Integrated Lights-Out 3 Virtual Serial Port configuration and operation HOWTO, 6th edition

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Table Of Contents

Integrated Lights-Out 3 Virtual Serial Port

configuration and operation

HOWTO, 6

Edition

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 2

Conceptual overview ............................................................................................................................ 2

Security ............................................................................................................................................... 3

Configuration ...................................................................................................................................... 4

Configuring VSP in the host system RBSU ............................................................................................. 4

HP ProLiant server models with standard Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) mode ...... 4

Configuration for Windows Server 2003 and 2008 operating systems ................................................... 8

Configuration for Linux operating systems ............................................................................................ 8

Turn off the splash image ............................................................................................................... 8

Configure the GRUB to redirect messages to the serial port ................................................................ 8

Redirect the login console to the serial port ...................................................................................... 9

Linux SysRq command support ........................................................................................................... 9

Operation ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Windows Emergency Management Services (EMS) Console ................................................................ 10

Windows Server 2003 and 2008 EMS commands ............................................................................ 10

BIOS serial console redirection (for Windows and Linux) ..................................................................... 12

Enabling serial console redirection ................................................................................................ 12

How to use VSP from a Secure Shell client ......................................................................................... 15

How to enter VSP from the command line protocol (CLP) ..................................................................... 15

Command line interface key sequences for iLO ............................................................................... 16

Command line interface keymap for iLO ........................................................................................ 17

Known issues ..................................................................................................................................... 18

For more information .......................................................................................................................... 19

Call to action ..................................................................................................................................... 19

Summary of content (19 pages)

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Integrated Lights-Out 3 Virtual Serial Port configuration and operation HOWTO, 6th Edition Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 2 Conceptual overview ............................................................................................................................ 2 Security ...............................................................................................................
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Introduction HP Integrated Lights-Out 3 (iLO 3) consists of an intelligent processor and firmware that lets you manage servers remotely. The iLO Virtual Serial Port (VSP) is one iLO method of accessing a remote server. The VSP gives you a bi-directional data flow with a server serial port. Using the remote console, you can operate as if a physical serial connection exists on the remote server serial port. This HOWTO describes VSP configuration and operation.
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Figure 1 shows the relationship of the elements of iLO VSP. It also shows how the two iLO interfaces work through their different access methods to enable the iLO VSP. Figure 1. Diagram of iLO VSP interfaces Security iLO uses 128-bit SSL and SSH frameworks to ensure privacy of iLO actions, depending on the access modes and types of functions being performed. Within these frameworks, iLO supports RC4, 3DES, and AES ciphers. Key exchange uses RSA/Diffie-Hellman, and keys rotate every 3 minutes.
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Configuration You must enable and configure the VSP in several places: • Host system RBSU • Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems • Linux operating system Configuring VSP in the host system RBSU You must configure some parameters in the ROM Based Setup Utility (RBSU) before you enable VSP. The following steps apply to both Windows and Linux. HP ProLiant server models with standard Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) mode 1. Start RBSU. 2.
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6. Highlight the BIOS Serial Console Port option (Figure 3), and then press the Enter key. 7. Select the COM port that matches the Virtual Serial Port value selected earlier, and then press the Enter key. Figure 3.
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8. Highlight the BIOS Serial Console Baud Rate option (Figure 4), and then press the Enter key. 9. Select the 115200 BIOS Serial Baud Rate. Figure 4.
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10. Highlight the EMS Console option (Figure 5), and then press the Enter key. 11. Select the COM port that matches the Virtual Serial Port value selected earlier, and then press the Enter key. Figure 5.
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Configuration for Windows Server 2003 and 2008 operating systems The Windows EMS Console is available in the Windows Server 2003 and 2008 operating systems. You must configure the EMS console within the operating system before you can use VSP. Refer to your operating system documentation for information about how to enable the EMS console. iLO displays an error message when you open VSP through the Internet browser, if you have not enabled the EMS console.
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kernel /vmlinuz-2. 6.18-164.e15 ro root=/dev/sda9 console=tty0, 115200, initrd /initrd-2. 6.18-164.e15.img Redirect the login console to the serial port After Linux is fully booted, you can redirect a login console to the serial port. If you configure the /dev/ttyS0 and /dev/ttyS1 devices, you can obtain serial tty sessions through the VSP console. Here are the general configuration guidelines for Linux systems: 1.
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Operation Virtual Serial Port operation depends upon the application you are using. Windows Emergency Management Services (EMS) Console If enabled, the Windows EMS Console allows emergency management services in cases where video, device drivers, or other operating system features have prevented normal operation and normal corrective actions. The EMS Console lets you display running processes, change the priority of processes, and halt processes.
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Table 2. EMS SAC commands Command Description Help or ? Lists all commands available in the VSP console Ch Lists all channels: • ch –si <#> = Switch to a channel by its number. • ch –sn = Switch to a channel by its name. • ch –ci <#> = Close a channel by its number. • ch –cn = Close a channel by its name. Esc + Tab Selects a channel Esc + Tab + 0 (zero) Returns to the EMS SAC channel.
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BIOS serial console redirection (for Windows and Linux) If you configured the server to use BIOS serial console redirection, the system presents POST messages through the VSP during system boot. To enable this feature, go to the tab called BIOS Serial Console/EMS Support in RBSU. Select this tab and set BIOS Serial Console Port to COM1:. Enabling serial console redirection 1. Start RBSU. 2. Highlight the System Options option in RBSU, and then press the Enter key. 3.
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Figure 7.
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8. Highlight the BIOS Serial Console Baud Rate option (Figure 8), and then press the Enter key. 9. Select the 115200 BIOS Serial Baud Rate. Figure 8.
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10. Highlight the EMS Console option (Figure 9), and then press the Enter key. 11. Select the COM port that matches the Virtual Serial Port value selected earlier, and then press the Enter key. Figure 9. Setting the EMS Console How to use VSP from a Secure Shell client You must use an SSH client to provide secure, non-browser access to the VSP. Make sure you set the connection type to be a secure shell. You can use various SSH clients to connect to iLO.
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Figure 10. Entering VSP from the CLP NOTE You can use CLI commands to start the VSP, but CLP commands are preferred. Command line interface key sequences for iLO Table 3 lists key sequences for initiating certain iLO actions. Table 3.
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Command line interface keymap for iLO If your terminal program supports custom key maps, you can use information in Table 4 to create your own key map. The backslash character (\) followed by a numeral indicates the octal value of the byte to be generated. For example, \033 is the octal code for character 27 (decimal), or the ESCAPE key. Table 4.
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Known issues Issue Details Issue 1 Slow serial console response during BIOS redirection. Issue 2 Issue 3 Description The BIOS redirection sends ANSI control codes with text, which may slow the speed of the serial console during BIOS redirection process. Solution HP engineers are working to resolve this issue. Scrolling and text may appear irregular during BIOS redirection. Description During BIOS redirection, the scrolling may not work properly.
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For more information Resource description Web address Integrated Lights-Out Web site www.hp.com/servers/lights-out “Integrated Lights-Out security technology brief” http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManu al/c00212796/c00212796.pdf Enabling the Windows EMS Console, as described on the Microsoft Web site http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba51240e2-4cc9-843a-923143f3456c/EMS.doc RIBCL sample scripts package http://h20000.www2.hp.