So, I finally got to set up my first Gen8 server. It is a ProLiant DL360e Gen8. Two actually. At first, I was very happy with all the new advancements. No more searching for a SmartStart CD you say! Brilliant! No more confusion on SmartStart version compatibility? Wicked! (Yes, there is a VERY fine line of SmartStart CD’s that will support both a ProLiant DL360 G4p and putting Server 2008 R2 on it – I like to live dangerously!). So, as many of you already know Intelligent Provisioning replaced SmartStart CDs. The cool part is, you just boot right into it. Its an option – F10 at POST. Neat huh? And it looks so sharp too. (Check the image below)
They have this neat feature called Firmware Update that will directly connect to HP.com (or a local update server) and get all your firmware updates for you. Very neat. Especially useful if we are using an OS like VMware ESXi. So I configured the network settings on both my servers and got the error in the screenshot below.
I checked my settings a dozen times on both servers, tried different IPs, different NIC ports on the server and sadly no luck. It just wouldn’t connect. I called HP and the first tech has me update from v1.30 to v1.40.88. Sadly this did not help. I called back (different tech this time) and they told me this is a known issue with certain servers running certain system firmware versions and that they are working on it.
Insert sad face. đ
This seems like a really cool feature. I just wish I could test it. Until then, I will be going back to downloading the bootable Service Pack for ProLiant DVD.