R2208GZ4GC - Motherboard supports either Xeon Phi 31S1P or Raid Controller, not both at the same time

[ARaja5]

Hi,

I have a R2208GZ4GC server, and running vmware on it. I need to activate Direct I/O on the bios to be able to have a vm access my xeon phi, but when I do that, then my Raid Controller goes unrecognized. I wonder if anyone noticed the same issue before. Thanks.

[idata]

Hello Al,

Thank you for contacting Intel Customer Support. Please help us providing more additional information in order to better assist you:Can you please provide us the model of your Raid controller?What type of RAID do you currently have?Can you please provide the version of the VMWARE software that you are currently running?What operating system are you running?We will look forward for your response.Best regards,Sergio S.

[ARaja5]

Hi Sergio,

Thank you for your response, it's really appreciated.

Well I have the following RAID controller:

Dell XT257 Perc5/i PCI-e SAS RAID 256Mb Controller

and I have done RAID 5, if that's what you mean by the type.

I believe I have VMWare ESXi v6.0 hypervisor installed.

Lastly I should say that I have ubuntu virtual machines installed along with a SOPHOS UTM9 as my firewall.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Al R.

[idata]

Hello,

We appreciate the time taken to provide the additional information.

After checking the list of supported components for the Intel® Server System R2208GZ4GC, it seems that your Dell Raid controller model XT257 has not been validated and we have not test it.

We recommend to check the list of tested components http://ark.intel.com/products/56262/Intel-Server-System-R2208GZ4GC here

Also please let us know if the Raid controller disappears within VMare or on the system.

Best regards,

Sergio S.

[ARaja5]

Hello,

Thanks for your response.

Well, RAID controller works perfectly with the board, but as soon as Direct I/O is enabled in the bios and server restarts, ESXi can't see the virtual machines on the hard drives, and RAID disappears without being recognized by the server itself.

I considered buying another RAID controller, one from the list you shared with me, but I'd like to make sure it really works.

Cheers,

Al R.

[idata]

Hello Al,

As an additional recommendation, you can check the list of hardware compatible with ESXi version 6.0 https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php herePlease do not hesitate to contact us again if you need further assistance.Best regards,Sergio S.

[idata]

Hello Al,

We following up your case and we would like to know if you need further assistance.Best regards,Sergio S.

[idata]

Hello Al,

We following up your case and we would like to know if you need further assistance.We are going to proceed and close this case; however, if you have more questions, please contact us back.Best regards,

[ARaja5]

Hello Sergio,

Thanks for your help. I bought a new RAID controller (Intel RS3DC040) and the issue is resolved. But unfortunately, the controller I received has only one Mini SAS socket (SFF-8643) as opposed to the official description (and images) that I had read on intel's documentations.

So now, I managed to connect only one drive bay (containing 4 drives) to the controller this way and wonder how I can connect the other one too.

I appreciate if you could help me with this issue as well.

Sincerely,

Al

[idata]

Hello Al ,

The Raid controller that you need is Intel® RAID Controller RS3DC080, please click https://ark.intel.com/products/77346/Intel-RAID-Controller-RS3DC080 here for more detailed information.Best regards,Sergio S.

[idata]

Hello Al,

I am following up your case and we would like to know if you need further assistance. In case you need more help feel free to reply send us a reply.Best Regards.Sergio S.