VSAN 6.7 U3 –FW for UCSC-SAS-M5- Cisco C220-M5SX

[shankarsingh]

Hi

We have three node All Flash VSAN cluster where we are running ESXi 6.5 U1g with Cisco C220-M5SX  model and Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6126 CPU @ 2.60GHz Processor .

Our current vcenter is VCSA 6.7 ,so planning for upgrading VCSA to 6.7 U3 and the Cisco FW from 3.1(3) to 4.0(4) for hosts  and then upgrade ESXi from 6.5U1g to 6.7 U3 and finally VSAN Disk Format 10.

So I have verified compatibility checks for HW with FW/Driver ,but still I need some clarification on RAID Controller firmware compatibility with VSAN 6.7 U3

As per below Vmware VSAN compatibility Matrix, For (UCSC-SAS-M5) Mode, Vmware recommended lsi_msgpt35 version 09.00.00.00-5vmw.670 Driver and 09.00.05.00 Firmware ,But when I upgrade Cisco FW to 4.0(4),SAS-HBA firmware will be 09.00.00.08.

https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=vsanio&productid=41790&vsan...

So does VSAN 6.7 U3 supports 09.00.00.08 Firmware with 09.00.00.00-5vmw.670 Drive for UCSC-SAS-M5(Cisco 12G Modular SAS HBA (max 16 drives).

Thanks in advance for your support

[TheBobkin]

Hello Shankar,

No, as that firmware is not on the HCL for this controller, it also says to use package 4.0(4d) or 4.0(4c) .

Bob

[shankarsingh]

Thanks for update.

Even if I use Cisco Firmware 4.0(4d) or 4.0(4c),still FW package will have SAS-HBA firmware 09.00.00.08.

Below is Cisco compatibility matrix for reverence

https://ucshcltool.cloudapps.cisco.com/public/

So  Cisco FW 4.0(4X) does not support vSAN 6.7 U3 for Cisco C220-M5SX    ?

[TheBobkin]

Hello Shankar,

If those packages do not contain the firmware listed on the HCL listing then likely one of two things happened here - incorrect package version referenced in the HCL listing or incorrect firmware version listed (e.g. 09.00.00.08 may be the intended version if that is what was tested and certified). I would advise opening a Support Request with GSS to look into this, otherwise I will see about looking into it on Monday.

Also, I wouldn't go with Cisco Matrix as they state themselves:

The local storage controller firmware and driver combinations in this matrix do not apply to VMware vSAN deployments. For VMware vSAN deployments, consult the VMware Compatibility Guide – vSAN http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=vsan.

Bob