Using iLO 2 104
After the server completes POST, the server system ROM transfers control to the operating system boot
loader. If you are using Linux, you can configure the operating system boot loader to interact with the
server serial port instead of the keyboard, mouse, and VGA console. This configuration enables you to
view and interact with the operating system boot sequence through the Remote Serial console. See the
section, "Linux configuration example (on page
104
)" for an example of a Linux operating system boot
loader.
After the operating system boot loader completes, the operating system continues to load. If you are using
a Linux operating system, you can configure the operating system to provide a login session to the system
through the serial port, enabling the Remote Serial Console to prompt you for the system user login ID and
password. Using this configuration enables you to interact with the operating system as an operating
system user or as a system administrator.
Although additional configuration steps are required to use Remote Serial Console (as compared to using
the remote console or IRC), the Remote Serial Console allows telnet or SSH users to interact with the
server remotely and without requiring an iLO 2 Advanced license and is the only way a true text-based
remote console is presented by iLO 2.
Linux configuration example
The boot loader is the application that loads from the bootable device when the server system ROM
finishes POST. For Linux operating systems, the boot loader that is usually used is GRUB. To configure
GRUB to use the Remote Serial Console, modify the GRUB configuration file to look like the following (Red
Hat Linux 7.2 sample shown):
serial -unit=0 -speed=115200
terminal -timeout=10 serial console
default=0
timeout=10
#splashimage=(hd0,2) /grub/splash.zpm.gz
title Red Hat Linux (2.4.18-4smp)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.18-4smp ro root=/dev/sda9 console=tty0
console=ttyS0,115200
initrd /initrd-2.4.18-rsmp.img
After Linux is fully booted, a login console can be redirected to the serial port. The /dev/ttyS0 and
/dev/ttyS1 devices, if configured, allow you to obtain serial tty sessions through the Remote Serial
Console. To begin a shell session on a configured serial port, add the following line to the /etc/inittab
file to start the login process automatically during system boot (this example invokes the login console on
/dev/ttyS0):
Sx:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty 115200 ttyS0 vt100
For more information about configuring Linux for use with the Remote Serial Console, see the technical
publication
Integrated Lights-Out Virtual Serial Port configuration and operation HOWTO
on the HP
website (
http://www.hp.com/servers/lights-out
).
Virtual Serial Port enhancements
iLO 2 firmware 1.35 implements a dynamic flag that instantly informs the server system ROM of an iLO 2
Remote Serial Console connection. After the system ROM POST code recognizes the Remote Serial
Console connection, the system begins redirecting the console input and output to the server serial port
and the Remote Serial Console. You can establish a Remote Serial Console session at any time before or
during the system POST sequence, and you can view and modify the POST. After disconnecting the
Remote Serial Console session, the iLO 2 firmware resets the dynamic flag to inform the server system
