Spotlight

Announcements

Top Tools & Links

Best Practices

Training and Documentation

Spotlight

What’s New?★

HPE SYNERGY SOFTWARE RELEASES: COMPOSER 4.20.01.01 and IMAGE STREAMER 4.20.00 Note: This release combination along with the HPE Synergy Custom SPP 2019.03.20190612 is the highly recommended minimum HPE Synergy Release to significantly improve your HPE Synergy Experience. See Customer Advisory a00078631en_us below in the Announcements section for more information.

• Composer 4.20.01.01
  • Audit log forwarding, iLO inventories, and iLO configuration from server profiles
  • sFlow and private VLAN support in HPE Synergy interconnect modules
  • Nimble storage support
  • Logical JBOD capability for D3940 Storage Modules
  • Remote support for HPE Synergy D3940 Storage Modules
  • Online iLO NAND updates
  • 8 Physical Functions for HPE Synergy NICs
• Image Streamer 4.20.00
  • Support for VMware ESXi 6.7U1, Microsoft Windows Server 2019, and Hyper-V Server 2019
• HPE Synergy Custom SPP 2019.03.20190612
  • Provides fixes for HPE Synergy firmware components and is based on the core Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) Version 2019.03.1.
  • Includes Gen10 Smart Array controllers Firmware 1.99 and Smartpqi Driver 1.0.3.2309.

HPE SYNERGY SOFTWARE RELEASES: COMPOSER 5.00.00.02 and IMAGE STREAMER 5.00.00
Note: This release provides support for the latest HPE Synergy hardware and software functionality

• Composer 5.00.00.02
  • Virtual Connect Fabric & Networking support for HPE Synergy IPv6 operations, Large network sets, and Arista Top-of-Rack (ToR) switches
  • HPE Synergy Composer2
    • iLO Remote Access for Composer2 management appliances
    • Enhanced security and performance with Secure boot and Silicon Root of Trust
    • Expanded firmware repository
  • Firmware Compliance Dashboard for Gen10-based servers
  • Consistency Reporting for Firmware and BIOS (Server Profile to Server Hardware)
  • Brocade REST API (FOS) for BNA replacement
  • Supportability and Remote Support enhancements
  • Cluster profile rolling cluster update for VMware vSAN
• Image Streamer 5.00.00
  • Use with VC SE 100Gb F32 Module and Composer2
  • Pre-upgrade health checks and bundled support tools
  • OS Deployment artifacts for SLES 12 SP3 or SP4, RHEL 7.6, SLES OS with BTRFS (using FAT32), and RHEL OS with XFS (using FAT32)
• Both of the following HPE Synergy Custom SPP versions provide the latest fixes for HPE Synergy firmware components and are based on the core Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) Version from September 2019:
  • Updated System ROM firmware, and
  • New HPE Synergy product support:
    • HPE Synergy 4-Port Frame Link Module
    • Hardware root of trust anchors essential firmware to the Frame Link Module processor.
    • Secure Start ensures firmware integrity for the Frame Link Module firmware.
    • TPM protects the key used for file encryption to safeguard Frame Link Module data.
    • HPE Virtual Connect SE 100Gb F32 Module for HPE Synergy
    • HPE Synergy 50Gb Interconnect Link Module (25/50Gb Satellite module)
    • HPE Virtual Connect SE 32Gb FC Module for HPE Synergy
    • HPE Synergy 6820C 25/50Gb Converged Network Adapter
    • HPE Synergy 5330C 32Gb Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter
  • HPE Synergy Custom SPP 2019.09.20190926
    • Supports vSAN certification on Gen10 servers only.
  • HPE Synergy Custom SPP 2019.09.20190925
    • Supports vSAN certification on both Gen9 and Gen10 servers.

Scripting Techniques★

HPE Synergy ChatOps Integration with Slack

• The purpose of this integration is to provide ChatOps operation with an HPE Synergy environment from a mobile app (possibility to use a smartphone/tablet) using a chatbot.
• The scripts provided can enable the ChatBot Hubot to provide information about many resources in HPE OneView but can also enable the ChatBot to fully compose/decompose the HPE Synergy infrastructure automatically by provisioning/un-provisioning HPE Synergy servers with an OS fully configured.

Adding a new local user/admin to each iLO

• Create a user account in all iLOs managed by HPE OneView without using the iLO Admin local account.
• HPE OneView administrator account is required.
• iLO modification is done through HPE OneView and iLO SSOsession key using REST POST method.
• Note: 44 servers have been done in approximately 3 minutes.

Change iLO Admin password

• Change the default Administrator account password in all iLOs managed by HPE OneView without using any iLO local account.
• HPE OneView administrator account is required.
• iLO modification is done through HPE OneView and iLO SSOsession key using REST POST method.

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Announcements

Important Customer Advisories ★

Note: If you are not already subscribed to HPE Synergy Customer Advisories and would like to subscribe you can visit the HPE Support Center or use this link.

Customer Advisory a00078631en_us

• This document contains actions that are highly recommended to significantly improve your HPE Synergy Experience. This advisory replaces HPE Synergy CA a00052101en_us. To accomplish this, all of the referenced recommendations in this Customer Advisory should be implemented as soon as feasible in accordance with HPE Synergy solution best practices also mentioned below.
• This advisory provides a flowchart to use during a maintenance window. This requires the customer’s HPE Synergy system (including Operating System) administrators to synchronize firmware and drivers for the best outcome.

Customer Advisory a00090591en_us

• On HPE Synergy solutions with HPE Synergy 20G Interconnect Link Modules, after a Grow operation from 2 frames to 3 frames has been successfully completed, resetting the Master HPE Virtual Connect SE 40Gb F8 Module can cause all downlink ports that map to frame 3 on the freshly reset HPE Virtual Connect SE 40Gb F8 Module to become link down.

Customer Advisory a00089798en_us

• HPE OneView for HPE Synergy - HPE OneView Upgrade to Version 4.20.02 or Version 5.0 May Fail When Updating the Database.

Customer Advisory a00088749en_us

• HPE Virtual Connect SE 16Gb Fibre Channel Module for HPE Synergy - Fibre Channel Login to HPE Virtual Connect SE 16Gb FC Module Fails Due to the Module Port Being Incorrectly Configured as a G Port.

Customer Facing Opportunities★

HPE Discover 2020 Las Vegas

• Save the date for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Discover 2020 Las Vegas, taking place at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
• Join thousands of IT professionals in Las Vegas June 23 – 25.

HPE Discover More Events

• If you are in the EMEA or APJ region join us at HPE Discover More to see how technology, apps and data from the Edge, to the Cloud can come together for your enterprise to redefine experiences and drive smarter, hyper-efficient operations.

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Top Tools & Links

HPE Synergy Firmware Feature Comparison Table★

To see a list of new features for the HPE Synergy Management Combination and supported HPE Synergy Custom SPPs, use this link.

HPE Synergy Upgrade Paths★

To determine the upgrade path for HPE Synergy Composer and HPE Synergy Image Streamer Management combinations, use this table. In the table, the columns align to show HPE Synergy Management combinations. “Yes” cells indicate a supported upgrade path. Empty cells in the table indicate that the upgrade path is not supported.

HPE Online Depot (VIBSDepot)

This is a one-stop repository that provides access to HPE developed bundles along with device drivers that are part of the HPE Customized VMware images. These bundles and associated vibs can be used with VMware applications and tools like VMware Update Manager (VUM), ESXCLI and Image Builder. Use this link to access the site.

HPE Synergy VMware OS support tool★

This tool provides information for using VMware vSphere OS releases with HPE Synergy Custom SPPs.

HPE ESXi Image (VMware)

ESXi ISO, based on the standard VMware, is the easiest and most reliable way to install ESXi on HPE ProLiant and HPE Synergy servers. It includes all of the required drivers and management software to run ESXi on HPE ProLiant and HPE Synergy servers, and works seamlessly with Intelligent Provisioning. Use this link to access the site.

HPE Support Center

To view documentation on HPE Synergy, subscribe to HPE Synergy Composer Customer Advisories, as well as download drivers and software use this link. The newest documentation as well as drivers and software will always be listed first.  

HPE Community

Join the conversation with experts and colleagues to get advice, discuss issues, and find solutions for HPE Synergy and or HPE OneView.  

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Best Practices

Enterprise Information Library

The Enterprise Information Library provides customers with all the documentation for our HPE server hardware, software and firmware products.  Have a look around our HPE Library.

Reference Architecture★

Microsoft SQL Server 2016 on HPE Synergy
Azure Stack HCI Best Practices for Installation on HPE Synergy
Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server 2016 on HPE Synergy
Deploying a composable SAS infrastructure with HPE Synergy and HPE Image Streamer

How to submit a case

1. Gather Important Documents:
   1. Obtain the Serial Number and/or Service Agreement Identifier (SAID).
   2. Have the problem description, error logs or messages, plus any additional information to address your incident more quickly:
      1. Event capture needed for all issues:
         1. Screen shots of error message (cut and paste in case)
         2. Time stamp when issue occurred
         3. What was being done at the time of issue occurrence (last 7 sequences)
         4. Current status of the event (is system up or down, how long down, were you able to remediate the issue and if so how did it get fixed)
         5. Support dump of good state after remediated
      2. System Information capture:
         1. Versions of OneView, SPP, and ICM FW
         2. Type of servers, CNA, TORs, etc. (for interconnect cases)
      3. Server issues:
         1. AHS Log
         2. Operating System Logs if directed by support engineer
      4. Composer issues: 
         1. CI support dump
      5. Logical Enclosure, Interconnect, Frame, or Server Connectivity Issues:
         1. Logical Enclosure Support Dump
   3. Inform HPE of any site access restrictions or requirement for on-site work to be scheduled or performed.
   4. An HPE Passport account (here) allows you to obtain web based support and unlocks firmware and drivers for your supported equipment.
2. Log a Service Incident:
   1. Via the Web: The use of your HPE Passport account combined with the HPE Support Center (here) provides quick case creation, easy communication with technical staff and immediate access to detailed case notes during the support incident.

Tech Tips★

 Appliance is offline, manual action is required

Symptoms: The Maintenance console indicates that the appliance is offline and manual action is required to restore operation safely. Neither appliance in the appliance cluster is active. Constraints for data integrity prevent the automatic activation of the appliance.

Solution 1

Cause: Network issues or multiple disconnects in the link enclosure network might have caused the outage. A cable that connects the LINK ports of the enclosures is disconnected.

Actions:

1. Restore high availability by correcting the cause of the outage, if possible:
   1. Repair network connectivity.
      Ensure that all link enclosure network cables are properly connected.
   2. Reconnect the cable connecting the LINK ports.
2. Bring the enclosure back online.
   1. Use the Maintenance console View details command to identify the appliance for which the status cannot be confirmed.
   2. The appliance is identified in terms of its enclosure and appliance bay number.
   3. If the corresponding enclosure or frame link module is offline, powering it on could correct the problem.
3. Move the appliance to an operational enclosure if the enclosure or frame link module cannot be brought back online.
   1. Whenever possible, install clustered appliances in different enclosures to improve fault protection.

Solution 2

Cause: An appliance is nonfunctional and high availability cannot be restored.
CAUTION: This procedure requires you to override data integrity protection. Use extreme care when following this procedure.

Actions:

1. Determine the location of both appliances in the appliance cluster. The location is given in terms of the enclosure and appliance bay. The Maintenance console View details action, from either appliance, can provide this information for the other appliance.
   CAUTION: Misidentifying the appliance can result in unrecoverable data loss.
2. Determine whether each appliance:
   1. Is present in the enclosure.
   2. Is powered on.
   3. Shows a warning in the Maintenance console Notification banner regarding changes that have not been synchronized between appliances
3. Select the appliance to activate. Use the following criteria:
   1. If one appliance shows an unsynchronized changes warning, select it.
   2. Select the other appliance if an appliance:
   • Is lost and cannot be recovered.
   • Cannot be brought online.
   If the lost appliance contained unsynchronized changes, unrecoverable data loss could occur.
4. Ensure the unselected appliance:
   1. Is powered off,
   2. Is removed from the enclosure, or
   3. Was just restarted.
      IMPORTANT: This step is critical to ensure that both appliances do not become active at the same time. Otherwise, it will be impossible to resynchronize them, and unrecoverable data loss will result.
5. In the Maintenance console of the selected appliance, select Activate and confirm the action. See “Activate the HPE Synergy Composer manually when it is not highly available” for more information. Refer to the state to monitor progress.

Cannot upload fwpkg file into a firmware bundle

Symptom: When you try to upload a fwpkg file into the HPE OneView firmware bundle to create a custom SPP, the upload fails.

Solution

Cause: HPE OneView does not support the upload of fwpkg file as a hotfix

Actions:

To apply a .fwpkg hotfix, create a custom SPP using either of the following options:

1. Use SPP custom download portal to create a custom SPP. Go here to download the latest SPP.
2. Use Smart Update Manager (SUM) to create a custom ISO SPP.

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Click here to access the training site. To view the Training Curriculum path for HPE Synergy and HPE OneView click here.

HPE OneView Overview and Configuration for HPE Synergy

Course ID: H0LP6AAE

Enroll

Note: The self-paced H0LP6AAE HPE OneView Overview and Configuration for Synergy course, in association with the Synergy Technical Integration courses (H0LN2AAE, H0LN5AAE, H0LN6AAE), plus the Global Dashboard WBT, are designed to provide a foundation for the instructor-led Synergy Administration (H0LN3S) and Synergy Image Streamer (H0LN4S) courses.

HPE OneView Administration

Course ID: H4C04S

Enroll

Note: This virtual instructor led course is essential training for system, network, and storage administrators using HPE OneView and for system architects implementing HPE OneView. This course is 3 days in length.

HPE Synergy Administration

Course ID: H0LN3S

Enroll

Note: This virtual instructor led course provides instructions on HPE Synergy configuration, administration, management, troubleshooting and maintenance. This hands-on course will cover day-today administration skills for HPE Synergy Composer, HPE Image Streamer, storage module, compute module, frame management, fabric connectivity, multi-frame domains, and server profile management. Students will also learn about HPE Global Dashboard features. This course is 3 days in length.

HPE Synergy Image Streamer

Course ID: H0LN4S

Enroll

Note: This virtual instructor led course provides instruction on HPE Synergy Image Streamer configuration, administration, management, and maintenance to ensure an understanding of components, configurations, topology, and solutions. This course is 2 days in length.

Access HPE Synergy Documentation here.

Top Documents:

HPE Synergy Migration Guide★

HPE OneView for HPE Synergy Firmware and Driver Update Guide★

HPE Synergy Virtual Connect SE 40Gb F8 Module and HPE FlexFabric 59xx Series Switch

HPE Synergy Virtual Connect SE 40Gb F8 Module and Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches

HPE Synergy Virtual Connect SE 40Gb F8 Module and Arista 7050 Series Switches

HPE Virtual Connect traffic flow with HPE Synergy

Best Practices for Growing an HPE Synergy Logical Enclosure