A Path to Modernizing Compute Management with HPE Greenlake

By: Jim Westover, Enterprise Solutions Architect | Nth Generation

One of the few constant and inevitable things in the world and in our lives is change. Adapting to change in meaningful ways can bring better outcomes and a brighter future.

In recent years, we are all witnessing data, workloads, and systems migrating to the edge while staying connected to the cloud and centralized core environments. Managing the breadth of distributed computing, edge to cloud is a growing priority for every enterprise.

At Nth Generation, we have seen HPE GreenLake growing in popularity because it introduces a cloud-like purchasing experience for both traditional and modern solutions, but is able to blend hybrid IT with state-of-the-art secure SaaS distributed cloud to edge architecture.

Having worked for Nth for over 10 years, HP/Compaq for 22 years, and as an IT consultant since the early 1980s, it is apparent the pace of change does not slow.

Most modern businesses should leverage the latest technologies and transform their operations to improve utilization, productivity, and agility.

• 63% of businesses said that keeping up with the pace of changing tech is a critical challenge for their business.

• 75% of businesses believe that a cloud strategy is essential to remaining competitive in their industry.

Frost & Sullivan, Becoming a Competitive, Data-Centric Business, March 2022 (Source link)

A Path to Modernizing Compute Management with HPE GreenLake

HPE Compute Ops Management is a modern, unique cloud-native, as-a-service management platform, available through a unified single browser, secure HPE GreenLake Common Console sign-in credential. It can run separately from, but also integrates well, when running with the HPE GreenLake Cloud Platform (GLCP).

Though you do not have to be an HPE GreenLake customer to use it, it is designed to leverage its architecture, security, and unified operations, such that it was renamed HPE GreenLake for Compute Ops Management (COM).

HPE GreenLake for Compute Ops Management allows a business to accelerate time to market with policy-based automation that saves you time by simplifying server life cycle operations. It does this through use of service groups, tags, and its ability to conduct large scale firmware updates with automated self-service and workload optimization guidance; that can be quickly implemented with a few mouse clicks for hybrid, remote, and edge-based servers. This makes the management experience more unified and cloud-like for small, medium, and large distributed compute environments. All the while, Compute Ops Management is working in the background to monitor and analyze your environment for server health status and firmware compliance guided by policies; while it also uncovers powerful insights that are presented through easy-to-understand dashboards.

Compute Ops Management is built with established features from past Insight Control, OneView, InfoSight for Server, and iLO Amplifier Pack, but with new design goals and more extensible, high-security cloud-native integration to be able to unify management within common SaaS console frameworks.

Somewhat parallel to storage management – via Data Ops Manager, which runs within the HPE Storage Alletra UI using Data Services Cloud Console (DSSC) – COM can be launched through common SaaS Consoles separate from HPE GreenLake, as part of HPE GreenLake complete solution management of Compute and Storage, or under HPE GreenLake Central.

COM is reliant on Gen10 iLO5 or later, which was recognized early, receiving the Marsh Cyber Security Catalyst designation in its first wave of endorsements to help in the potential reduction of cyber security insurance. Since then, HPE has invested heavily in trusted supply chain, zero-trust networking, and cloud-native security initiatives. Now shipping, ProLiant Gen11 iLO6 ASIC adds open standard DMTF Security Protocols and Data Model (SPDM) support for certificate-based authentication and measurements to prevent malicious option cards from functioning in a Gen11 server.

In short, Compute Ops Management is designed to onboard, update, manage, and monitor HPE servers in any location from a single-pane-of-glass console available securely, anywhere, anytime. 

HPE GreenLake for Compute Ops Management is offered as a subscription in two versions: Standard and Enhanced. HPE COM is currently available for selected ProLiant ML/DL/Microserver Gen10 or later rackmount, as well as recently announced HPE Alletra 4000 data storage servers.

Features include but are not limited to (subject to change):

Standard Features

• Device tagging, grouping and search

• Firmware update awareness with intelligent delta-only based updates

• Single server firmware update (with component level firmware report), power on/off

• Seamless upgrade from Standard subscription to Enhanced subscription versions

• Remote site management with low bandwidth/high latency network connectivity

• Role-based access and views for managed customer environments

• Activity log, troubleshooting recommendation

• GUI and Rest APIs for core features

Enhanced Features

• Set group firmware baseline and compliance monitoring and notification

• Notification of hardware alerts: In app & email

• Group based firmware management that can be scheduled or on-demand

• Serial and parallel firmware updates with 'Stop on failure' option

• Automatic and on-demand iLO firmware updates

• Firmware update with SUT integration

• Automatic update of firmware baseline

• Set group firmware baseline and compliance monitoring and in-app alert

• Automatic and on-demand firmware compliance checking

• Notification of hardware alerts via in-app and email notifications

• REST APIs for group-based device actions

Billing can be upfront or by quarterly, monthly, or annual subscription – for servers already deployed or purchased with a qualifying server option through Nth Generation. The subscription terms are for one, three, or five years.

As Nth Solution Architects, it is our job to raise awareness about new technology and innovation, such as new management options and emerging modern platforms. I hope you now have a bit more perspective on HPE GreenLake for Compute Ops management. Where Do I Start? Engage your Nth Account Management team and Nth Solution Architect(s) to find out more about HPE GreenLake and COM and what it can mean for your business modernization. We take pride in helping drive better solution outcomes for our clients.

An Nth Hybrid Cloud Assessment (nth.com/hca) is a quick way to monitor your VMware infrastructure for a short assessment period using a utilizing an innovative, trusted data analytics engine: HPE CloudPhysics. It allows you to quickly identify and collect data about your datacenter workloads to produce optimized compute and storage configurations that can better meet your performance, capacity, and trending demands. This is one of the best ways to accurately size for workload re-platform, such as an HPE GreenLake proposal. You can go beyond the shared summary report and valuable SaaS analytics for the nine reporting options and further collaborate with your Nth Solutions Architect on more detailed VM rightsizing, remediation recommendations, or to explore other cost-savings in your current infrastructure. We can help you fine tune cost assumptions and parameters to more accurately project workload on-premises cost or a subset of tagged vms to project their up-to-date costs in any of several of the public cloud simulation options, including VMware on AWS, etc.

The Nth Labs (virtual) Experience (nth.com/labs) is one of our most valued assets. Your account team can work with you to set up an appropriate demonstration, evaluation, or validation; or better enable educated decisions in managing your current or future state. After your Hybrid Cloud Assessment, you and your account team may have a clearer picture of what you would like to see during an arranged Nth Labs visit, or solution discussion and remote demonstration.