| General |
| Q1. |
What is HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A1. |
HP Insight Control for Linux is essential management for industry-standard HP ProLiant servers running Linux. Integrated toolsets enable administrator productivity in both enterprise and scale-out environments. HP Insight Control for Linux is the type of management solution that Linux administrators would design for themselves, given the opportunity. A robust toolset integrates the best of open source and HP technologies for discovery, imaging & provisioning, rapid deployment, health and performance management, remote management, virtualization, and power management. Llifecycle management is complemented by multi-system scaling, power management, and direct-to-the-hardware control. HP Insight Control for Linux is backed by HP’s Linux expertise and global HP Support. |
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| Q2. |
What is new in HP Insight Control for Linux v6.2? |
| A2. |
HP Insight Control for Linux v6.2 supports ProLiant G7 servers and iLO3 capability. Recent enhancements include:
- Microsoft Windows deployment and monitoring on iLO-based servers
- Generic ISO mounting to enable deployment of images on iLO-based servers
- Firmware update capability added for IPMI servers (DL160s, DL180s, SL-servers)
- CentOS enhancements for improved implementation with the community-supported Linux OS
- KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) virtualization discovery and identification using libvirt.cim
- Power management enhancements for Intelligent Power Discovery with outlet control to manage outlets where devices are plugged, and for integration with leading facility software tools
- Updated Linux operating system support (e.g. SLES 11 SP1, RHEL 5.5)
Broad HP ProLiant support for blade-, rack-, tower-, and scalable- servers (BL-, DL-, ML-, SL- series servers) |
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| Q3. |
What ProLiant servers and Linux operating systems are supported with HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A3. |
HP Insight Control for Linux supports HP ProLiant Blade-, Rack-, Tower-, and Scalable- servers (BL-, DL-, ML-, and SL-series servers). Systems supported include HP BladeSystems (c7000 and c3000), HP Rack servers (DL1000, DL785, DL500s, DL300s, DL180s, DL160s), HP Tower servers (ML300s), and HP Scalable servers (SL6000). Servers with IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface), iLO, iLO2, and iLO3 (Integrated Lights Out) capabilities are supported. Check the Product Support Matrix for support on specific models.
ProLiant Support Packs (PSPs) are available to support operation with a wide variety of Linux operating systems at the Linux ProLiant website.
HP Insight Control for Linux is HP-supported on Red Hat’s RHEL and Novell’s SLES Linux operating systems. HP Insight Control for Linux is community-supported on a wide variety of other Linux operating systems (e.g. See technical white paper for use with CentOS). |
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| Q4. |
How is it configured and how does it work? |
| A4. |
HP Insight Control for Linux is delivered via web download from Software Depot containing all the necessary software (Insight Control for Linux application, database, installer, management agents, utilities) to be installed on one of the supported ProLiant servers. That server becomes the host for the HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM) central management system from which system administrators can remotely discover, deploy, monitor, and manage their infrastructure and servers. |
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| Q5. |
How do I install HP Insight Control for Linux and keep it updated? |
| A5. |
HP Insight Control for Linux comes with its own installer to assist you in the installation process. A supported ProLiant server with a supported Linux distribution already installed is recommended. Documentation and a
"Getting Started" guide provide guidance on setting up the Linux host system for the central management system. Review the documentation and requirements prior to performing the installation and setup.
A technical white paper on version control is available to guide the user's processes to update agents, system firmware, and Linux distros. HP Technical Support and Update Service is included with each HP
Insight Control for Linux license, which entitles the user to solution updates for one year.
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| Availability and Purchase |
| Q1. |
When will HP Insight Control suite for Linux v6.2 be available? |
| A1. |
HP Insight Control for Linux v6.2 is available for immediate delivery, with license keys available for purchase. Customers purchasing the current version of Insight Control for Linux have full upgrade rights to v6.2 to protect their investment.
The HP Insight Control for Linux software is available for free download from Software Depot now, or you can order the HP Insight Control for Linux Media Kit which includes the software on a DVD (but license entitlement must be purchased for operation beyond 60 days). |
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| Q2. |
How do I get HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A2. |
HP Insight Control for Linux licenses are
available for purchase via your HP authorized reseller, through
your HP account team, and also
online.
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| Q3. |
Can I try the software before I buy it? |
| A3. |
Yes. Evaluation licenses for HP Insight Control for Linux are available at
this website. Click on the “Free Trial” option. |
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| Q4. |
What licensing options are available for HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A4. |
HP Insight Control for Linux is licensed on a per-server basis. First purchase the number of licenses that you need. You can purchase a single license or a flexible quantity license of HP Insight Control for Linux, each of which comes with one-year of 24 x 7 HP Software Technical Support and Update Service.
You also have the option of purchasing licenses with your HP ProLiant servers. After you purchase the required number of licenses, you can either download a copy of the HP Insight Control for Linux ISO image or purchase an HP Insight Control for Linux DVD media kit. You will only require one download or media package.
“Linux-managed Reference Platforms” combine the HP Insight Control for Linux management solution with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux® Advanced Platform (RHEL AP) operating system, with full HP Software Technical Support and Update Service for 1-year or 3-year durations, in 24x7 Support or 9x5 Support options. |
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| Q5. |
What is the licensing and registration process for HP Insight Control suite for Linux? |
| A5. |
After purchasing any of the Insight Control for Linux license options, you will receive an email entitlement with instructions on how you can access your license keys via the web. You can immediately download the license keys and obtain access to the number or licenses you have purchased. These license keys can also be input into Evaluation copies of HP Insight Control for Linux for continued operation. |
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| Technology |
| Q1. |
What advanced technologies are included in HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A1. |
HP Insight Control power management provides Dynamic Power Capping to reclaim trapped resources in your infrastructure - and adds capabilities for Data Center Power Control, facility tool integration, and power monitoring.
Control for managing virtual host and guest environments is provided for VMware ESX and ESXi (host installation) and XEN® (open source hypervisor). Discovery and associations for KVM environments are supported. HP's Insight Control for Linux central management server can be run from within a XEN® virtual machine guest.
Remote management provides secure shell capabilities with integrated remote access and server control.
Firmware update technologies are integrated and can assist in version control processes for both iLO and IPMI servers. |
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| Q2. |
What power management capabilities are integrated in HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A2. |
The HP Insight Control for Linux management solution provides industry-leading power capabilities for industry-standard ProLiant servers based on measurement, visibility, and optimization.
Dynamic Power Capping can optimize power "on the fly" across CPUs, Servers, and Enclosures for worry-free, hardware-based power management. HP Insight Control measures power usage AND controls power on a dynamic basis to optimize on a fractional-second-basis for maximum utilization of the power reserve in the system.
Datacenter Power Control provides uptime for critical applications, particularly when the datacenter hasn’t kept pace with demands and when infrastructure failure impacts critical IT services. This capability also helps to decrease power consumption when users are participating in demand response programs.
Power Monitoring allows measurement, visibility, and control of the infrastructure, now with additional monitoring for PDUs. Integration with facility management software tools (nlyte Software® and Eaton Forseer®) is now enabled. |
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Q3. |
What server deployment capabilities are integrated in HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A3. |
HP Insight Control for Linux provides integrated capabilities for imaging & provisioning, deployment, and firmware updates for the Linux user. Standard deployment support uses PXE boot and DHCP. Virtual Media is also supported for environments without DHCP or those needing a more secure medium.
Microsoft Windows® can be deployed using generic ISO mounting capabilities on iLO-based servers. These same capabilities can be used to deploy for any generic ISO image.
A software repository can be populated by the user with any variety of objects for deployment, such as custom scripts, installation scripts, images, firmware, agents, etc. Standard KickStart and AutoYAST scripts can be used, customized, and deployed. Firmware update capabilities are integrated and can accelerate version control processes.
Deployment methods include both a robust standard mode and a high-performance "Avalanche" mode optimizing both time and network bandwidth.
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Q4. |
What health and performance management capabilities are integrated in HP Insight Control for Linux? |
| A4. |
HP Insight Control for Linux provides integrated capabilities for health and performance management of physical and virtual nodes in the infrastructure. Capabilities are fully accessible via browser (GUI) or command line (CLI) interfaces. A wide variety of metrics are available for observation, evaluation, and action – and can be user customized.
Thresholds can be set by the user and alerts are forwarded to HP SIM for further use in user’s Enterprise Management System of choice.
Issue resolution allows user-control of detailed graphical reporting of stored metrics. Data can be exported in standard formats to meet custom reporting needs.
HP technologies are integrated into Nagios® and into HP System Insight Manager for accurate display and use. All integrated capabilities, including Nagios®, benefit from auto-generated user configurations to allow users immediate productivity -- and the configuration scripts are user accessible for customization. |
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Q5. |
Does HP Insight Control for Linux require agents to be installed on the server that it is managing? |
| A5. |
Details on what data and support are provided with different agents are in the user documentation. Low level agents, called hp_health agents, are recommended for proper operation on HP systems with iLO capabilities, but these are not needed on IPMI-based systems.
The user chooses the number and type of agents to be used with Insight Control for Linux. HP Insight Control for Linux supports SNMP, WBEM, and open source agents.
Maximum “performance-on-the-problem” is achieved using lightweight out-of-band metrics collection without compromising environment control:
The advantage of this approach allows efficient metrics collection for health and performance management -- i.e. when using the recommended minimum set of agents, the combined system usage is significantly less than one percent (<<1% system usage). |
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