Query: Help please with Configuring Storage when ILO died (NAND)

[GuyMarkT]

Hello.

I have been given an unwell DL360 Gen9 which initially had nither a working ILO, nor a had Smart Array enabled. I have managed to enable the smart array via F9 - but I am struggling to work out how to configure my drives.

I think I require the SSA - but I am puzzled as it wants to know if it for Windows or Linux - as I have no access to drives yet, then I have no operating system on at all. I was hoping this would be something that would run off a USB stick that I could download.

I'm sure I am being dense, but as I cannot use the ILO (apprently it needs a new system board which is out of my budget), I am struggling to know how to configure my storage.

With an older (Gen8), I found it very simple with the ILO, but without it, have no idea how to say "I want the 2 x 2TB drives as a RAID 1 volume and the two small SSDs as seperate drives".

Apologies if I am asking questions that have been asked lots of times, but I have found I need the SSA, but puzzled that it has to be installed first to a windows or linux system. Seems a little bit "Catch 22".

Or of course, if there is another, simpler way to configure this, then I would be very happy to do it that way. If it helps, I can borrow a working DL360 Gen9 as the same spec which DOES have a working ILO - but only for a weekend as that one is going to be sold.

Many thanks.

Mark

[support_s]

System recommended content:

1. HPE iLO 4 2.82 User Guide | iLO security with the system maintenance switch

2. HPE iLO 4 2.82 User Guide | iLO Embedded User Partition

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[GuyMarkT]

I might be wrong, but as the ILO NAND is dead and (it seems) I have no access to the ILO at all, I am not sure how to make use of the two links.
Apologies if I am being thicker than a whale omelette.

[Cali]

Hi,

usually even if the iLO NAND is defective, you can use iLO.

However, with iLO you cannot configure the Raid.

So, Press F9, go into the UEFI BIOS then select "Embedded Applications" > "Intelligent Provisioning", or simply Press F10.
Inside IP, you have the Array Configuration Tool, see:.
https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=sd00001085en_us&page=s_creating_raid_config_ssa.html#ariaid-title1

Cali

[GuyMarkT]

Thank you.

Sadly, I do not have the F10 Option - and the ILO  is greyed out on the screen which has things like ILO, extended licence, smart array, array battery, and so on.

I have tried resetting the ILO - but as the system boots, it tells me RestfulAPi cannot access it.

I have F9, F11 and F12 available to me - but F10 is not offered and is ignored when I press it.

When I get home though, I will see if I can get to where I need from F9 and embedded applicaions

The link, while appreciated didn't seem to offer too much guidance though. I will try the F9 / embedded application though later, hopefully this will work - F10 is alas not shown as an option. (Happy to attach boot photo of it missing if it helps)
Thank you for your time

[Cali]

You can try to reinstall IP:
Intelligent Provisioning for Gen9 Servers | HPE Support

[GuyMarkT]

I thought I would offer an update.

I did manage to download the file that offered to re-install the Intelligent Provisioning, but it comlained that it could not write to the NAND and although it asked me to try again - which I did - I have a feeling it would not work - it did not.

F10 appears to have gone from my system.

It seems the SSA which would have solved the problem has been "unpublished" - with a little luck however and digging around on a few archives, I did manage to find a copy on the net. On the basis that the server was pretty much unusable, I figured there was little to risk in trying.

I ISOd it to a USB stick, ran it - and it complained there was no CD-ROM (my fault), ran it again and this time selected the "running it off a USB stick) and all of a sudden I had the ability to do the job.

A shame that people have to scour the net to find "unpublished" utilities to put things right, but then, on a roll i decided to update firmware too - as mine is VERY old. Once again, unless you have a support contract (for an end-of life product that they will not give support on), you cannot update your defective ROM.

That's strange to me - I can understand not giving away new servers for free - but making sure equipment doesn't cause issues and problems because someone is not allowed to correct a bad bios, does seem odd. Anyway a bit of hunting on the net and I found a BIOS that was released in 2024.

So with a new BIOS and the ability to use Intelligent Provisioning, things are moving forward

HPE seems to do many things superbly - but seems to think that helping someone keep an old Gen9 working, must presuambly hurt sales for a Gen 11. In reality it means that people who could never afford a brand new server can get to familiarise themsevles on a manufacturers kit that theymight be expect to be working on soon - albeit a slightly faster, slightly more efficient model.

Great Kit but an odd approach to things like buggy-bios.