iLO Standard vs iLO Advanced: what do you lose without the key?

What does iLO Standard include on Gen10 and Gen11?

iLO Standard ships with every ProLiant at no extra cost, and HPE covers it under the server hardware warranty. It is enough to monitor a server and to power it on, off or reset it from your desk. It is not enough to install or repair an operating system remotely on a rack or tower server.

• iLO web interface, the iLO RESTful API (Redfish), RIBCL scripting, IPMI over LAN and the SSH command line.
• Active Health System, embedded system health, agentless management and the pre-boot health summary.
• Virtual power button and iLO reset.
• Virtual Serial Port: a text console over SSH that works both during POST and after the OS boots, if the OS is set to use the serial port.
• Integrated Remote Console (HTML5 or .NET) during POST and in System Utilities only.
• Silicon Root of Trust on Gen10 and later, backup and restore of iLO settings, and iLO Federation discovery.

Which features need an iLO Advanced license?

The table follows the HPE licensed-features list for ProLiant DL and ML servers. Blade (BL) and WS models get the remote console and virtual media in Standard, so the gap below applies to rack and tower servers.

Since iLO 5 firmware 1.40, iLO Advanced includes the security features that HPE previously sold as iLO Advanced Premium Security Edition. You no longer need a separate key for runtime firmware verification on a Gen10 or Gen11 server.

Why does the iLO remote console go black after the OS starts?

This is the license limit, not a fault. The iLO 6 User Guide says it directly: on non-blade servers, a license must be installed to use the integrated remote console after the OS is started. You can watch POST, press F9 for System Utilities and change BIOS or RAID settings, but once the bootloader hands over to the OS, iLO shows a message that the console is not licensed for use after POST.

Without a key you still have two ways in. The Virtual Serial Port gives you a text login if the OS sends its console to the serial port (on Linux, add console=ttyS1,115200 or the port iLO maps, and enable a getty on it). And you can always connect over SSH or RDP through the OS network. Neither helps when the OS install itself needs a graphical screen.

HPE offers a free 60-day iLO Advanced trial key. Each server accepts the trial only once, so use it for the OS install or for a test, not as a long-term fix.

What changes with iLO 7 on Gen12?

The split stays the same. The HPE iLO 7 User Guide repeats that on ProLiant servers a license is needed to use the integrated remote console after the OS starts, and that licenses are not transferable. Two practical differences: the Licensing page moved to iLO Settings > Licensing in the left navigation pane, and HPE now includes the iLO Advanced license with HPE Compute Ops Management subscriptions.

How do you check which iLO license a server has?

In the iLO 5 or iLO 6 web interface, click Administration in the navigation tree, then the Licensing tab. The page shows the license type (iLO Standard or iLO Advanced), the status (Unlicensed, Evaluation, Expired or Perpetual) and the last five characters of the installed key. On iLO 7, open iLO Settings > Licensing. From a workstation, iLOrest gives the same answer:

ilorest login 10.0.10.21 -u Administrator -p '<password>'
ilorest ilolicense                 # show installed license details
ilorest ilolicense --check_confirm # show license state
ilorest logout

Status Unlicensed means the factory default iLO Standard features are active. Perpetual means a full key is installed and has no expiry date.

How do you install an iLO Advanced license key?

1. Log in with an account that has the Configure iLO Settings privilege.
2. Open Administration > Licensing (iLO 5, iLO 6) or iLO Settings > Licensing (iLO 7).
3. Enter the 25-character activation key in the Activation Key box. If a key is already installed, the new key replaces it.
4. Click Install, read the EULA prompt and click I agree.
5. Record the full key somewhere safe. After installation iLO only displays the last five characters.

ilorest ilolicense --install XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX --url 10.0.10.21 -u Administrator -p '<password>'

For a fleet, iLO Federation has a Group Licensing tab that installs one key on every member of a group, provided the key is authorized for that number of servers.

Can one iLO Advanced key cover several servers?

Only if you buy it that way. HPE sells iLO Advanced as single-server licenses (typical for 1 to 10 servers), Flexible Quantity licenses (11 to 99) and pay-as-you-go activation key agreements (100 or more). A single-server key belongs on one server. HPE states that an iLO license is required for each server where it is used, that licenses are not transferable, and that an installed license stays valid for the life of that server.

The keys are versionless: the same iLO Advanced part numbers cover iLO 3, 4 and 5, and the key type carries forward to iLO 6. The 1-year or 3-year term on the box refers to HPE support for the licensed features. When support ends, the features keep working.

Be careful with cheap "iLO Advanced keys" sold separately online. A key already used on another server breaks the HPE terms, and HPE can refuse support or registration for it.

Which license should you order with a ProLiant?

If the server sits in a data center you cannot walk into, order iLO Advanced. The price is small next to one technician visit to mount an ISO. iLO Standard is fine when you install the OS on site, deploy over PXE, or run a Linux host that you reach over SSH and the Virtual Serial Port. Factory-installed keys (HPE option #0D1) arrive active, so the console works from the first boot.