Common issues¶

The iLO interfaces aren’t the most helpful when they detect something erroneous. These are some common issues and their solutions. If you have a problem that is not listed here, or solved with these instructions, please file an issue at https://github.com/seveas/python-hpilo. When reporting bugs, please do send the problematic XML responses. These XML responses can be saved as follows:

hpilo_cli example-server.int.kaarsemaker.net --save-response=for_bugreport.txt get_fw_version

Of course you should replace the hostname with the actual iLO hostname or ip, and get_fw_version with the actual call you want to make. If you use the python API instead of the CLI tool, set the save_response attribute on the ilo object:

ilo = hpilo.Ilo(hostname, login, password)
ilo.save_response = "for_bugreport.txt"
ilo.get_fw_version()

These debug responses may contain sensitive information, which you should edit out. Please use a hexeditor to do so, or at least make sure your editor does not try to normalize newlines. It is important that the number of characters in the file stays the same, so don’t add or remove data, just overwrite sensitive values with XXXX.

As github issues do not support attachments, feel fee to mail this debug information to the author directly.

Update your firmware¶

This might sound like a lame cop-out, but quite a few versions of especially iLO 3 firmware contain serious bugs that cause the XML interface to misbehave. Upgrading the firmware of an iLO is simple and does not impact the host at all, so it’s always a good idea to start with a firmware update:

hpilo_cli example-server.int.kaarsemaker.net update_rib_firmware version=latest

If this fails to extract the firmware, try upgrading python-hpilo as newer firmware versions are shipped in a different, incompatible format.

Syntax error: Line #0¶

Occasionally you might see this error at the end of a traceback:

hpilo.IloError: Error communicating with iLO: Syntax error: Line #0: syntax error near "" in the line: ""

This generally means that you are trying to call a method that is not supported for your device or the firmware version you use. Get this information with:

hpilo_cli example-server.int.kaarsemaker.net get_fw_version

And consult the HP sample XML files to find out whether this call is supported for your device and firmware version. If it is, please file a bug report.

Note that for some calls (most notable mod_global_settings), support for the call may be there, but not all arguments are supported.

SSL: SSLV3_ALERT_HANDSHAKE_FAILURE] sslv3 alert handshake failure (_ssl.c:661)¶

Your operating system vendor wisely doesn’t support older SSL protocols anymore, and your iLO firmware is too old. Try using an older version of your os, possibly in a vm, chroot or container to upgrade the firmware of your iLO

ElementTree.ParseError¶

Occasionally you might see either of these errors at the end of a traceback:

cElementTree.ParseError: not well-formed (invalid token): line 301, column 23
xml.etree.ElementTree.ParseError: not well-formed (invalid token): line 301, column 23

This means that the iLO interface is spewing invalid XML back at you. python-hpilo has some workarounds in place for common cases, and most other cases have been fixed in newer firmware versions. Please update your firmware version and try again. If the problem persists, please file a bug report.

Failure to update iLO3 firmware¶

The early firmware versions of iLO3 had quite a few issues. To update from anything older than 1.28 to 1.50 or newer, you need to update in two steps: first update to 1.28 and then update to a later version:

hpilo_cli example-server.int.kaarsemaker.net update_rib_firmware version=1.28
hpilo_cli example-server.int.kaarsemaker.net update_rib_firmware version=latest

Failure to update iLO5 firmware¶

The early firmware versions of iLO3 had quite a few issues. To update from anything older than 1.40 to 1.50 or newer, you need to update in two steps: first update to 1.40 and then update to a later version:

hpilo_cli example-server.int.kaarsemaker.net update_rib_firmware version=1.40
hpilo_cli example-server.int.kaarsemaker.net update_rib_firmware version=latest

hpilo.IloError: Error reading configuration¶

This error might occur in delayed mode when one of the calls causes a reset of the iLO, such as changing network settings or resetting to factory defaults. All delayed calls called by the same call_delayed after this reset may then cause this error as the iLO is resetting. For example, when calling hpilo_cli localhost factory_defaults + activate_license key=12345, the activate_license call may fail with this error. If you hit this issue and you use calls that can cause a reset, make sure you either use them outside a delayed call or at the end of the delayed call.