How to update PERSONAL ProLiant MicroServer Gen. 8 to latest SPP, BIOS, firmware and iLO Advanced

Dear all,

I'm new to HP enterprise hardware although I have experience in the space, mostly with Supermicro hardware.  I cannot find a straightforward answer in the HPE website.

My situation is very simple.  I have 2x HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen. 8 machines, which I bought second hand from non-commercial vendors on Ebay (that is people much like myself).  The intended use cases are for personal, experimental, and educational applications at home (learning about networking, creating a personal NAS, etc).

But I am unable to figure out how to get the latest SPP, BIOS, firmware and iLO Advanced status installation files, installation keys, and what I need to get these installed.

I have found the download page for the SPP, I think.  Is http://h17007.www1.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/products/service_pack/spp/index.aspx?version=Gen8.1 correct?  But now I am faced with a lot of very expensive sounding hurdles that I must get over before I am eligible to download and install this SPP.

The page tells me that "validation via the HPE Support Centre" and "active warranty or support agreement" are required.  Do I need to purchase these?  How and where?

I understand that SPP takes care of updating the BIOS, firmware, installing security patches in the machine itself, etc.  Unlocking the iLO Advanced features is a separate thing - is that correct?  Where can I access the option to do that from?

Finally, is this really what it takes to get an (up-to-date-as-possible) post-production HPE machine upgraded to its latest essential hot fixes and install the latest supported firmware and iLO Advanced features?  Am I going to have to pay a lot of money for this?

I heard so many great things about this machine that all of this was a complete surprise to me.  I didn't realize until I got the machine home.

Thank you for setting me on the right path!!