delivering an obsolete proliant

proliant-delivery | proliant-firmwares | java-web | proliant-ilo3

warning / lessons learned

dimm population order

see server maintenance and service guide ==> population rules

dual-rank vs quad-rank

there’s only 4 specific slots per CPU being able to support quad-rank, that’s precisely how you can reach 512GB as top memory, although there are only 12 memory slots per cpu socket.

see server maintenance and service guide ==> memory bus speed

low-voltage DIMMs

make sure you differenciate PC3 and PC3L DIMMs. some low-voltage DIMMs seem to work with 1.5V performance settings, but not all brands allow (or can handle) that

if you have all 1.35V then tune dimm voltage to “optimized for power” (unless you are sure those can handle 1.5V)
if you have all 1.5V then keep default dimm voltage “optimized for performance”
if you manage to get a mix of both without errors (SK Hynix is nice) then also keep the default

bios / rbsu (F9)

get back to sane defaults

restore system settings

then

power mgmt

    adv power mgmt
        dimm voltage    -- performance (default) for 1.5V DIMMs or mixed 1.5 + 1.35 DIMMs that support it
        dimm voltage    -- power for 1.35V DIMMs

server availability

    post f1 prompt      -- disabled (no 20 seconds delay)
    automatic power on  -- enabled (PROD ONLY)

bios serial console & ems

    baud rate 115200

adv options
    adv system rom
        power on logo       -- disabled

    drive write cache V

compaq smart array storage controller (F8)

(raid...)
enable write cache override
define boot volume

and also see proliant-ssacli

ilo3 (F8)

see proliant ilo3

system install

boot slackware from pxe or memstick and sync the time before install

ntpdate -u ru.pool.ntp.org
hwclock --utc --systohc --verbose

setup partitions and run the installer.

additional notes

bios in your face

hey this is NOT a LOM – back to graphical mode

    SHOW CONFIG BIOS INTERFACE MODE
    SET CONFIG BIOS INTERFACE MODE 1

resources

bios / rbsu

https://community.hpe.com/t5/proliant-servers-ml-dl-sl/dl380-g3-and-command-line-rbsu-how-to-get-rid-of/td-p/3318377 ==> back to graphical/auto mode

https://community.hpe.com/t5/proliant-servers-ml-dl-sl/bios-interface-mode/td-p/3680818 ==> back to graphical/auto mode

http://systemmanager.ru/c01609725.en/

HP ROM-Based Setup Utility User Guide https://msassist.com/files/~Manuals/HP_Proliant-BIOS-guide.pdf