ESXI 4, disc raid set recognized, but tape drive/robot not (on same controler)

[roonsmits]

Hiya,

Recently I hit this weird issue, My HP ML350 ran fine with ESXi 3u4, but after upgrading to ESXi4 (both versions booting from a USB stick), my Exabyte tape library isn't recognised any more, which is connected to the 2nd channel of a PERC4/DC.

On the 1st channel of the PERC4/DC SCSI controler, a Dell PV220S is hosting RAID10 disc set (this recognised and used as storage for VMWare), so I guess it is not an incompatibility of host vs controler. The tape device is listed at boot time (as is the disc system of course)

When adding a SCSI device to the guest (be it any OS), only the host's CDROM can be added as a SCSI device, but not the tape device, which as I mentioned was not a problem with ESXi 3 u4.

Has any one a clue on how to assign the tape robot to a guest?

Many thanks in advance,

Ronald

[phismith]

I am having a similar issue in ESX4. I have the same hardware (HP ML350). The only difference is my external SCSI tape drive is a DLT from HP. On the same SCSI card is a SAN which is seen in ESX just fine. My drive is also list at boot time.

Have you tried changing the SCSI id for the tape drive? My is listed as 2,6 but nothing shows up on that ID.

[khaliss]

I am having exactly the same problem and stumped:

Physical machine: HP Proliant DL380 G5 w/ SmartArray P800 SAS Controller

main Datastore RAID array is physically connected to the P800, along with the Ultrium SAS Tape drive via the external connector. ESXi 4.0 can't seem to detect the tape drive and I don't know what to do =X If anyone can help or refer me to a guide, I'd appreciate it.

[dconvery]

Ronald -

Welcome to the Forums!

First off, it is not a good idea to connect a tape library to a RAID adapter, especially if you plan to also use it to host a RAID set. Check outthe HCL -> www.vmware.com/go/hcl

I could not find the reference, but I believe that the only SCSI adapter supported for virtualized tape drives is the Adaptec adapters.

Dave Convery

VMware vExpert 2009

http://www.dailyhypervisor.com

Careful. We don't want to learn from this.

Bill Watterson, "Calvin and Hobbes"

[khaliss]

By the way, I already checked the vmware compatibility link and found that the SmartArray P800 is supported in ESXi 4.0

[roonsmits]

Hi,

thanks Dave for the reply,

I just had a word with my Dell rep about the PERC4/DC controler and it seems that this particular model has quite a few reported issues when connecting non raid devices to it.

I've never had any issues in the past, but it seems that there's a fair chance that it can take your whole raid set down, no data is lost cause it can be reconnected again, but ouch that is not a good thing.

This RAID controller is listed in the HCL so I'll be using it for my storage, but I'll be sourcing a 39320 from Adaptec to connect my tape device to, problem solved...... ehhh I hope

cheers,

Ronald

[Texiwill]

Hello,

Generally tape devices need non-raid SCSI adapters as an HBA. That has not changed much with vSphere.

Best regards,

Edward L. Haletky VMware Communities User Moderator, VMware vExpert 2009, Virtualization Practice Analyst[/url]
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[mikelundy]

VMWare....WTF did you do! You broke it! I'm in the same boat. Dell PowerEdge R805 & PowerVault TL2000/TL4000 LTO drive. It was working fine till I upgraded to vSphere 4! It see's both Library and Tape, but it doesn't respond to any commands from Symantec Backup Exec. Tried changing the scsi ID, rebooting multiple times, reloading the Symantec drivers. No dice. I've been over a week without backups now! I'm so fired!