TL;DR

curl -sk "https://<ilo-ip>/xmldata?item=CpqKey" — license key is in the XML, no UI login.

iLO Advanced is licensed by key. If you inherited a ProLiant and the UI will not open (cert, Java, firmware), the BMC still publishes an inventory XML.

The endpoint

1

curl -sk "https://<ilo-ip>/xmldata?item=CpqKey"

In a browser: https://<ilo-ip>/xmldata?item=CpqKey.

The body is XML with the product and the key (or an unlicensed state). This is not Redfish; it is iLO’s xmldata interface, the one old HP SIM scripts used.

Notes

  • -k because the iLO certificate is almost never from a public CA.
  • Some iLOs still serve this over HTTP (http://<ilo-ip>/xmldata?item=CpqKey) if HTTPS will not negotiate.
  • Treat the key as a secret. Do not commit it or paste it.
  • Reading it does not activate anything: it only reads what is already stored on the BMC. Applying a different key is still license in CLP or the UI.

See also: iLO CLI commands.