How to Install Fusion I/O Adapter (1300MP or 1600MS) to ESXi Hosts
The Fusion I/O adapter driver is available for it's specified UCS firmware bundle at Cisco.com.
Keep in mind even though the Fusion adapter is a type of storage, it is not a bootable device. Another option such as Boot from SAN, Local Disc, or iSCSI needs to be setup to install an OS.
- In a web browser, navigate to www.cisco.com
- Under Support, click Download Software.
- Click Unified Computing and Servers.
- Choose your server. Cisco UCS drivers are available for both Cisco UCS B-Series Blade servers and Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount.
- Click Unified Computing System (UCS) Drivers.
- Select the bundle you want to download, and click Download Now.
Extract file and select adapter type under the storage folder. Once retrieved, the vib file will need to be uploaded to a datastore OR use something like WinSCP to copy the file to the host.
Verify the ESXi host has SSH enabled to allow a PUTTY session to be opened.
You'll be prompted to enter your login credentials- login: root
Use the “esxcli” to install the VIB using the following command:
“esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/*DATASTORENAME*/Fusion-io_bootbank_b
Follow if uploaded to root using WinSCP:
esxcli software vib install –v /Fusion-io_bootbank_block-iomemory-vslxxxx.vib
Once driver is installed, perform reboot of ESXI host.
The Fusion I/O will need to be formatted to allow discovery: fio-format -b 512B /dev/fct0 –f
To verify the Fusion adapter is being seen by ESXI host run : fio-status –a
If FCT0 shows as detached on above output, proceed to next step.
fct0 Detached <----------------------
ioMemory Adapter Controller, Product Number:MFIO1600MS, SN:XXXXX
Attach controller with command: fio-attach /dev/fct0
You should see a new adapter generated in vCenter.
Select ESXi host's configuration tab -> Storage adapter.
If the disc was not formatted prior to fio-attach, the following message will be seen:
