2 drives... only one seen..

[southpaw]

I have a RC0 of 3.5 (but this happened on 3.0.1 and 3.0.2 server running and the configuration is as follows

18gb ultra320 boot/esx drive on channelA id:0

- 9gb for esx

- 9gb left for iso/logs

74gb ultra320 scsi on channelA id:1

74gb ultra320 scsi on channelB id:0

I boot up and in the VI Client I can 'see' both 74gb drives but cannot use but only one... it is like they are linked in some way and i never setup anything mirroring/raid/etc...

I have tried rebooting and using hte Adaptec format media on both and still get the same results... i KNOW they work independently becuase they just came out of a Windows 2003 server that DID use them as a RAID0 pair on a totally different controller... this is like 3 formats and 2 OS isntalls ago on this pair..

I am at wits end here... anyone?

[esiebert7625]

Please post any 3.5 Beta issues in the Beta forums.

Eric Siebert

User Moderator

[southpaw]

Thanks... but this happens on 3.0.1 and 3.0.2 so what is the difference? it is a config problem or possibly a setup problem... better chance it will be answered here than in the beta forum no?

[esiebert7625]

The post would be OK if you did not refer to a beta release of ESX. If it is also a problem on 3.0.1 and 3.0.2 then there is no need to mention the non-public beta release of VMware ESX.

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Thanks, Eric

Visit my website:

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[southpaw]

Does not make sense.. its happening on all 3 so I am actually figuring it's a config/setup problem with my scsi drive/controllers.. what is the problem with mentioning it?

[esiebert7625]

Because the NDA prohibits any public disclosure of the beta releases. Your original post acknowledges that RC0 for 3.5 has been released.

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Thanks, Eric

Visit my website:

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[southpaw]

I said that RC0 was released? I said it happens on RC0 but never mentioned how/where it was used.. sure, I could have not put that in there but it also states it happens on 3.0.1 and 3.0.2...

This is nuts... just asked for some help.. will just figure it out myself or go back to what I was using before. Was just giving vmware a shake and did not have this much trouble with XEN or MSFT stuff..

Did not expect run into this crap.. not worth it really...

[oreeh]

I agree with Eric.

Don't post private beta stuff in the public forums.

[oreeh]

Regarding your problem: What RAID controller do you use?

[sbeaver]

We do not make the rules we are just asked to follow certain guidelines.

Steve Beaver

VMTN Forum Moderator

*Virtualization is a journey, not a project.*

[southpaw]

Okay... I saw 3.x configuration and posted... I did not divulge any secrets other than the RC0 being one of the things I have this problem with (as well as 3.0.1 and 3.0.2) and I could have sworn I read an article/review talking about the 3i bits... if not then it was something I read here or in the beta docs...

Sorry all...

[southpaw]

There is no RAID controller in this mix... Adaptec 8902 dual channel (7902) on a Supermicro Dual Xeon motherboard...

No hostraid/etc... nada/zilch...

The drives WERE in a hostraid config on a totally different motherboard with a totally different scsi controller (RAID0 stripe for OS during some testing) but that was on Win2003..

I then put the two 74gb ultra320 drives on this new supermicro board, installed a build of Windows 2008 for some testing and during that blew away the RAID0 and used the two drives for C and D for more testing..

I put 3.0.1 down and realized that it would only allow me to create a partition on one of the two 74gb drives even though they are both seen on the scsi controllers...

I pulled down 3.0.2 and tried that.. same thing (this time doing total formats of each drive (18gb and both 74gb ones) and saw the same thing...

Finally, got 😛 and installed it in the same manner.. blowin away all partitions and installing ESX to the 18GB drive and figured on using the two 74gb drives for a couple of vm's until my 4 300GB drives show up...

Hope that is clear.. if you want to delete this thread go ahead.. I will repost in this forum as a 3.0.x problem..

[oreeh]

It looks like ESX has a problem with the onboard SCSI controller.

Do you have another SCSI controller to test it?

[southpaw]

Have two... a 29160 and a 39320 but it is of the Host-Raid that ESX does not like...

Will give the 29160 a spin... but then loosing half the bandwidth for disks... but would let me know if it is a driver/compatibility thing..

[southpaw]

Sorry about this all Eric... I was out of line (and out of patience) but that was not your problem...

[esiebert7625]

No problem Rob, as Steve mentioned we just try and maintain the forums as best we can per the VMware guidelines. I can definitely understand the frustration when in the midst of a problem, I think we've all been there. Anyway my post was just meant as a friendly reminder, VMware has been pretty strict on NDA's, beta's and any info on future product releases being leaked. They seem to be starting to loosen up on this which is a good thing, let's hope they eventually get to the point where new releases are publically beta.

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Thanks, Eric

Visit my website:

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[southpaw]

Gotcha... been doing some 'research' on all the virtualization technologies for work and it has me really scratching my head.. . I am guessing that it is the adaptec dual channel scsi on this new supermicro board..

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon1333/5000P/X7DB8+.cfm

I had a similar xeon board a few years back from iwill that worked like a charm and it finally had to get moved out due to not supporting the Intel VT stuff.. so this is my new baby... have a handful of 300gb ultra320 drives coming and it will probably work like a charm with the slower 29160 and all the drives on there (or not)

Will keep my eyes peeled for the NDA to loosen up.. have been doing my 'homework' and just got in a hurry and posted somewhere to get it in front of someone..

[southpaw]

Weird behavior this am...

39320 (Dell hostraid) is not supported it appears... ESX does not like it or even see it..

So

I placed an old 2940U2W in and attached one of the 74GB drives to it.. rebooted.. the config is as follows

Adaptec AIC-8902 U320 OEM (on Supermicro mobo)

ChannelA

ID0: 18.2GB Boot

ID1: 74GB VMFS3

ChannelB

Nothing

2940U2W (PCI Card)

ID3: 74GB VMFS3

ESX found the 2940U2W just fine... but when I went into the VI Client the 74GB drive on the 8902 channelA was gone..

I am taking both of the 74gb drives out and using the 39320 controller that ESX does not support on my Windows box.. will be a super nice RAID0 array on Win2003 or Win2008 and I Can run VMware Server or WSV on it until my 4x300GB drives show up..

Weirdness to say the least... wondering, do SCSI drives have something similar to MAC addresses? I know they have ID's but the two drives appear to have some 'link' or association even across different channels and even scsi controllers...

Still scratching my head on this one...

r

[oreeh]

ESX found the 2940U2W just fine... but when I went into the VI Client the 74GB drive on the 8902 channelA was gone..

This is a typical Adaptec problem. Try what happens when you use only use the 2940U2W.

wondering, do SCSI drives have something similar to MAC addresses?

They have serial numbers - but that isn't a problem.

However there are some combinations of RAID / SCSI controllers and SCSI disks that simply don't work as expected.

FWIW: There's a reason why VMware publishes HCLs.

[southpaw]

Oh I know about the HCL's... for this project it is not for production high availability... that would be a prebuild dell/ibm/hp server/blade.. . this is actually a personal piece of hardware that needs to be used for 2 or 3 different things... XEN/MSFT/VMware to just check out how some of our products run on each...