HP WS460c Graphics Server Blade Windows 7 and 8.1 Quick Start Guide

Solution Quick Start Guide HP WS460c Graphics Server Blade Windows 7 and 8.1 Quick Start Guide Implementation overview on ProLiant WS460c Gen8 and Gen9 Graphics Server Blades Version 1, March 2015 Table of contents Purpose of this document... 2 Prerequisite reading... 2 Microsoft Windows 7 versus Windows 8.1 on the WS460c Graphics Server Blade... 2 Understanding WS460c Graphics Server Blade video modes... 2 WS460c G6 and Gen8 Graphics Server Blade graphics modes... 3 WS460c Gen9 Graphics Server Blade graphics modes... 4 Required configuration steps for Microsoft Windows 7 on WS460c Gen8... 5 Required configuration steps for Microsoft Windows 8.1... 6

Purpose of this document This document details the concepts and procedure for installing Microsoft Windows 7 and 8.1 on ProLiant WS460c Graphics Server Blades. Prerequisite reading It is recommended that you read HP Hardware Accelerated Graphics for Desktop Virtualization for a detailed conceptual overview of the overall solution before proceeding. This document can be found at the following address: http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/downloads/4aa4-1701enw.pdf Microsoft Windows 7 versus Windows 8.1 on the WS460c Graphics Server Blade Microsoft Windows 7 does not support running multiple graphics architectures at the same time. For example, you cannot have an NVIDIA card and an AMD card enabled on the same system at the same time. On Gen8 WS460c systems running Windows 7, if both the embedded graphics (Matrox) and an add-in card (such as an NVIDIA K6000) are enabled at the same time ( Setup Mode ), the system will disable the non-primary card, in this case, the add-in K6000. You are able to install and uninstall drivers for the add-in card in this mode but you cannot enable the card. Microsoft Windows 8 handles graphics cards differently than Windows 7. With Windows 8 and newer, the operating system allows more than one graphics-card architecture to be enabled at one time. For example, with Window s 8.1 running on a Gen9 WS460c in Both Add-in and Embedded Video Enabled mode, both embedded and add-in cards are enabled and seen by the operating system. When multiple cards are presented to the operating system, Windows will determine the graphics card with best feature set and make it primary. In the case of the WS460c Graphics Server Blade the best graphics card will always be the add-in card. This creates a challenge with WS460c Graphics Server Blade as the server runs headless (that is, no physical displays are attached to the add-in card) and the custom graphics driver used by the add in card enables displays even though no physical displays are present. The system is set up and drivers installed with Both Add-in and Embedded Video Enabled ( Setup Mode ) using the ilo remote console or SUV front dongle. After installing the driver for the add-in card and rebooting, the add-in card becomes primary. This causes the login screen to be displayed on the virtual display on the add-in card and NOT through the ilo remote console or front dongle connection. On the ilo console, all that is seen is a black screen or a static solid blue screen (not to be confused with a bug-check screen). Follow the steps below and use the Windows 8.1 enablement kit included with the driver to work around this issue. Understanding WS460c Graphics Server Blade video modes The WS460c Graphics Server Blade has an embedded graphics card as well as add-in high-end graphics card options. In Gen8 or Gen9 WS460c blades, the embedded graphics chip is a Matrox G200. In earlier Gen6 blades, it was an ATI RN-50. Depending on the configuration, it may be necessary to disable the embedded graphics so that the add-in graphics card can run as primary without any conflicts. The WS460c has specific BIOS modes that control which graphics cards are enabled and seen by the operating system. During system setup, all cards should be enabled ( Setup Mode ) and the system is accessed from the ilo remote console or front dongle SUV connection. Once setup is complete, the embedded controller is disabled and the system is booted to production mode where only the add-in card is enabled and primary ( User Mode ). In this state, the system can only be accessed via a remoting protocol such as HP RGS, PCoIP (Horizon View), or HDX 3D pro (Citrix XenDesktop). 2

WS460c G6 and Gen8 Graphics Server Blade graphics modes User mode In this mode, the add-in card is enabled and the embedded is disabled. The OS only sees the add-in card. This mode is used when the installed operating system does not support using two different graphics architectures, such as a Microsoft Server 2008 or Windows 7. For a Gen8 WS460c, this is the primary production mode when the following operating systems are installed: o Microsoft Windows 7 or 8.1 o Linux on bare metal o Windows Server 2008 running RemoteFX or XenApp. In this mode, the ilo remote console and front SUV console are available during the POST, but when control is passed to the OS, the console becomes inaccessible because the server uses the embedded video card to generate video to the ilo/suv console. In this mode the server console will show a message indicating it is in User Mode: In this mode, once the operating system is booted, the system can only be accessed via a remote protocol. Setup mode This mode enables all video cards but the add-in card is secondary and the embedded is primary. This mode is used in the following configurations: o Full-production mode when the installed operating system supports using two different graphics architectures at the same time. Currently the operating systems that use this mode for production include the VMware and XenServer hypervisors. o During system installation and configuration when the installed operating does not support using two different graphics architectures at the same time. For example, this mode is used during installation and configuration of Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Linux (bare metal). The system is switched to User Mode before going into production. Admin mode This mode is used for troubleshooting only and is not used in production. This mode disables the add-in card and only the integrated graphics card is active. 3

WS460c Gen9 Graphics Server Blade graphics modes Starting with the Gen9 WS460c, the graphics modes have changed. There are now only two video modes: Add-in Video Enabled, Embedded Video Disabled In this mode, only the add-in cards are enabled and the embedded GPU is disabled. This has the same functionality and purpose as User mode in Gen8 and G6 WS460c blades. For Gen9 WS460c blades, this is the primary production mode when the following operating systems are installed: Microsoft Windows 7 or 8.1 on bare metal. Linux on bare metal. Both Add-in and Embedded Video Enabled In this mode, all cards are enabled and seen by the operating system. This is the same functionality and purpose as Setup mode in Gen8 and G6 WS460c systems. For the Gen9 WS460c this is the primary production mode when the following operating systems are installed: Microsoft Server 2012 R2 VMware vsphere ESXi XenServer Minimum required versions HP ProLiant WS460c minimum firmware version Setting WS460c Gen8 and Gen9 systems BIOS and Firmware HP Onboard Administrator 4.3 HP Virtual Connect 4.3 Recommended Value Update all to level on HP SPP version 2015.03.0 http://www.hp.com/go/spp HP ProLiant WS460c minimum driver version Setting WS460c Gen8/9 Windows 7 with all support NVIDIA cards WS460c Gen8/9 Windows 8.1 2 with all support NVIDIA cards WS460c Gen8/9 LINUX RHEL 6.x with all support NVIDIA cards WS460c Gen8 Windows 7 1 with AMD S4000X Recommended Value 340.84 1 Download at http://www.hp.com/swpublishing/mtx- 7b9f04fce52c4e3aba0e3af425 340.84 1 Download at http://www.hp.com/swpublishing/mtx- 41a081abf10042e9b51d8aa1af 346.35 Download at http://www.hp.com/swpublishing/mtxfd29720d3118448f82bfa79a65 13.25.25 Download at http://www.hp.com/swpublishing/mtx- 212955eb72124a569dc81a09a9 1 - WS460c Graphics Server Blade windows driver are custom driver specific to WS460c. It is required you use the HP drivers for WS460c 2 Windows 8.1 requires Windows 8.1 enablement kit, this kit is included in driver package above. 4

Required configuration steps for Microsoft Windows 7 on WS460c Gen8 1. Update the system with the latest firmware and set up drivers as needed using latest HP SPP: http://www.hp.com/go/spp 2. Enable all graphics cards in the system ( Setup Mode ). a. Connect to the server console using either the ilo remote console or the local I/O connector. b. When prompted during boot, press the F9 key. The ROM-based Setup Utility appears c. Select System Options Remote Console Mode. The current remote-console mode appears. (See the figure below.) d. Press ENTER to change the remote-console mode. The Remote Console Mode menu appears. e. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to select Setup Mode. When done, press ENTER and then perform the steps indicated to exit the ROM-based setup utility f. The Graphics Server Blade will reboot, and then the new remote-console mode will be in effect 3. Use the Windows installation media to install Windows 7 or 8.1 4. After the base installation is complete, update the WS460c Graphics Server Blade with the latest drivers and software by booting to the HP SPP DVD. You can obtain the latest HP SPP from the following page: http://www.hp.com/go/spp 5. Turn on Windows Remote Desktop so you have a way to access the desktop if the physical console is not available. Be sure to note the IP address of the system. 6. Install your preferred remoting protocol or agent (RGS, PCoIP, or HDX 3Dpro). 7. Customize the image as needed 8. After the system is built and you are ready to switch to production mode, boot to the system BIOS and set the system to User mode. a. Connect to the server console using either the ilo remote console or the local I/O connector. b. When prompted during boot, press the F9 key. The ROM-based Setup Utility appears. c. Select System Options Remote Console Mode. The current remote-console mode appears. d. To change the remote-console mode, press ENTER. The remote-console mode menu appears. e. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to select User Mode. When done, press ENTER and then perform the steps indicated to exit the ROM-based Setup Utility. f. The Graphics Server Blade will reboot, and then the new remote-console mode will be in effect 9. When the system comes back up, you will see a screen similar to the following. All video has been diverted to the add-in card and the physical console is no longer active. Connect to the system via your preferred remote protocol. 5

Required configuration steps for Microsoft Windows 8.1 1. Update the system with the latest firmware and set up drivers as needed using latest HP SPP: http://www.hp.com/go/spp 2. Set the system to enable all graphics cards. a. Connect to the blade using either the ilo remote console or a local SUV connector. b. When prompted during boot, press the F9 key. c. Select System Configuration and press ENTER d. Select BIOS/Platform Configuration and press ENTER e. Select Advanced Options and press ENTER f. Select Video options and press ENTER By default, both add in and integrated cards will be enabled (similar to setup mode on older systems). To enable both cards, choose Both Add-in and Embedded Video Enabled, as shown below: 3. Use the Windows installation media to install Windows. 4. After base installation is complete, update the WS460c Graphics Server Blade with the latest HP SPP firmware by booting to the SPP DVD. You can obtain the latest SPP from the following page: http://www.hp.com/go/spp 5. Turn on Windows Remote Desktop so you have a way to access the desktop if the physical console is not available. Be sure to note the IP address of the system, as well. 6. Set up your preferred remoting protocol or agent (e.g., RGS, PCoIP, or HDX 3Dpro). 7. Install the GSB Windows 8.1 enablement kit scripts and tools. Note: The enablement kit is provided as a convenience. It uses PowerShell scripts to manage the graphics cards on the system. Customizations may be needed for customer-specific requirements. The focus of this step is to use the scripts to disable the add-in card while in setup mode so that you do not get a black screen as explained earlier. Other scripts are included so you can utilize them as needed. a. Run the GSB Windows 8.1 enablement kit executable to extract the files. b. Ensure that the files are extracted to C:\GSB_GPUswitch\ These files are contained in the folder C:\GSB_GPUswitch\DeviceManagement\: DeviceManagement.psd1 DeviceManagementCmdlet.dll DeviceManagementCmdlet.pdb DeviceManagementEngine.dll DeviceManagementEngine.pdb These files are in the folder C:\GSB_GPUswitch\: Auto_Enable-ProductionScript.cmd Auto_Enable-ProductionScript.cmd - Shortcut Auto_Enable-ProductionScript.ps1 6

Enable-AddIn_Only-Graphics.cmd Enable-AddIn_Only-Graphics.cmd - Shortcut Enable-AddIn_Only-Graphics.ps1 Enable-All-Graphics.cmd Enable-All-Graphics.cmd - Shortcut Enable-All-Graphics.ps1 Enable-Matrox_Only-Graphics.cmd Enable-Matrox_Only-Graphics.cmd - Shortcut Enable-Matrox_Only-Graphics.ps1 README.txt c. Create a new scheduled task to run at startup. This task will disable the add-in cards if the system is in setup mode. i. Open the computer-management console. ii. Right-click on the Task Scheduler and select Create Task. iii. The General Tab opens. 1. Give the task a name. In this example, we named it GPU_SWITCH. 2. Select Run whether user is logged on or not. 3. Select Run with highest privileges. iv. Click on the Triggers tab. 1. Select New. a. Select At startup from the drop-down menu. b. Select Enabled and click OK. 7

v. Click on the Actions tab. 1. Click New. 2. Select Start a Program. Choose the C:\GSB_GPUswitch\Auto_Enable-ProductionScript.cmd Shortcut file. 3. Click OK. vi. Click on the Conditions tab 1. Un-check all of the boxes. vii. Click on the Settings tab. 1. Select Allow task to be run on demand. 2. Select Stop the task if it runs longer than 3 days. 8

3. Select If the running task does not end when requested, force it to stop. 4. Click OK. 8. Install the appropriate Graphics Server Blade drivers from the support website: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/drivers.html 9. Reboot the system. 10. If the system comes back to a logon screen on the physical or remote ilo console, then the scheduled task ran successfully. Note. You may need to wait a minute or so for the task to run before you see logon screen. 11. If you do not see a logon screen and instead see a black or blank blue screen (not a BSOD), reboot as in some cases it will not take effect until second reboot. If issues continues, then you need to log on via remote desktop and fix the scheduled task or PowerShell scripts. You can run the scripts manually as Administrator to test. 12. Using same procedure as step 2 set the system to Add-In Video Enabled, Embedded Video Disabled. 9

13. Reboot the system. When the system comes back up you will see a screen similar to the following. All video has been diverted to add-in and the physical console is no longer active. Connect via your preferred protocol. Copyright 2012 2015 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. March 2015, Rev. 1 10