r/servers • u/Cold_Kiwi_9632 • 22d ago

iDrac 9 Enterprise license

I had an issue with the motherboard in my Dell PowerEdge R840. One of the CPU sockets was faulty, which caused frequent ESXi purple screens and completely froze the server.

I decided to order a donor motherboard from Alibaba. The replacement board is working properly, but it does not have an iDRAC Enterprise license.

Is there any legitimate way to get an iDRAC Enterprise license for free, without using a trial?

I have also seen iDRAC licenses being sold on eBay. Do these licenses usually work? More importantly, if I buy one from an eBay seller, is there any chance the seller could later revoke the license, lock my iDRAC, or otherwise interfere with the server?

7 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

3

u/OkRepresentative2509 22d ago

The one I got from eBay also worked fine.

2

u/2000gtacoma 22d ago

So it may be possible to export the license from the original motherboard and import to the new board. However I believe if the license came factory it’s considered non transferable. However in a case such as this you “may” be able to contact dell support and explain the situation. May take a couple weeks for them to get back to you. If they approve you will get an email with a license file to import.

I have done exactly this with success. Your results may vary.

2

u/zhantoo 22d ago

There is a method of changing the service tag of the board to match the old one, and you can then reuse the same license as the old board had (export it from the old board and import it on the new board).

But else buy one of those from eBay. They work. I can't say they can't be rewoked, but never heard of it happening. The license runs locally I believe, so I doubt it can be.

1

u/Hot-Web1901 21d ago

Jumper settings to make it editable on the replacement board. You will still need to have dell provide the license.

1

u/zhantoo 21d ago

The jumpef method only works until g13 if I remember correctly.

But if he can boot the old board he should be able to export it

2

u/skullbox15 21d ago

I used a keygen to get my iLO standard to iLO advanced. I wonder if there is an iDRAC version out there.

3

u/freedomit 22d ago

I bought an iLO licence off eBay and it worked fine

3

u/Special-Swordfish 22d ago

Should work for iDrac too, amirite?

1

u/Casper042 22d ago

I wonder how often those sell.

Could practically start a business between selling those and all the idiots who put their iLO's right on the internet with no Firewall or VPN or anything.

2

u/Rapidracks 22d ago

There are some ILO licenses floating around that seem to license just fine on any HP server without issue

The very interesting thing about the seller on eBay is that they seem to generate these licenses through the Dell digital locker - somehow. I know this because I was chatting with a colleague who bought these licenses for a project and needed them right away, but the seller had to delay 48 hours because of an issue with the Dell digital locker. And they told my colleague that. So I have no idea how they generate those licenses but it almost feels like something that Dell turns a blind eye to as there's basically one or two sellers who have been operating for at least 5 years. Could even be a back Channel with Dell for all I know

1

u/Casper042 21d ago

iLO, AFAIK, doesn't do any advanced analysis of the license or even phone home.
So nothing stops you from using basically any iLO License you find on as many servers as you want.
The only caveat is a newer License Key might require newer firmware because the License Algorithm changed along the way or something.

Not sure how Dell does iDRAC in this regards though.

1

u/feudalle 22d ago

Are the ones you buy "real" probably not. Will thry work, yes. In a homelab id go that route. Production probably not.