HP Integrated Lights-Out - Manual (Page 64)

Configuring iLO 2 64
iLO 2 Shared Network Port
The iLO 2 Shared Network Port enables you to choose either the system NIC or dedicated iLO 2
Dedicated Management NIC for server management. When you enable the iLO 2 Shared Network Port,
both regular network traffic, and network traffic intended for iLO 2 pass through the system NIC.
iLO 2 provides support for servers that might not have an iLO 2 Dedicated Management NIC. On servers
using the iLO 2 Dedicated Management NIC, the standard hardware configuration provides iLO 2
network connectivity only through the iLO 2 Shared Network Port connection. iLO 2 detects the lack of an
iLO 2 Dedicated Management NIC and automatically defaults to the Shared Network Port. On some of
these servers, an iLO 2 Dedicated Management NIC might be available as a hardware option. If an iLO
2 Dedicated Management NIC is available as a hardware option, iLO 2 defaults to the installed iLO 2
Dedicated Management NIC. On servers using the iLO 2 Dedicated Management NIC, you can enable
shared network port operation through the iLO 2 interface.
The iLO 2 Shared Network Port uses the network port labeled NIC 1 on the rear panel of the server. NIC
numbering in the operating system can be different from system numbering. The iLO 2 Shared Network
Port does not incur an iLO 2 performance penalty. Peak iLO 2 traffic is less than 2 MB (on a NIC capable
of 1000-Mb speeds), and average iLO 2 traffic is infrequent and low.
The Shared Network Port is not available on HP ProLiant ML310 G3, ML310 G4, BL20p G4, and all c-
Class blade servers.
iLO 2 Shared Management Port features and restrictions
iLO 2 Shared Network Port and the iLO 2 Dedicated Management NIC port are used for iLO 2 server
management. You can only use the iLO 2 Shared Network Port and the iLO 2 Dedicated Management
NIC port for iLO 2 server management. The iLO 2 Shared Network Port and the iLO 2 Dedicated
Management NIC port cannot operate simultaneously. If you enable the dedicated iLO 2 NIC, you will
disable the iLO 2 Shared Network Port. If you enable the iLO 2 Shared Network Port, you will disable the
dedicated iLO 2 Dedicated Management NIC.
However, disabling the Shared Network Port does not completely disable the system NIC. Regular
network traffic still passes through the system NIC. When Shared Network Port network traffic is disabled,
any traffic going to or originating from iLO 2 will not pass on to iLO 2 through the Shared Network Port
because the Shared Network Port is no longer shared with iLO 2.
The Shared Network Port should not be considered an availability feature. The Shared Network Port is
intended to allow managed network port consolidation. The use of this feature can create a single failure
point, that is, if the port fails or is unplugged, both the host and iLO 2 become unavailable to the network.
Enabling the iLO 2 Shared Network Port feature
The iLO 2 Shared Network Port feature is disabled by default. This feature can be enabled through and of
the following:
• iLO 2 RBSU
• The iLO 2 web interface
• XML scripting
Enabling the iLO 2 Shared Network Port feature through iLO 2 RBSU
1. Connect the server's NIC port 1 to a LAN.
2. When prompted during POST, press the F8 key to enter iLO 2 RBSU.