vNEX
Expert
Expert

Hello Peter,

Yes HCL outputs may appear odd in some cases but I think they aren't...in your case HCL just says that IBM as a vendor doesn't TEST  its servers for "VM Direct Path IO" this  is always a vendor initiative within TAP program.

At the end of this process each vendor hardware undergoes comprehensive testing by VMware hired 3rd-party company. (e.g. AppLabs acquired by CSC ... Certify Your Product with CSC's Testing Services )

So if an old or some new hardware isn't listed it doesn't mean it couldn't work with VMware products. It could be just an indication that its vendor doesn't apply to have its HW on VMware HCL.

(such piece of hardware doesn't gone through any extensive testing against VMware products or features)

... hence it  cannot be classified as certified (VMware Ready) and you cannot derive any support in relation to it from VMware GSS because its simply unsupported.

Apart from support ... because of a lack of complex testing you can encounter unpredictable behavior or crashes etc. ...  none of us want to see such hardware in production environment.

For Lab/Test environment its absolutely acceptable ... but not for production.

So yes as you mentioned in these cases its all about luck ... (especially in production also about braveness and responsibility of each admin :winking_face:

In terms of updates I would always go for the latest maintenance releases.

Anyway your experience could be very valuable for others so if you will have success with IBM servers and VMDP I/O please ping back with results.

Thanks

_________________________________________________________________________________________ If you found this or any other answer helpful, please consider to award points. (use Correct or Helpful buttons) Regards, P.