megaraid_sas disks inaccessible after loading vtd module.

[TyZ]

Hi,

I'm building a new ESXi4 server with VT-x and VT-d capabilties and an LSI megaraid 8344ELP raid controller. The disks work fine with VT-d disabled in the BIOS but after turning on VT-d, ESXi is unable to access the disks.

After loading the vtd module the following errors appear in the messages log:

WARNING: VTD: 1756: IOMMU Unit # 3: R/W = 0, Device 033:08.0 Faulting PA = 0x214ae9000 Fault Reason = 2

LVM: 3543: Could not open device naa.600605b0003de930121870e096eb4972:1, vol : No such partition on target

Disk access can be restored by unloading the vtd module and is lost again when the module is loaded.

One of the reasons I want to upgrade to ESXi4 is because I want to use DirectPath so turning VT-d off is not really an option.

Is there any way I can make VT-d work together with my raid controller?

Thanks,

Thijs.

[RParker]

I'm building a new ESXi4 server with VT-x and VT-d capabilties and an LSI megaraid 8344ELP raid controller.

Firmware updated? And what Direct PATH IO will do for you that have dual paths properly configured on your HBA's won't?

[TyZ]

Yes. Both the server and the raid controller have the latest firmware.

I don't intend to use Direct Path IO with the LSI controller, I want to be able to directly attach PCI devices from the host to the VM's. But as soon as the vtd module loads, the disks attached to the LSI controller become inaccessible.

I found this post, describing a very similar problem and from what I understand; a Dell Perc/5i controller is based on a similar chip as the megaraid 8344ELP controller.

Regards,

Thijs.

[TyZ]

Bump

[Dave_Mishchenko]

Have you tried an install with VT-d enabled?




Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

New book in town - vSphere Quick Start Guide -http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/08/12/new-book-in-town-vsphere-quick-start-guide/.

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL - http://www.vm-help.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=21.

[TyZ]

Yes. VT-d is enabled in the bios of the server and it was enabled during the installation. To clarify: ESXi runs from an USB stick so the server doesn't need to reboot every time the disks become inaccessible.

[Dave_Mishchenko]

What sort of chipset is the motherboard based on?




Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

New book in town - vSphere Quick Start Guide -http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/08/12/new-book-in-town-vsphere-quick-start-guide/.

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL - http://www.vm-help.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=21.

[TyZ]

The motherboard is based on an Intel Q45 chipset and the CPU is an Intel E8400@3GHz. (I should mention that the host is an HP DC7900 which isn't on the HCL)

To make sure VT-d works correctly I moved one of the VM's to an internal SATA disk and used the passthrough configuration to attach an USB host controller of the host directly to the VM which worked as expected.

Regards,

Thijs.

[TyZ]

Bump

[AndyChip]

I'm getting a similar problem. ESXi 4.1 works OK but If I enable VT in BIOS my previously available datastores vanish.

Did you ever get an answer to this?

PS: This may be relevant: I boot from USB and had to disable VT whilst installing ESXi 4.1 otherwise it would hang near completion.

[Reefcrazed]

Bumping this.

I have the exact same type of setup. As soon as I turn on VT-D in the bios my VM guest show inaccessible using a Perc 5/i.

[AndyChip]

Hey ReefCrazed,

I eventually got it sorted but the bad news is that I'm not entirely sure how. I was able to leave VT-D switched on in BIOS and get ESXi installed. However, I discovered that the order of the drives in the array was critical before I was able to start installing.

Take a look at my write-up on the Dell Community forums:

It may or may not help.

Andy.

[oschuetze]

Hi,

i want to buy this RAID controller and use it with the newest ESXi hypervisor - but only if VMDirectPath is working correctly with this card. I have found a LSI knowledgebase article that gives a hint to solve the problem: http://kb.lsi.com/KnowledgebaseArticle16400.aspx

I couldn't test this solution because I don't use this card. Can anyone check this?

Regards,

Oliver