Reverting from a Hitachi HA820 server to an HPE DL380 Gen 10 server
Sou Saechao
Hardware Test Engineer
Software Integration Solutions
Introduction
Recently, I had a server that was converted from an HPE DL380 Gen 10 to a Hitachi HA820 for testing purposes. Now I have a problem because the HPE iLO Advanced license that we purchased with the server is no longer active and cannot be added.
To solve my problem, I worked with HPE support team to revert the server back to an HPE DL380 Gen 10 with the original iLO Advanced license. In this blog, I’ll go over the steps we completed to make this happen.
First, you can see the iLO summary page for both server types with the model and license type in the following screenshots:
Hitachi HA820:
HPE DL380 Gen 10:
Now, here are the steps:
Step 1: Factory reset the iLO
1. From the iLO home page, navigate to the Diagnostics tab.
2. Click Reset iLO.
3. Confirm and click Reset again.
Note: This procedure resets all settings in iLO including the network, username, and password. However, this doesn’t resolve the issue.
Step 2: Upgrade the system ROM (BIOS) and iLO
1. Obtain the server firmware or iLO firmware file.
2. If you’re updating the Innovation Engine (IE) or Server Platform Services (SPS) firmware, power off the server and wait for 30 seconds.
3. Click Firmware & OS Software and then click Update Firmware. If the Update Firmware option is not displayed, click the ellipsis icon on the top-right corner of the iLO web interface and then click Update Firmware.
4. Select the Local file or Remote file option. Depending on the option you select, do one of the following:
· From your browser, click Browse or select a file in the local file box, and specify the location of the firmware component.
· In the Remote file URL box, enter the URL of a firmware component.
5. (Optional) To save a copy of the component to the iLO Repository, select the Also store in iLO Repository checkbox.
6. (Optional) If a version of the component you selected in step 5 exists in the System Recovery Set, select the Update Recovery Set checkbox to replace the existing component with the selected component.
Interestingly, we performed these upgrades with HPE firmware on our Hitachi HA branded server; however, this didn’t resolve our issue.
Step 3: Clear NVRAM and Power drain
Clear NVRAM
This procedure requires you to toggle dip switch position 6 on the motherboard. Complete the following steps:
1. Power down the server.
2. Remove the server.
3. Remove the access panel.
4. Change position 6 of the system maintenance switch to on.
5. Install the access panel.
6. Install the server blade in the enclosure and power up the server.
7. Wait for the following POST message that prompts you to change the switch setting:
Maintenance switch detected in the "On" position. Power off the server and turn switch
to the "Off" position.
8. Repeat steps 1 through 3.
9. Change position 6 of the system maintenance switch to off.
10. Repeat steps 5 through 7.
Power drain
1. Shut down the server.
2. Disconnect all power sources from the server.
3. Press and hold the power button for 15-30 seconds or 1 minute.
Step 4: Replace the Motherboard
In the end, the HPE support technician resorted to replacing the motherboard as a quick way to fix the issue.
Conclusion
In the end, we determined that there is either no way to revert to an HPE DL3x0 server from a Hitachi HA server, or the HPE support team we dealt with lacked experience; however, simply replacing the motherboard seems to be the quickest and most certain way to resolve this issue.