HBA support (vSphere 5) and how Storage Adapters are shown in vSphere client

[Shoganator]

Hi again,

Some hosts that I am looking at upgrading from ESX 4.0 update 4 to ESXi 5 have the following FC HBA names listed under Storage Adapters and I would like to see if they are compatible with ESXi 5.

ISP2432-based 4Gb Fibre Channel to PCI Express HBA

The actual servers themselves are Dell M600 Blade servers. I should clarify that this is just what is listed in the Storage adapters section (my guess is the driver name). The actual system configurations for the M600 blades as they were purchased from Dell are listed as having QLOGIC QME2472 FC4 DUAL PORT HBA CARD PC HBAs in them. These are listed as supported on ESXi 5. So I guess my question is more around is what is reported in the Storage Adapter list more of an indication of the driver name being used for the HBA rather than the actual exact device/model of the HBA? How can I make 100% sure that this is the exact hardware HBA model in my hosts? i.e. the QME2472? I can use Dell OpenManage but that lists what ESX is reporting the cards as - which is the ISP2432 based HBAs. Is there something more low level I can use to see the hardware in ESX?

Cheers,

Sean

[Troy_Clavell · Accepted solution]

yes, the HBA is supported on ESXi5.  You can always check the HCL for clarification

Brand Name	Model	Device Type	Supported Releases
Qlogic	ISP2432-based 4Gb Fibre Channel to PCI Express HBA	FC	ESXi 5.0 ESX / ESXi 4.1 U2 ESX / ESXi 4.1 U1 ESX / ESXi 4.1 ESX 3.5 U5 ESX 3.5 U4 ESX 3.5 U3 ESX 3.5 U2 ESX 3.5 U1 ESX 3.5 ESXi 3.5 Embedded U5 ESXi 3.5 Embedded U4 ESXi 3.5 Embedded U3 ESXi 3.5 Embedded U2 ESXi 3.5 Embedded U1 ESXi 3.5 Embedded ESXi 3.5 Installable U5 ESXi 3.5 Installable U4 ESXi 3.5 Installable U3 ESXi 3.5 Installable U2 ESXi 3.5 Installable U1 ESXi 3.5 Installable ESX 3.0.3 U1 ESX 3.0.3 ESX 3.0.2 U1 ESX 3.0.2 ESX 3.0.1 ESX 3.0

[Shoganator]

Hi Troy,

Thanks :smileygrin: I feel a little stupid now - it seems I was in a big rush earlier and must have typed the model number of the Qlogic card in incorrectly when I checked the HCL earlier today! I could have sworn it was not showing up there for ESXi 5! Anyway, I see now that "ISP2432" as well as the actual hardware model of the HBA in these M600s are both on the HCL list for ESXi 5 now so that is a definite yes for support.

Thanks again for your reply - I must watch my typos next time!