HPE iLO, OneView and Compute Ops Management licensing concerns the software HPE uses to manage ProLiant, Synergy and related servers. The three products stack. iLO is the embedded management controller on a server, with standard features included at no extra cost and licensed features unlocked by an iLO Advanced licence. OneView is a management appliance that licenses each server it manages or monitors. Compute Ops Management is a cloud service on the HPE GreenLake platform that needs a subscription seat for each managed server, and its Advanced tier can bring an iLO Advanced licence with it. Because the products overlap, the main compliance task is to track which server holds which licence and where licences are bundled.
Editions
iLO
HPE iLO supports standard features, shipped at no extra cost and supported under the server hardware warranty, and licensed features that need an iLO licence.[1] The public iLO licensing page lists licence options for iLO 5 and iLO 6 as Single Server, Flexible Quantity, AKA (Activation Key Agreement) and Evaluation, each delivered physically or electronically.[7] Part numbers listed there include 512485-B21 (iLO Advanced 1-server licence with 24x7 one-year support) and BD505A (three-year support), 512486-B21 and BD506A for flexible quantity, and 512487-B21 and BD507A for AKA tracking.[7]
OneView
HPE OneView 11.1 documentation names three licence types: Standard, Advanced and Advanced w/o iLO. Standard is built in, applies automatically to monitored servers, includes no support and cannot be applied to managed servers; support for Standard can be bought as SKU K6F98AAE.[8] Advanced includes all management features, includes an iLO Advanced licence and three years of support. Advanced w/o iLO includes the management features without the iLO licence and suits servers already licensed for iLO.[8] The OneView ALA describes the two historic licences in similar terms: Standard provides entry-level management and Advanced adds profile-driven configuration, storage provisioning, firmware and environmental management, and remote management if purchased with iLO Advanced.[9]
Compute Ops Management
A Standard subscription enables all supported Compute Ops Management features. An Advanced subscription, available for Gen11 or later servers, includes the Standard subscription and an iLO Advanced licence.[10] Subscription tiers are named by server family. ProLiant Gen10, Gen10 Plus, Gen11 and Gen12 servers, Edgeline blades and StoreEasy storage use the Standard-, Enhanced- and Advanced-ProLiant tiers, and Alletra Storage servers use the Alletra tiers.[10]
Metrics
The iLO licence is per server, and a licence is required for each server on which licensed features are used. iLO licences do not expire. Once installed, a licence remains on the server even after support lapses and is valid for the life of the server.[1] iLO licences do not carry versions, so the same product numbers apply across server generations running iLO.[1]
OneView uses server-based licensing and its licences are not transferable from one server to another. A licence that is in use by at least one server cannot be removed from the appliance.[8] The ALA defines Licensed Physical Computers as the servers managed by a copy of OneView for which licence fees must be paid, and states that once a server becomes a Licensed Physical Computer the licence may not be transferred to another server.[9] Rack managers are licensed per chassis, with Standard or Advanced applied automatically according to the firmware version.[8]
Compute Ops Management counts a subscription seat for each server directly managed by the service.[10]
Counting / floors
Choosing an iLO purchase option
HPE recommends a Single-Server licence for 1 to 10 servers, a Flexible Quantity licence (one entitlement and one key for multiple servers) for 11 to 99 servers, and an Activation Key Agreement for customers expecting to buy at least 100 licences over three years.[2] With the Single-Server option an electronic order of several copies yields one key that can be installed on the number of servers ordered, while the Flexible Quantity option gives one key for all licences ordered.[2] These are recommendations and not contractual floors.
Activation Key Agreements
An Activation Key Agreement (AKA) is an invoice-only volume option that supplies one master key per product for use across a company, department or branch. The maximum term is three years, with one, two or three year choices, and at the end of the term the customer must stop using the master keys unless the agreement is amended or a new AKA is processed. A master key does not replace existing licences, unredeemed entitlement certificates or upgrade licences.[4] Customers should therefore reconcile the number of activations made under an AKA with invoices before the term ends.
Factory-installed licences
Part numbers ending in #0D1 are installed in an HPE factory at no extra charge. The licensing documentation says only one factory-preinstalled licence can be bought per server on the same order.[1]
Support and renewals
Each iLO licence includes a one-year or three-year support contract. A valid key enables licensed features without a support contract, and after support expires the features still work but are not supported.[3] OneView Advanced licences include three years of support, while Standard has none.[8]
Overlaps between licences
OneView Advanced includes an iLO Advanced licence, and the OneView documentation states that it cannot be applied to servers that already have an iLO Advanced licence, which is why Advanced w/o iLO exists.[8] Remote console and utilisation metrics for server hardware require an iLO Advanced licence even under OneView.[8] For Compute Ops Management, the iLO Advanced licence in the Advanced tier cannot be used to manage iLO on servers not activated for the service, is removed if the subscription is unassigned or the server removed from management, and shares the subscription’s expiry date. If a server already holds a perpetual iLO Advanced licence, HPE suggests using a Standard-tier seat on it to keep the Advanced seat for a server without iLO Advanced.[10] The subscription tier must also match the server type.[10]
Virtualization & partitioning
iLO and OneView licences attach to physical servers. The OneView ALA defines a Physical Computer as a single physical hardware server that is not a virtual machine, and states that a customer running a copy of OneView on a virtual machine must obtain the appropriate licences for the virtualization software.[9] No rule in the documents reviewed assigns a licence to virtual machines managed by these products.
Cloud / BYOL
Compute Ops Management is delivered from the HPE GreenLake platform, and subscriptions are assigned to servers in GreenLake.[10] Perpetual iLO and OneView licences are tied to the server and cannot be moved to another server.[1][8]
Programs
Trials are part of the licensing process. HPE offers a free 90-day iLO trial licence that can be applied to a server one time, and the OneView ALA defines a 60-day Trial Period, after which licence fees apply to each Licensed Physical Computer.[1][9] Licences are registered in My HPE Software Center, which produces a service agreement ID (SAID) that the customer adds to its HPE Account to receive support and updates.[6] A replacement iLO licence is available only if the licence was bought in error and not redeemed, was self-installed, or was preinstalled and the entitlement was lost with a replaced system board, and end-of-life licences are replaced only with the same licence.[5]
Out of scope
This article does not cover iLO firmware features, the iLO 4 and earlier licences, HPE Synergy Composer, OneView extensions for third-party tools (which the OneView ALA grants under the same Advanced or Standard licences), or price lists. General audit and transfer terms are covered in the licence terms article.