Hi. I have an odd issue going on and for the life of me, I can't seem to figure it out.
I have an Intel DC 3700 PCI-E nvme device in a R720 onto which I've installed vSphere 7.0b. I was expecting to use this device as data store but ESX only detects it as a nvme hba?
// adapter list
[root@localhost:~] esxcli nvme adapter list
Adapter Adapter Qualified Name Transport Type Driver Associated Devices
------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- --------- ------------------
vmhba2 aqn:nvme_pcie:nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress80868086CVFT54700070800CGN__INTEL_SSDPEDMD800G4 PCIe nvme_pcie
[root@localhost:~] esxcli nvme controller list
Name Controller Number Adapter Transport Type Is Online
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------- ------- -------------- ---------
nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress_8086_INTEL_SSDPEDMD800G4_____________________CVFT54700070800CGN 256 vmhba2 PCIe true
ess
// storage core adapter list
[root@localhost:~] esxcli storage core adapter list
HBA Name Driver Link State UID Capabilities Description
-------- --------- ---------- -------------------------------------- ------------------- -----------
vmhba0 vmw_ahci link-n/a sata.vmhba0 (0000:00:1f.2) Intel Corporation Patsburg 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller
vmhba1 lsi_mr3 link-n/a sas.5d4ae520a21a7f00 (0000:02:00.0) Broadcom PERC H710P Mini (for monolithics)
vmhba2 nvme_pcie link-n/a pcie.4100 (0000:41:00.0) Intel Corporation DC P3700 SSD
vmhba32 vmkusb link-n/a usb.vmhba32 () USB
vmhba64 qfle3i unbound iscsi.vmhba64 Second Level Lun ID QLogic 57800 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
vmhba65 qfle3f link-down fcoe.2000d4ae52918103:2001d4ae52918103 Second Level Lun ID () QLogic Inc. FCoE Adapter
vmhba66 qfle3i unbound iscsi.vmhba66 Second Level Lun ID QLogic 57800 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
vmhba67 qfle3f link-down fcoe.2000d4ae52918105:2001d4ae52918105 Second Level Lun ID () QLogic Inc. FCoE Adapter
vmhba69 iscsi_vmk online iscsi.vmhba69 Second Level Lun ID iSCSI Software Adapter
However, when I do storage core device list, I do not see any devices attached to the vmhba2?
What am I missing here? I believe I have all the requisite drivers/software:
[root@localhost:~] esxcli software vib list | grep nvme
brcmnvmefc 12.4.293.2-3vmw.700.1.0.15843807 VMW VMwareCertified 2020-09-09
nvme-pcie 1.2.2.14-1vmw.700.1.25.16324942 VMW VMwareCertified 2020-09-09
nvmerdma 1.0.0.0-1vmw.700.1.0.15843807 VMW VMwareCertified 2020-09-09
lsuv2-nvme-pcie-plugin 1.0.0-1vmw.700.1.25.16324942 VMware VMwareCertified 2020-09-29
vmware-esx-esxcli-nvme-plugin 1.2.0.37-1vmw.700.1.25.16324942 VMware VMwareCertified 2020-09-29
The device is healthy. It is using 4K sector size. Could that be the issue? I've tried to reformat it using data center tool but it doesn't seem to "work".
Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated.
Seems there are known issues with the device, another person reported an issue here:
I am assuming you are running the firmware version mentioned om the IO VMware Compatibility Guide?
Yes, using the firmware as detailed in the guide:
- Intel SSD DC P3700 Series CVFT54700070800CGN -
Bootloader : 8B1B0133
DevicePath : \\\\.\\PHYSICALDRIVE1
DeviceStatus : Healthy
Firmware : 8DV101H0
FirmwareUpdateAvailable : The selected drive contains current firmware as of this tool release.
Index : 0
ModelNumber : INTEL SSDPEDMD800G4
ProductFamily : Intel SSD DC P3700 Series
SerialNumber : CVFT54700070800CGN