Pro/1000-PT (Dual): Can't configure iSCSI parameters

[SVene]

Summary:

Unable to configure the Pro/1000-PT iSCSI parameters in either:

1. the preboot environment
2. the bootutil DOS command

I'm looking for ideas to work around this problem.

Goal: iSCSI install/boot of an ESXi-5.5 from a Synology iSCSI target.

Relevant environment info:

• SuperMicro server board http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C220/X10SLL-F.cfm X10SLL-F
  • This MB contains built-in i217LM and a i210AT NICs. Note that only the i217LM supports native iSCSI
  • MB is using BIOS version 2.0 (04/24/2014), which is the latest available
• Intel Pro/1000-PT Dual-port network card
  • iSCSI flash image installed using DOS-based bootutil program version 1.5.22.2 (from 19.3 distro 8/08/2014)

Symptoms: Preboot:

• During preboot, I get prompted to hit ^D to configure iSCSI.
• Hitting this ^D key brings up a dialog titled "Intel (R) iSCSI Remote Boot v3.0.34
• This dialog lists the two interfaces on the PRO/1000-PT card as well as the built-in i217LM interface on the MB.
• PROBLEM: When I select either of the PRO/1000-PT interfaces using the key, nothing happens; when I select the built-in MB interface, I get the menu of iSCSI and CHAP configurations, cancel and save. So no way to set the TARGET IP address, netmask, CHAP parameters, etc.

Symptoms: bootutil running from DOS:

• "bootutil" command (no command args) lists 4 interface ports:
  • ports 1 and 2 are the built-in MB ports which show "No Flash Present". This makes sense based on the bootutil documentation
  • Ports 3 and 4 are the Pro/1000-PT ports. They currently show "iSCSi Primary" and "iSCSI" in the "Flash Firmware column" and both show as version 3.0.14 (which I belive is the latest).
• I am able to successfully change the upload different flash versions using the bootutil command
• The "bootutil -nic=3 -imageversion" command outputs the following:
  • iSCSI v3.0.34
  • iSCSI Setup v3.0.34
  • 40G Interface v1.0.01 [I have no idea what this last element is of the flashed firmware.]
• PROBLEM: The "bootutil -nic=3" command *should* dump the iscsi configuration the first Pro/1000 port. However, nothing is reported. The %ERRORLEVEL% value after this command is "1", which indicates (according to "bootutil -EXITCODES") a "Bad Command Line Parameter".
• PROBLEM: The iSCSI parameter setting commands such as "bootutil -nic=3 -INITIATORIP=1.2.3.4" don't have any affect. These commands also exit with error code 1, but also do not print any error message out.

Note that I can configure (using the preboot environment), access and begin to install ESXi-5.5 on a remote iSCSI target using the built-in MB i217LM adapter, but ESXi fails to complete the install due to a known issue (Vmware KB http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2020053 2020053). The work around is to use a network interface besides the first network interface for iSCSI boot/runtime. This is the reason I purchased the Pro/1000 card.