Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)
What is Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)?
Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) is a proprietary management technology built into HPE products that allows for remote control access to ProLiant servers, even without being connected to the organization’s main network, the origin of the “Lights Out” designation.
How does out-of-band management work?
Out-of-band management works via a standard network connection, but it is a connection that exists exclusively for the purpose of remote management. Out-of-band management works much like a side door or secret entrance, wherein access is limited to a finite number of IT professionals, making the out-of-band network substantially more secure than the standard “in-band” network.
In addition to a much more secure point of access, out-of-band management also functions even if the server or network device is powered down, in sleep mode, or otherwise offline and unavailable via conventional network access. This can be used to remotely access devices on weekends, holidays, or outside of work hours, or it could be used to reboot or restore devices that have crashed.
Why would an organization need iLO?
In today’s data-rich and compute-heavy environment, enterprise organizations rely on 24x7 uptime to maintain functionality and critical digital services. If the network goes down, or if a device is powered off, in sleep mode, hibernating, or otherwise inaccessible, iLO provides an option to remotely reboot critical IT assets like routers, firewalls, servers, switchers, storage, power, and telecom hardware to bring the network back online.
If an organization’s IT administrator needs to access these devices, they would traditionally use an Ethernet network, but that single point of access can be insufficient during times of digital crisis. These moments of crisis are further exacerbated if the IT assets are offsite, locked in a server room, or separated from the IT professionals needed to rectify the situation.
For network administrators, 24x7 uptime connectivity is critical. That connectivity can be interrupted by any number of things, like configuration errors, human errors, weather events, or a distributed denial-of-service attack. iLO is a necessity in an organization’s toolkit for avoiding costly downtime that can bring business to a halt.
How is HPE iLO unique?
The key capabilities of HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) are embedded in all ProLiant Gen8 and Gen9 servers, the solution’s scalable licensing offerings, and mobile-app features that support IT staff—anywhere, anytime. HPE iLO simplifies server setup, provides access to a wealth of server health information, enables management at scale, and improves server power and thermal control, as well as providing basic remote administration.
To help you manage your servers more easily, this embedded management process runs on a separate microprocessor chip (which is why it is called “out-of-band management”). This way, HPE iLO remains available, even when the server suffers a failure. You can use iLO to determine precisely what went wrong and then fix it quickly and efficiently, even if you are unable to power up your server. HPE iLO Management provides a rich set of capabilities that automate and simplify system provisioning, troubleshooting, and firmware updates.
Exceeding its predecessor, HPE SmartStart, HPE Intelligent Provisioning is a server deployment and maintenance capability embedded across HPE ProLiant Gen8 and Gen9 servers. The key benefit is that you no longer need to insert or deal with any physical media.
With HPE Intelligent Provisioning, you can deploy servers faster to overcome the complexity of server maintenance and deployment by:
• Providing step-by-step HPE ProLiant server deployment assistance in a simple and consistent manner.
• Simplifying system configuration with guided, profile-driven, or scripted approaches for seamless integration with standard IT processes.
• Recognizing automatically if the system software is out-of-date and downloading the latest update.