ODA X7-2 HA ILOM configuration using serial cable

We were setting up an Oracle Database Appliance (ODA) X7-2 HA at a customers site with 12.2.1.4.0 virtualized platform the last days.

One of the things that are a little bit strange is how to set up the ILOMs at the ODA nodes, if you don't have DHCP.

There were a couple of different possibilities until and including ODA X6-2 HA to set up the ILOM IP addresses and the ILOM hostnames.

• Use DHCP on the ILOM copper interface. Typically, the ILOM network is a total separated network used only for managing servers. So, there isn't any DHCP in this part of the network.
• VGA connector and usb keyboard using ILOM configuration at BIOS bootup. The Oracle Support note describing this approach is How to Setup the ILOM network for Pre-Deployment During BIOS Bootup (Doc ID 1393191.1), but unfortunately there isn't a VGA connector at the ODA X7-2 HA anymore (I think you could connect using an USB hub, but who has this kind of stuff in a Data Center??). I personally liked this approach with the older ODAs as you have a display and a usb keyboard somewhere at a data center..
• Third is using a serial cable (USB to RJ45 - also often called Cisco Console Cable) - this is typically cheap and available at data centers and therefore now my preferred way of setting up the ILOM. This is the approach I do like second most.
• Another way is using IPMItool - I have never tried this, because I never found the software - which I can install on my Windows laptop - within a minute or two searching.
  I only found some links inside of the documentation. If you may want to try it, you can download it (would be nice if you put the download link into a comment under this post - also if you already use it) and follow metalink note ILOM network configuration via ODA console (Doc ID 1936081.1). Would be nice to add your experience into your comment to this post in addition, so this is maybe helpful for others.

As my absolutely preferred method is not available anymore, I started using my console cable to setup the ILOM at the ODAs - because this also worked very well everytime we needed it.

I was really surprised as I wasn't able to connect to the ILOM.
Ok, I already knew that inside note ILOM configuration via Serial port (Doc ID 1395445.1)  COM1/COM9 was used and I needed to look at my device manager to find out, which COM port is assigned with my console cable to use with putty (for me it was COM7). But using 9600 baud, Data bits 1, Stop bits 1, Parity None and Flow Control XON/XOFF there were no chance to see anything except a green block.
Pressing Enter doesn't change the screen to a logon screen. Repowering the system at least showed us some junk characters. I was looking at some different ILOM documentations of Sun servers and still everything seems to be correct with my settings.

The solution was to set up the connection with 115200 Baud as connection speed. I first asked some guys which are also setting up ODAs from time to time and most of them didn't knew that. But then one gave me the right hint. So it was working now, I was able to connect to the ILOM as root and made my changes using all of these nice set /SP/network statements (even if some notes/documentation may told you, you can do them together, you can't, do separate lines for each setting). Afterwards I did my re-image to use the virtualized platform.
 
Later on, I was reading Note 1395445.1 again and guess what - I have found the hint that one should use 115200 if it is not working. But the hint is somewhere at least I wasn't looking in detail on it.
As I already new that COM1 will not work, I skipped to step 4 at the note. This is, where you have found YOUR COM port you need to use and try to connect to the ILOM. The screenshot there does not tell you anything about using 115200 - it is showing 9600 - and also the text does not give you any hint. No, testing with 115200 Baud was written on step 2 - the step where told to set up 9600 baud and you need to follow step 3 to find out the right COM port. Also afterwards, I have found a note for Sun Server X5-2 which tells that 115200 is the right ILOM speed (Doc ID 2095378.1).

Lessons learned? I will start reading support notes from the beginning again, even if (I think) I know what's in step 1-3. Especially, if I have done things often before. It's a little bit like they change the right of way or a speed limit at a route you use daily to drive to work...