2

I am trying to connect a promise vTrak e610f to a VM running on ESXi 5.5u1 through a Qlogic QLE8242 HBA. I want to use RDM to connect to connect it to a Ubuntu 12.04LTS VM.

After installing the QLogic driver on the ESXi server and rebooting it reported seeing the HBA but no devices or paths.

~ # esxcfg-scsidevs -a
vmhba0  ahci              link-n/a  sata.vmhba0                             (0:0:31.2) Intel Corporation Lynx Point AHCI Controller
vmhba1  megaraid_sas      link-n/a  unknown.vmhba1                          (0:6:0.0) LSI / Symbios Logic MegaRAID SAS GEN2 Controller
vmhba2  qlnativefc        link-n/a  fc.2000000e1e34a933:2100000e1e34a933    (0:1:0.6) QLogic Corp 8200 Series 10GbE Converged Network Adapter (FCoE)
vmhba3  qlnativefc        link-n/a  fc.2000000e1e34a937:2100000e1e34a937    (0:1:0.7) QLogic Corp 8200 Series 10GbE Converged Network Adapter (FCoE)
vmhba32 usb-storage       link-n/a  usb.vmhba32                             () USB
vmhba34 ahci              link-n/a  sata.vmhba34                            (0:0:31.2) Intel Corporation Lynx Point AHCI Controller
vmhba35 ahci              link-n/a  sata.vmhba35                            (0:0:31.2) Intel Corporation Lynx Point AHCI Controller
vmhba36 ahci              link-n/a  sata.vmhba36                            (0:0:31.2) Intel Corporation Lynx Point AHCI Controller
vmhba37 ahci              link-n/a  sata.vmhba37                            (0:0:31.2) Intel Corporation Lynx Point AHCI Controller

The disk array is hooked up to the server as a DAS. There are no FC switches and I never have had to deal with any FC specific software or configuration. It simply shows up as a hard disk on the existing server. It has been in use for years and already has a ton of data on it.

When plugged into the existing server I can log into the vTrak administration page and navigate to the FC information and I see that 1 of the 2 ports is Online. When I navigate to the same page when it is plugged into the new server both ports show being offline.

Under LUN mapping in the vTrak interface nothing is configured. Do I need to setup LUNs for ESXi to discover? Do I need additional drivers installed on ESXi for the vTrak even though it see's the HBA?

I dont know anything about FC and very little about iSCSI or SAN technologies in general so there is a good chance this is a simple user error.

ESXi Storage Adapter

https://www.hackmode.net/fc-esxi/nodevice.png

Firmware for Qlogic Controller

https://www.hackmode.net/fc-esxi/firmware.JPG

vTrak when plugged into old server

https://www.hackmode.net/fc-esxi/working.png

vTrak when plugged into new server

https://www.hackmode.net/fc-esxi/notworking.png

vTrak LUN settings

https://www.hackmode.net/fc-esxi/lun.png

[UPDATE]

I have tried to manually set the PORT type in the vTrak array to PORT_N as well as manually set the speed. I rescanned the adapter in ESXi with no luck.

I also tried adding LUN mappings to the vTrak. I was unsure what to use for the initiator address since the devices show up with 2 separate 8byte addresses per port. I setup 4 LUN maps one for each of the addresses since I was not sure. I rescanned the device in ESXi and still nothing showed up. The LUN numbers I assigned 10-13 where just arbitrary numbers I made up. I am not sure if these should correlate with anything else already existing in the vTrak.

Just for good measure I also booted up a Ubuntu Live CD to check if it would "Just Work" Like it does on the old server. It does not.

I am somewhat concerned that the Qlogic card is a CNA FCoE card and not just a legacy FC card although the marketing material for it claims its backwards compatible with existing FC infrastructure.

vTrak LUN settings

https://www.hackmode.net/fc-esxi/ld0lun.png

https://www.hackmode.net/fc-esxi/lunmap.png

3
  • And to answer these, Under LUN mapping in the vTrak interface nothing is configured. Do I need to setup LUNs for ESXi to discover? Do I need additional drivers installed on ESXi for the vTrak even though it see's the HBA? No LUN mapping is not necessary, and MAYBE on the additional drivers, but I doubt it. Apr 25, 2014 at 4:42
  • The ubuntu test was a bit of a red herring. In retrospect I forgot to check if the QLogic card had proper drivers installed. I just checked if disks showed up. The fibrechannel card in the old server has drivers built into the default kernel but that does not mean the QLogic would. So ignore that bit. Apr 26, 2014 at 2:12
  • I would give Promise support a call, they are very good. If you want I can also do a remote session with you as I'm sure there is something little missing. Let me know. Apr 26, 2014 at 15:29

2 Answers 2

1

Ok, the fact that you have no LUN mappings is good here as that will eliminate a big problem area. Now, as far as the FC setup for the new server, you need to confirm that you meet these requirements per Promise's manual for the E610f series:

A storage area network (SAN) requires: • A Fibre Channel switch • A Fibre Channel HBA card in each Host PC or Server • A network switch • A network interface card (NIC) in each Host PC or Server

If you meet all the above criteria, then the next thing you'll want to do is make sure you are correctly connected to the vTrak. See this image for a great detail of how it should look:

enter image description here

If you aren't using Fibre Channel and are using DAS or SAN (iSCSI), or even JBOD then I recommend you read my link (above, and I will post below again too) to Promise's manual which is very useful. It will help you connect the HBA to VMWare.

The last step after you connect the host servers to the vTrak will be rescanning the HBAs inside VMWare. Click on on of the HBAs then click Rescan All. This should allow you to see your storage. Again, refer to my link if you have trouble.

Also, page 80 will be the best bet if you've already covered everything from page 21-30. It shows what settings to put your Fibre Channel on if you haven't already as well as DAS, and iSCSI (SAN).

7
  • I am using in a DAS type configuration. Is using the term fibre channel here wrong even though its using a fiber interconnect? Does ESXi support a DAS configuration over a fibre interconnect without a switch? The manual suggests the port be setup as N-Port if there is no switch. In my screenshots its set to NL-Port and working just fine on the old server. The new server is NA. It appears to be auto negotiating these settings. Perhaps I need to manually set it to N-Port. I did rescan the adapter a few times. Apr 25, 2014 at 4:49
  • You are correct, even though it's using fiber interconnect using the term fibre channel is out of place since you're not truly taking advantage of the fibre channel bandwidth or extra features and ESXi recognizes it as DAS rather than SAN (iSCSI or FC). By the way I love Promise. I use VessRAIDs more, but vTraks rule. Now, on to the N setting; try setting your ports to N-Port and then rescanning the HBAs. Let me know the results. Apr 25, 2014 at 4:53
  • Also, if you're using the QLE8242 on your server(s), why not use Fibre Channel to connect? You can get 8Gbps speed with that and that should be faster even than DAS. Apr 25, 2014 at 4:57
  • I am going to have to wait until after work tomorrow to get another window where I can test this since the disk array needs to be live on the old server during business hours until I get it working on the new server. But then ill have all weekend. Apr 25, 2014 at 5:01
  • I would consider getting a switch and using Fibre Channel. I inherited the current solution. But right now I just spent $6K on a new server so I would like to avoid additional costs. Apr 25, 2014 at 5:03
1

The problem ended up being that the HBA in the server was FCoE rather than just plain FC. The product literature suggested it was backwards compatible but that assumed you where using a FCoE switch with it apparently. I replaced the HBA and everything "just worked" with no LUNs or any manual configuration of the vTrak.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .