B200 M5 install ESXi 6.7 on M.2 6G SATA do not detect disk Profile

[ilovbrotte]

Running UCS manager at level 3.2(3c)

Have a new setup here, and having trouble with the storage profile.

Only new servers B200 M5 with 2x 240GB M.2 6G SATA SSD.

Have gone through this guide, but I cannot find the right solution for detecting M.2 6G SATA drives.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs/ucs-manager/GUI-User-Guides/Storage-Mgmt/3-2/b_UCSM_GUI_Storage_Management_Guide_3_2/b_UCSM_GUI_Storage_Management_Guide_3_2_chapter_01011.pdf

When looking at the drives local on the server it says it is not accessible from OOB. well, it leaves me the only solution is ACHI and software Raid (SWRAID mode) is this right?

I want Raid1 (mirroring) on both disks ( in BIOS it is set up like that) so i can possibly just use the initial LUN and not apply the Storage profile?

I need the correct setup for this M.2 6G SATA boot. Do any of you have a correct setup i can use?

Ivar

[Kirk J]

Greetings.

While I haven't spun up this exact config, I believe you'll need a controller definition (specifying PCH raid 1), as well as a UEFI boot order config, as I believe the UEFI is required for booting NVME related devices.

Thanks,

Kirk...

[ilovbrotte]

Hello Kirk J,

Thanks for answering on this!

I am running with UEFI bios setup, and just now without any disk policies.

The server can take the profile now, but i do not find the M.2 Sata SSD`s 

I have set the P-SATA boot option to disabled... in boot options. I may set it to LSI SW RAID...

Testing with esxi installer now to see if it can see storage. I may need to set UEFI boot location on local disk. \EFI\BOOT\BOOTx64.EFI

Ivar

[ilovbrotte]

Ok, I can now see the disks!
Setup is this: UEFI Bios boot, P-SATA boot option to disabled, no disk policies.
Next I need to set Software raid, so I can run in Raid1.
Changing to P-SATA boot option to "LSI SW RAID".
Wonder how to set Software raid?
Ivar

[Kirk J]

If you are not doing the UEFI method, then you would want to create in the boot order, an entry for 'embedded' local disk.

Thanks,

Kirk...

[ilovbrotte]

Hi

One of the problems is that it cannot be managed by a profile, due to "No OOB" connection on the ACHI  controller. I think i need to set the options in Bios to get this working.

And bios setting for "Boot options" P-SATA does not care about the "Disabled" or "LSI SW RAID" it shows both drives in ESXI 6.7 setup as:

"ATA Micron_5100_MTFD (t10.ATA____Micron_5100_M...) 223.57 GiB"

"ATA Micron_5100_MTFD (t10.ATA____Micron_5100_M...) 223.57 GiB"

I would like to config it to a Raid1 LUN. But how can I do this with BIOS or Profile settings?

240GB M.2 6G SATA SSD is not actually a NVMe disk.

Storage Controller PCH1 has this nice feature... or no feature at all to set Raid1 with Policy. 

"sys/chassis-1/blade-1/board/storage-PCH-1, Server does not support out of band configuration"

"Lewisburg SSATA Controller [AHCI mode]" how do I change AHCI mode to SWRAID mode?

AHCI (JBOD) and SWRAID (RAID).

Ivar

[ilovbrotte · Accepted solution]

Hello

The solution is in the documentation!

You cannot set a raidgroup on SSD`s "ATA Micron_5100_MTFD (t10.ATA____Micron_5100_M...) 223.57 GiB"

So if you have two of theese in your server, you can only use software raid in Windows or Linux.

VMware do not have drivers to run software raid on theese disks M.2 6G SATA. 

So the solution was easy, just install without RAID1 and have one spare disk in the system.

BIOS was set to no raid.

Good luck to Cisco to fix this issue with drivers or in hardware.

Thanks!

Ivar L.

[Wes Austin · Accepted solution]

This is a VMware limitation as it does not like software RAID. Nothing can be done from a driver standpoint.