Linux_hpc_swstack - Sep 2008 - Sun Blade X6250 Server Module 2.0 and iLOM vs eLOM

Hello,

Per http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp Sun has just
released "Sun Blade X6250 Server Module 2.0", which, among other
things,
includes the following firmware changes:

      * Support for iLOM
      * Tools and utilities to upgrade or downgrade iLOM to eLOM and
        vice versa

Can someone explain this iLOM vs eLOM thing to me?  I know that some AMD
blades I have are running iLOM and the X6250s that I have are currently
running eLOM.  Further, I notice that the SMASH and web interfaces of
eLOM and iLOM are different, though they mostly do the same thing.  Are
eLOM and iLOM two different code bases and one (eLOM) is being ditched
for another (iLOM) on X6250s?  Will all the scripts I wrote for eLOM
break with an upgrade to iLOM?  Are there compelling reasons to prefer
iLOM over eLOM?

Thank you,

-Matthew

Matthew

On Sep 15, 2008, at 2:41 PM, Matthew Bohnsack wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Per http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp Sun has just
> released "Sun Blade X6250 Server Module 2.0", which, among other
> things,
> includes the following firmware changes:
>
>      * Support for iLOM
>      * Tools and utilities to upgrade or downgrade iLOM to eLOM and
>        vice versa
>
> Can someone explain this iLOM vs eLOM thing to me?
High level: http://www.sun.com/systemmanagement/ilom.jsp
Manual:
	html:	http://docs.sun.com/source/820-1188-11/
	pdf:	http://dlc.sun.com/pdf/820-1188-11/820-1188-11.pdf
> I know that some AMD
> blades I have are running iLOM and the X6250s that I have are  
> currently
> running eLOM.  Further, I notice that the SMASH and web interfaces of
> eLOM and iLOM are different, though they mostly do the same thing.   
> Are
> eLOM and iLOM two different code bases and one (eLOM) is being ditched
> for another (iLOM) on X6250s?
Sun is standardizing on ILOM across its Volume Products i.e. all x64  
and CMT based systems. This is to give a consistent SP accross those  
platforms. They are different code bases.
> Will all the scripts I wrote for eLOM
> break with an upgrade to iLOM?
Can''t comment without seeing the content. Perhaps if you have existing
X6250s you can upgrade 1 (the process is reversible back to ELOM -  
documented in the migration guide) and test the scripts. Then you can  
move to ILOM in your own time. We will continue to support ELOM on the  
x6250 but future innovations etc will be centered around ILOM. I  
advise moving to ILOM when you can.

>  Are there compelling reasons to prefer
> iLOM over eLOM?
In my experience users who run both find ILOM superior. I have spoken  
with a number of customers who have urged us to speed the transition  
to ILOM. Hopefully the web page will help and there is an overview  
here: http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/features/articles/ilom_overview.jsp

HTH

Tony
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> -Matthew
>
> _______________________________________________
> Linux_hpc_swstack mailing list
> Linux_hpc_swstack at lists.lustre.org
> http://lists.lustre.org/mailman/listinfo/linux_hpc_swstack
--
Tony Kay

Product Definition
System Management and Virtualization
Systems Group
Sun Microsystems
+1 303 517 1844

Tony,

Thanks for your excellent explanation.  After some initial testing on a
single blade, I''ll most likely go ahead and do this upgrade and deal
with the SMASH syntax differences that will have to be fixed up in my
scripts.  From what I''ve read so far, the changes should be minor.

-Matthew

On Mon, 2008-09-15 at 14:55 -0600, Tony Kay wrote:
> Matthew
> 
> On Sep 15, 2008, at 2:41 PM, Matthew Bohnsack wrote:
> 
> > Hello,
> >
> > Per http://www.sun.com/servers/blades/downloads.jsp Sun has just
> > released "Sun Blade X6250 Server Module 2.0", which, among
other
> > things,
> > includes the following firmware changes:
> >
> >      * Support for iLOM
> >      * Tools and utilities to upgrade or downgrade iLOM to eLOM and
> >        vice versa
> >
> > Can someone explain this iLOM vs eLOM thing to me?
> 
> High level: http://www.sun.com/systemmanagement/ilom.jsp
> Manual:
> 	html:	http://docs.sun.com/source/820-1188-11/
> 	pdf:	http://dlc.sun.com/pdf/820-1188-11/820-1188-11.pdf
> 
> > I know that some AMD
> > blades I have are running iLOM and the X6250s that I have are  
> > currently
> > running eLOM.  Further, I notice that the SMASH and web interfaces of
> > eLOM and iLOM are different, though they mostly do the same thing.   
> > Are
> > eLOM and iLOM two different code bases and one (eLOM) is being ditched
> > for another (iLOM) on X6250s?
> 
> Sun is standardizing on ILOM across its Volume Products i.e. all x64  
> and CMT based systems. This is to give a consistent SP accross those  
> platforms. They are different code bases.
> 
> > Will all the scripts I wrote for eLOM
> > break with an upgrade to iLOM?
> 
> Can''t comment without seeing the content. Perhaps if you have
existing
> X6250s you can upgrade 1 (the process is reversible back to ELOM -  
> documented in the migration guide) and test the scripts. Then you can  
> move to ILOM in your own time. We will continue to support ELOM on the  
> x6250 but future innovations etc will be centered around ILOM. I  
> advise moving to ILOM when you can.
> 
> 
> >  Are there compelling reasons to prefer
> > iLOM over eLOM?
> 
> In my experience users who run both find ILOM superior. I have spoken  
> with a number of customers who have urged us to speed the transition  
> to ILOM. Hopefully the web page will help and there is an overview  
> here: http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/features/articles/ilom_overview.jsp
> 
> HTH
> 
> Tony
> 
> >
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > -Matthew
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Linux_hpc_swstack mailing list
> > Linux_hpc_swstack at lists.lustre.org
> > http://lists.lustre.org/mailman/listinfo/linux_hpc_swstack
> 
> --
> Tony Kay
> 
> Product Definition
> System Management and Virtualization
> Systems Group
> Sun Microsystems
> +1 303 517 1844
>