Disable iLO on HP Microserver Gen8

I use my HP Microservers as NAS style boxes running Ubuntu or Truenas, and keeping power consumption low is an important consideration for me. Since I don’t have a license for iLO, it is mostly useless to me, so I wanted to disable it to save a few watts of power.

To disable iLO:

1. Enter iLO RBSU: Press F8 during the Power-On Self-Test (POST) to access the iLO configuration utility.
2. Navigate to Configuration Settings: Select Settings -> Configure, and press Enter.
3. Modify iLO Functionality: Select the iLO Functionality option and press the Spacebar to toggle the setting between ENABLED and DISABLED. A warning message will be displayed when selecting DISABLED.
4. Save Configuration: Press F10 to save the modified settings.
5. Exit iLO RBSU: Select File -> Exit to close the utility.

When managing iLO (Integrated Lights-Out) functionality on HP servers, disabling and re-enabling iLO requires specific steps involving both RBSU (ROM-Based Setup Utility) and the system board’s iLO Override Switch.

To re-enable iLO using the Security Override Switch:

1. Power down the server completely.
2. Set the S1 system maintenance switch to the ON position.
3. Power on the server and wait for the F8 prompt to appear. Press F8 to enter iLO RBSU.
4. Re-enable iLO through the configuration utility.
5. Power off the server again.
6. Return the S1 switch to its default OFF position.

Important Notes:

• The System Maintenance Switch S1 controls iLO security.
• By default, the switch remains in the OFF position, which means HP iLO security is enabled.
• The iLO Security Override Switch uses switch #1 on the DIP switch panel.