list, select the user account you want to delete. Click Delete. Click OK to delete the user account, or click Cancel. Resetting iLO Use this screen to reset iLO, or to restore iLO to factory default settings.
Using HP Insight Remote Support HP Insight Remote Support provides automatic submission of hardware events to HP to prevent downtime and enable faster issue resolution. Use this screen to register or unregister for Insight To use HP Insight Remote Support: On the Intelligent Provisioning home screen, click Perform Maintenance.
Online direct connect or Insight Remote Support central connect registration method. Unregistering from Insight Online direct connect Use this procedure to discontinue monitoring of an HP ProLiant server that is registered for Insight Online direct connect. Navigate to the Perform Maintenance page and select HP Insight Remote Support.
Proxy settings must be maintained to enable an HP ProLiant server to continue to send Insight Remote Support data to HP. If the proxy settings change, use the following procedure to edit them: Navigate to the Perform Maintenance page and select HP Insight Remote Support.
Using the Erase Utility Use the Erase Utility to clear hard drives and the Active Health System logs, and to reset the RBSU settings in the UEFI System Utilities. CAUTION: Perform a backup before running the Erase Utility. The utility sets the system to its original factory state, deletes the current hardware configuration information, including array setup and disk partitioning, and erases all connected hard drives completely.
Using Secure Erase Intelligent Provisioning provides secure erase functionality for the internal system storage and hard disks following the guidelines outlined in DoD 5220.22-M. Secure erase overwrites all block devices attached to the system through applying random patterns in a three-pass process. These block devices include hard disks, storage systems attached to the server, as well as the internal storage used by iLO.
SPP to a server within your local network. Then, when updating servers in your network, they can access the firmware and software on the local server instead of the HP website, and can therefore greatly increase the speed of updates to the servers.
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</index> </hp_manifest> In the previous example, Intelligent Provisioning replaces each URL that starts with file:// with a URL on your web server. For example, a request for file://./hp/ swpackages/CP0012345.scexe is converted to http://myserver/ spp-version1/hp/swpackages/CP0012345.scexe. Update spp-version1/hp_manifest/index.xml to reference config.xml if it is not already listed.
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Create an index.xml file to redirect FTP or HTTP requests from the URL entered in the Intelligent Provisioning user interface to the locations of the update files. For example, to use the URL http://mywebserver/update-src/hp/proliant in the Intelligent Provisioning user interface, create the following index.xml file and place it in the update-src/hp/proliant directory relative to your web server's root directory.
Using the HP USB Key Utility The HP USB Key Utility is a Windows application that copies Intelligent Provisioning or HP SPP contents, and other CD or DVD images to a USB flash drive. After copying data to the USB flash drive, you can run Intelligent Provisioning or SPP from the USB flash drive instead of from a CD or DVD.
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NOTE: Version 2.0 and later of the HP USB Key Utility does not support a 32-bit operating system. Use version 1.8 of the utility in 32-bit environments. AutoRun files AutoRun files do not start automatically from the utility. To start an AutoRun file, double-click the autorun.exe file in the appropriate CD or DVD folder on the USB Key.
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Complete each step as presented by the application: Click Next at the splash screen. Read the End-User License Agreement, and then select Agree and click Next. Select Create a bootable USB key from CD/DVD, and then click Next. Place the USB flash drive in an available USB port. Insert the media in the optical drive or mount the ISO image, and then click Next.
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Adding additional content to a bootable USB key HP USB Key Utility supports multiple images on a single USB flash drive if there is adequate space available on the USB flash drive and you are not loading content that works with a UEFI bootloader, which does not support multiple images due to security reasons.
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Click Next on the informational screen. The source contents are copied to the USB flash drive. Click Finish to display the README.TXT file. Repeat steps 2-3 for each source media or image to be transferred to the USB key. Advanced topics...
Issue: Cannot access HP SSA from systems supporting SATA RAID operating in Legacy BIOS Boot Mode. Suggested action: To access HP SSA in Legacy BIOS Boot Mode, switch the SATA Controller (in RBSU) to SATA AHCI mode from Dynamic Smart Array mode. Dynamic Smart Array (B140i) works only in UEFI Boot Mode.
Most supported iSCSI targets are fully supported by Intelligent Provisioning, including many FCoE targets. There are issues involving HP 3Par targets using both Broadcom and Emulex-based devices in Microsoft Windows. These devices might require set up in a non-scripted manner using a manual installation or an imaging-based solution.
Suggested action: To remedy any of the situations above, obtain the DUD from the HP Support Center (HPSC) to perform the installation outside of Intelligent Provisioning. Issue: When installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, you are unable to proceed with the Recommended installation with valid OS images through FTP source media.
1970 Unable to Launch Successfully if More Than 32 Logical Drives Are Created: http:// h20564.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay/?docId=c03686831 Installation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 Halts When Using HP Intelligent Provisioning on an HP ProLiant Server In Legacy Mode: http://h20564.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/ public/kb/docDisplay/?docId=emr_na-c04565685 Troubleshooting...
Notifications can be sent to your authorized HP Channel Partner for onsite service, if configured and available in your country. HP Insight Remote Support is available as part of your HP Warranty, HP Care Pack Service, or HP contractual support agreement. For more information, see the product documentation on the HP website (http://www.hp.com/go/insightremotesupport/docs).
HP Insight Management WBEM Providers User Guide http://www.hp.com/go/wbem/docs HP Insight Remote Support User Guides http://www.hp.com/go/insightremotesupport/docs HP Intelligent Provisioning Release Notes http://www.hp.com/support/IP_RN_en HP Service Pack for ProLiant Quick Start Guide http://www.hp.com/support/SPP_UG_en HP Smart Storage Administrator User Guide http://www.hp.com/support/SSA_UG_en HP UEFI System Utilities User Guide http://www.hp.com/support/UEFI_UG_en...
8 Documentation feedback HP is committed to providing documentation that meets your needs. To help us improve the documentation, send any errors, suggestions, or comments to Documentation Feedback (docsfeedback@hp.com). Include the document title and part number, version number, or the URL...
HP ProLiant servers. HP USB Key Utility The HP USB Key Utility is a Windows application that enables you to copy Intelligent Provisioning contents to a USB flash drive. After being copied to the USB flash drive, Intelligent Provisioning can be started from the USB flash drive instead of from a CD or DVD.
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Virtual Media An HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) feature that enables you to attach a removable storage device or image file from a client machine to the server, and have that appear to the server as a local device. The server can boot from that virtual device or use it with a running operating system.
OS information, contacting HP, OS selection, conventions using an HP SD card as a boot device, document, customer advisories, customized installation License Management, VMware, Windows, maintenance tasks, data collection Active Health System,...
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Windows-specific issues, typographic conventions, unsupported option cards boot failures , update mirror, updating firmware, USB key adding contents, creating bootable, USB Key Utility, user account editing, using an HP SD card as a boot device, VID, enabling, VSA, deploying, websites,...