ESX 3.5 server seeing external HP smart array

[out2sea]

Have installed ESX 3.5 server on a HP DL380 G5. There is a Smart Array P800 card installed with a MSA 50 shelf attached. ESX sees all internal disks and the P800 card but not the shelf or disks. Can anyone help to tell me what else is required for configuration. Must add that I have done NO VM courses and have been sent by company and told to make it happen. Have got ESX 3.5 installed ok, Virtual System Centre is installed ok as well and connecting to hosts through that.

[christianZ]

Have you configured any logical drive on your external shelf?

[Lightbulb]

Install HPACUCLI

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15...

Here is a list of commands to disply drives and RAIDand make modifications

[out2sea]

Yes, created logical disk on the shelf at boot up, going into the F8 SCSI disk configuration utilities.

[christianZ]

I would prefer to use the boot CD from P800 and not installing cli - but if you want check this also:

http://communities.vmware.com/message/1007962;jsessionid=AF852A96DB2A194C1503A1D628F054B4

[out2sea]

Wouldn't happen to have a link handy for boot cd for P800???

[Lightbulb]

Here you go

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15...

[out2sea]

Cheers, I was on a totally different page/software download.

[out2sea]

Thanks guys for your help. Would I be right in thinking I now have to copy the files into a folder and unzip them into rpm format and install using the esxupdate tool from the command line?

[Lightbulb]

HPACUCLI should be a rpm so you would copy it over to your host and from the cli rpm -Uvh filename.rpm Should install it, where filename.rpm is the actual full name of the RPM.

The bootable ACU is an ISO file encased in a zip file, so you would burn the ISO to a CD and boot from CD or boot through RIB mounted virtual CD.

There should be no need to use esxupdate in any case as neither of these are ESX packages.

[patrickds]

If i read the Hardware Compatitibility List correctly, the P800 controller requires a different driver than the one installed by default, available on a separate CD.

http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?action=search&deviceCategory=io&productId=1...

[out2sea]

Booted from CD and I think the disk shelf is now /dev/cciss/c1d0.

How do I get Linux to now see the disks?

I have tried folowing the instructions for the other link with the alternate driver. Repeatedly and consistently failed with that one as well.

[christianZ]

Can you post here the output from "fdisk -l" (inside your Esx console)?

[out2sea]

How?

To the best of my understanding from what I have read, I have /dev/cciss/c0d0pN with a series of partions (N) which Linux sets up on the install. There is then /dev/cciss/codop1 which is the second logical drive which I set up. Both of these drives are from the bank of internal drives which are connected via a P400 Smart Array card. The external disk shelf is connected to a P800 which when I booted from the hp smart start driver cd, I THINK is set up in linux as /dev/cciss/c1d0.

How do I connect/create partition/format the disks so I can see them in linux?

[christianZ]

When you run "fdisk -l" inside the Esx console you will see all the disks your Esx host has disovered.

[christianZ]

I suppose you have already created a logical drive (< 2 TB) on your external disks...

[christianZ]

Creating a vmfs volume can be done in VI client; have you already installed it on your pc?

[out2sea]

How can you check, to the best of my knowledge I haven't installed vi. Remember that from the dim and distant past with unix at uni. I have created the logical drive on the shelf, RAID 5 spanning all 11 disks with the 12 as an online spare. Please keep your reply as simple as possible so there is some hope of me understanding/implementing.

[christianZ]

First go with your web-browser to your Esx host and download vi client, then install it - see attachment...

[out2sea]

Hi, sorry for the missunderstanding. I can connect to the host machine through the system centre and when I do I can see the P800 SCSI card but there are no disks or logical drive associated with it showing.