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suhag79
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storage controller driver for ESXi 6.5 is not listed for vSAN 6.6

Hi,

We have recently installed fresh vCenter cluster. We see below warning for vSAN hardware compatibility for controller driver version.

pastedImage_0.png

Below are the ID

VID: 1000 SVID: 1137

DID: 005d SSID: 00db

We have checked the Hardware compatibility for vSAN 6.6

VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

and whatever driver Version is listed there is not listed when we search under the CISCO interchangeability matrix Cisco UCS Hardware Compatibility List

SO just want to know, whether we should consider ESXi 6.5 driver compatibility or vSAN 6.6.1 driver compatibility ?

Regards,

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TheBobkin
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Fairly sure the part after the dash e.g. 24.12.1-0049 vs 24.12.1-0052 doesn't indicate a change in the content (e.g. both are Firmware version 24.12.1).

This driver is stated as being the matching Firmware for Driver megaraid_sas 6.610.15.00, so yes this appears to be the correlating one (regardless of the 0049 vs 0052).

If you want to find the specific reference to specific Firmware releases (e.g. 3.1(2e)) please look closer at the screen and click the button that says 'Firmware Bundle':

https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=283862063&flowid=25886&softwareid=283655681&r...)

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Cisco UCS forums might be useful if you are unfamiliar with installing Cisco/Server updates.

Bob

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GreatWhiteTec
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Hi Suhag,

When deploying vSAN, you want to go by the drivers listed under vSAN VCG. Those are the drivers that have been certified and tested to run with vSAN. The latest version for your controller at the moment seems to be megaraid_sas version 6.610.15.00-1OEM.

So it appears that your drivers are versions ahead of what is currently supported for vSAN.  You have the option to downgrade the drivers, or run in an "unsupported" configuration.

Also keep in mind that drivers should match the correct Firmware version listed under vSAN VCG. Mismatches between driver and Firmware version may also cause issues.

TheBobkin
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Hello suhag79​,

"SO just want to know, whether we should consider ESXi 6.5 driver compatibility or vSAN 6.6.1 driver compatibility ?"

This generally all depends on what build of ESXi and thus version of vSAN you are running, different builds can have different supported drivers - but with this specific controller and the options at present these are all currently the same driver firmware set for all of these build variations (6.5, 6.6, 6.6.1) with the latest being:

Driver: megaraid_sas version 6.610.15.00-1OEM

Firmware: 4.620.00-7194

So as I said in the other thread - downgrade to this (or another supported driver/firmware combo) as the driver you have installed is not (currently) certified for vSAN and could cause issues.

Bob

suhag79
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Thanks TheBobkin and GreatWhiteTec

when i click on below highlighted link to download the drive,

pastedImage_0.png

it is taking me to  download page which is for ESXI6.0 but i have ESXi 6.5. Is this ok ?  one more thing, how do i confirm the installed firmware version ?

pastedImage_1.png

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TheBobkin
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Hello suhag79

Multiple versions of ESXi/vSAN use this driver and all the download links from the different reference points all point to the same driver - don't be concerned about anything other than the driver type (scsi-megaraid-sas) and build '6.610.15.00'.

You can check and remediate the firmware via Cisco UCS KVM Console or some other form of out-of-band management.

Bob

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suhag79
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Right TheBobkin

i did some research  on megaraid_sas version 6.610.15.00-1OEM,

Above drive is compatible with firmware "4.620.00-7194".

Firmware 4.620.00-7194 is packaged within 24.12.1-0049 container. Please use  UCS C-series standalone releases – 2.0(13h)

pastedImage_1.png

Now when i filter the "UCS Hardware and Software Compatibility"...it does not  list 2.0(13h). Does it mean that, this is not supported RAID controller though it is showing "PASS" in hardware compatibility test in vSAN console ?

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TheBobkin
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Hello suhag79,

There are more than one release package listed there:

"Please use one of the following UCS releases: UCS C-series standalone releases – 2.0(13h) UCSM-Managed C series releases – 3.1(2e)"

Check the contents of that 3.1(2) release shown in your screenshot for firmware 4.620.00-7194 or container 24.12.1-0049.

I can see that 24.12.1-0049 container is included in basically all the 2.0(X) firmware iso files so you should be able to extract/utilize just this component out of pretty much any release:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/release/firmware_files/2_0_x/b_UCS_C-Ser...

Bob

suhag79
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Hi TheBobkin,

3.1 (2) does not have 24.12.1-0049. in fact none of the 3.0 version have 24.12.1-0049, though they have correct driver. 

They have higher version, for exa 24.12.1-0052. but this is not listed in vSAN compatibility. i m worried about this is not matching exactly with firmware/driver combo....

pastedImage_2.png

Below is 2.2 (8) versions

pastedImage_0.png

Regarding below point, i see container 24.12.1-0049  under "Table 24 Files in ucs-c220m4-huu-2.0.13h.iso" which is for 2.0.13h, so i need to install 2.0 (8) which is listed in CISCO compatibility matrix and for this specific container, i can extract from 2.0.13(h)...right ?

"I can see that 24.12.1-0049 container is included in basically all the 2.0(X) firmware iso files so you should be able to extract/utilize just this component out of pretty much any release:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/release/firmware_files/2_0_x/b_UCS_C-Ser... "

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TheBobkin
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Fairly sure the part after the dash e.g. 24.12.1-0049 vs 24.12.1-0052 doesn't indicate a change in the content (e.g. both are Firmware version 24.12.1).

This driver is stated as being the matching Firmware for Driver megaraid_sas 6.610.15.00, so yes this appears to be the correlating one (regardless of the 0049 vs 0052).

If you want to find the specific reference to specific Firmware releases (e.g. 3.1(2e)) please look closer at the screen and click the button that says 'Firmware Bundle':

https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=283862063&flowid=25886&softwareid=283655681&r...)

pastedImage_2.png

pastedImage_3.png

Cisco UCS forums might be useful if you are unfamiliar with installing Cisco/Server updates.

Bob

suhag79
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Thank you Very much....

Much appreciated TheBobkin

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suhag79
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Hi,

just wanted to share, as per the feed back received from CISCO forum, vSAN required megaraid_sas driver, not lsi-mr3. so i need to disable lsi_mr3 after installing megaraid_sas.

http://www.thevirtualist.org/replacing-driver-for-megaraid-sas-9361-8i-on-esxi-6/

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