Planning Considerations For Network Configuration; Private Management Network - HP AB500A - Integrated Lights-Out Advanced Configuration

Table 1. Assessing the IT environment
Target Criteria
Asset management Where are servers located (in datacenters
or at remote sites)?
Where would it be helpful to use iLO?
How many servers exist in the computing
environment?
Systems How are remote sites and data center
management servers currently managed?
Can the servers be managed remotely
through lights-out technology?
Software or How many different operating systems are
operating system running on the servers? What is the plan
to take them all to the latest release?
Security Is the network as secure as possible?
Does the datacenter use virtual private
networks or include firewalls?
Can all servers use directory services and
authentication?
Can the datacenter benefit from two-factor
authentication?
When planning future server purchases, a customer can determine whether a server includes iLO by
referring to this Web page:
http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/servers/management/remotemgmt/supported-servers.html
Customers that have a large installed based of iLO devices and frequently add more may want to
purchase a Master License Agreement (MLA) from HP. An MLA allows the customer to purchase a
single activation key for multiple licenses of the ProLiant Essentials Value Packs, such as the iLO
Advanced Pack. After the MLA is in place with HP, the customer purchases the desired number of
license-only part numbers whenever additional licenses for iLO Advanced are needed. This simplifies
the software licensing process and reduces the amount of physical documentation that is shipped to
the customer. Additional information is available from the HP website:
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantessentials/license/licensebuy.html

Planning considerations for network configuration

Before deploying iLO devices, an administrator should consider the setup and design of the network
on which the iLO devices will reside.

Private management network

The iLO devices allow browser access to the host ProLiant servers through a seamless, hardware-
based, OS-independent remote console. For security reasons, HP recommends that customers
establish a private management network that is separate from their data network and that only
administrators are granted access to that management network. The iLO private management network
uses a shared network port. The autosensing iLO network interface card (NIC) operates at 10/100
megabits per second (Mbps) and links at the same speed as the host.
Potential improvement
Deploying iLO can eliminate the need
for keyboards, video monitors, and
mice, which reduces cabling complexity
and increases server density in the
datacenter.
The iLO device provides seamless
access to the server, which eliminates
the need for an administrator to be
present in front of the server.
Ensuring that the latest drivers are
downloaded as needed
The iLO device provides multiple levels
of security, including directory
authentication, Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL) encryption, event generation for
failed login attempts, lockout of
configuration utilities, enforced delay
after unsuccessful login attempts, two-
factor authentication, and configurable
internet protocol (IP) port assignments.
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