Fan management script for HP Microserver Gen 8

This script provides an automated fan speed control based on operating temperature of HDD and CPU of the only one fan in HP Microserver Gen8.

You must run a modified ILO 4 with accessible fan command in order to use this (see Acknowledgements section)

Prerequisites

Create a separate user in iLO

Login to iLO > Administration (tab) > User Administration. Create a new user.
Remove the following (all) 5 permissions. They are not needed:

• Administer User Accounts
• Remote Console Access
• Virtual Power and Reset
• Virtual Media
• Configure iLO Settings

Authentication

Key

You must need an RSA key. Be aware that this command will overwrite your current key, if exists

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048

In iLO web interface go to Administration->Security choose a user, click Authorize new Key and paste your public key

You can usually obtain it like this

cat .ssh/id_rsa.pub

Password

If you are going to use password-based auth, then you must have sshpass installed.
For deb based distributions run

apt install sshpass

Setup

Download repository

git clone https://github.com/fed1337/ilo4_fan_management.git

Make sure that the script is executable and config is readable. Make changes if necessary

ls -lh ilo4_fan_management
chmod 777 ilo4_fan_management/fanmgmt.sh
chmod 444 ilo4_fan_management/fanmgmt.conf

Consult comments in the config file for a setup

nano ilo4_fan_management/fanmgmt.conf

Running the script

Cron task (v0.1)

crontab -e

Add a line (change the script path) and save (ctrl+w for nano)

* * * * * * /home/fed/ilo4_fan_management/fanmgmt.sh

This task is scheduled to run every minute

Systemd service (v0.2+)

Adjust path in fanmgmt.service then copy it to systemd.

hp-ams and hp-health are not really needed. However, they are nice to have. If you choose not to install those packages, you need to modify Unit section as well.

sudo cp ilo4_fan_management/fanmgmt.service /etc/systemd/system
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start fanmgmt
sudo systemctl status fanmgmt

Troubleshooting

Seems like fan speed ignoring temperature sensors

Please inspect the script code, specifically how temperatures are grep'ed. Your sensors may be called differently. Those are HDD* and CPU* variables

Another idea is that you may want a more/less aggressive fan curve. Study how HDD_PERC and CPU_PERC variables are set.

iLO shell does not provide output

i.e. fan info does not provide any output

"Solution"
Only first login can see any responses. Reset iLO (iLO > Info > Diagnostics) each time in order to see the responses.
This is a firmware bug

Acknowledgements

It couldn't be possible to sleep at nights with this server in the same room without these talented people

• Original post with modified firmware
• An updated firmware & documented research
• Forum topic with an example script