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RAID module RMS25JB080 ESXi drivers

GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
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Hi

cant find the VMWare ESXi drivers for the RMS25JB080 RAID module? (it will be in an S1200SPOR board which is fully VMWare supported)

Ive had some real major issues with ALL RAID board with ESXi, the only way to get them to fully work is to install the below:

RAID drivers, AND the SMIS drivers, with both install the module will show up in the ESXi vSphere console with what drive is attached to which connector on the board.

Also should allow for the Intel RAID configuration tool to connect to the board when its running ESXi to configure it, check drive status via the ESXi management IP address. This has been a MAJOR MAJOR issue for LSI / AVAGO / BROADCOM (what ever there calling themselves now-a-days) RAID cards, i have the drivers here for them now so i dont need to go hunting for them.

However i have never done ESXi for Intel RAID cards yet (as there not really LSI / AVAGO / BROADCOM cards now... there a hybrid version.

Many Thanks.

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27 Replies
idata
Employee
1,715 Views

Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

For any reason there are no linux drivers listed under the downloadcenter.intel.com website. There are RHEL and SLES but no independent linux ones.

 

 

I found this one from the VMWare website looking up with the LSI chipset installed on the Intel RAID module: http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=34298 http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=34298

 

 

About the RAID card management you could try the Intel RAID Web Console either locally installed or remote. You can download it from the following URL: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/60286/Intel-Integrated-RAID-Module-RMS25JB080 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/60286/Intel-Integrated-RAID-Module-RMS25JB080

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Jose H.

 

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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
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Hi

Thanks for taking the time to respond, however with ESXi they must be VMWare compliant drivers and the correct ones, ESXi is based on Linux, but it is not a Linux system in itself. I have spent hours researching and perfecting drivers for LSI hardware, even LSI no longer supply them, only VMWare seem to now... with this in mind i found the driver for the Intel RAID from VMware on the below link (after posting this, was by pure luck):

https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=33733 VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

Your notice though this is the 8 port driver, not 4 port, not looked for that one

However to manage RAID cards this must be remote from there management tools (as you shown the RAID Web Console), what i need to know is if this works with the VMWare driver, again LSI had MAJOR flaws with there management (MegaRAID Manager) not working with ANY of the ESXi confirmed drivers, until i loaded the SMIS driver (which is impossible to find) AND made sure ALL DNS reverse looks up worked and even then i needed an SLP PHP healer script running as LSI did not load that in there MegaRAID management utility, nor there ESXi drivers (whereas PROMISE controllers did).

I cant seem to find any SMIS drivers for Intel and there RAID cards, it doesnt appear to be in the offline bundle above from VMWare, so i really need a response from someone who has this working, as i spent 4-8 weeks getting LSI working (which i can repeat now in 10 mins as i know what the process is).

I really could do with an Intel tech input here who can confirm what needs to be loaded and confirm it works (worries me there not listed on Intel drivers site)

We are only looking at the INTEL RAID as there is an on board connector, however the internal meeting it was decided we were going to standardize on ARECA RAID cards as they have an Ethernet port built right in to the card with its own IP address, making all the above redundant as management would be right from that IP address of the RAID card and management that talks directly to the on board RAID card separate IP address. They still list VMWare drivers also so ESXi can talk with the card as designed.

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idata
Employee
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Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

VMWare drivers are been provided by VMWare now and not by Intel, that is why we cannot find them on the Intel download center site.

 

 

Could you tell me what version of ESXi are you running so we can try to do some testing on our end?

 

 

Jose H.

 

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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
1,715 Views

Hi

ESXi version 6.5, however i have some that will be on 6 as well (i understand version 6 is more similar to version 5.5)

What we need to know is, once the VMWare certified drivers are loaded, will the Intel RAID Web Console 2 installed on an external Windows PC (on the same LAN segment) be able to fully managed the RAID controller running in the ESXi environment, including alerts. It sounds basic but the LSI / AVAGO / BROADCOM is a nightmare, we have just spent 4 hours this morning trying to connect to an EXI v6.0 install running a LSI 9266-8i the the MEGARAID Management running on a Windows system outside the hardware. This was working fine 6 months ago, and now was a MAJOR issue (and still is so they are looking to replace all of the servers to stop this happening)..

Thanks, this is holding a project up of about 3+ servers while a decision is made on the RAID controllers.

Many Thans

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idata
Employee
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Hi (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

I understand your question. I think part of what you are looking for is detailed in the following document on section 2.5: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/vmware_esxi_50_installation_and_rwc2_tips_and_tric.pdf https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/vmware_esxi_50_installation_and_rwc2_tips_and_tric.pdf

 

 

You can review it and let us know if you could do a bit of a progress.

 

 

Jose H.
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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
1,715 Views

Hi

The document all looks ok (except its dated 2012, VMWare ESXi version 5 which is radically different from version 6 and 6.5), that said, page 56 says to download the SMIS provider from intel, so where do i get the SMIS file for this RAID card for ESXi version 6.0 and 6.5?

LSI/AVAGO/BROADCOM still list the SMIS on there website under "management tools for VMWare" for there own cards, where do i get Intel's?

Does the Intel RAID Web Console 2 have "SLP" built in? (this is missing from LSI MegaRAID (which Intels management is based on), i had to find it myself as ALL the MegaRAID instructions are the same as your Intel document, and none of them work for the below reasons:

- If the PC / Server with the management tool (MegaRAID manager) has more than 1 IP address OR more than one network card (even if disabled), the tool will ALWAYS fail to find a ESXi servers (even when SMIS is installed)

- If SLP isnt installed on the PC running the management tools it also fails to find the ESXi server (as it relies on SLP to find the server)

- if FULL DNS reverse look up is not fully configured the server MAY SHOW as 0.0.0.0 but then can not be connected to from the management tools (as somehow DNS is needed by SLP and the management tools to resolve the IP address even though its not used). Page 62 makes reference to this, however we have had issues since ESXi version 5.5 as it has to the the SAME DNS server that ESXi is using before it will work, the HOST file no longer works.

Can you please confirm the above? The only real way is to test a real install (which i cant do, i dont have the money to buy hardware to test).

I would like clear clarification as the reason these FULLY WORKING servers with LSI 9266-8i cards with CacheCade and battery backup are being replaced is there not manageable so anything i put in must work or i cant invoice for servers i supplied. I think its bad VMWare has left this all happen, i am not sure how this slipped past there QC, however its always been an issue with LSI based hardware from the start. This was why we looked at separate LAN based management for RAID cards.

Many Thanks

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idata
Employee
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Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

Just to confirm, the drivers you are looking for are for the Intel RAID RMS25JB080 correct? The reason I ask is because this RAID controller has a LSI2308 chip and not a LSI 9266-8i as you mentioned. (Or this last ones are the ones you will be replacing?)

 

 

The SMIS drivers are provided by VMware and not by us. We are yet to confirm if RAID Web Console 2 supports SLP.

 

 

Jose H.

 

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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
1,715 Views

Hi Jose

I have bullet pointed the response below for clarity:

- The hardware in question here is RMS25JB080 (and its brother RMS25JB040 which i suspect is the same driver)

- I understand the RMS25JB0x0 is not the same as the LSI 9266-8i, i have no experience with the RMS25JB0x0 generation of controllers, however i have extensive experience with the LSI 92xx hardware controllers which is why i listed there operation in detail. However as both RMS25JB0x0 and 92xx are both LSI, they both share a common management system, this is why i listed my experience in great details (and the flawed documentation from LSI)

- I am not sure IF SLP is needed to manage the Intel RMS25JB0x0 hardware, what i was saying is SLP was needed and NOT DOCUMENTED by LSI for there 92xx controllers (which i feel was a bug in there management system), and as the Intel RMS25JB0x0 is of the same hardware manufacture and share a common management i pointed this out to help you find and test the solution. It maybe that you "fixed" this issue of fault in your version of being Raid Web Console 2 as the SLP is not a service, its a separate PHP program with an extensive config file that points to the ESXi server directly (and is a major pain in itself to get working)

- I was unable to originally find the drivers for the RMS25JB0x0 RAID controller with VMWare, i found them by accident, however they do not list the SMIS drivers (that i can find), as i said before, VMWare make NO MENTION of managment what so ever of RAID controllers so make no mention that i can find about loading ANY SMIS drivers (which is maybe why i cant find them as they dont list them), so they still need to be tracked down (as they are not listed with the driver for the RMS25JB080 in that VIB package that i can see, unless you can confirm they are in the package).

- Really this needs to be tested on a real install of VMWare ESXi 6v with the RMS25JB080 controller and an install of the RAID Web Console 2, i dont want to expend the money to "test" this, i already have 3 x 9266-8i i need to sell as found out the hardware there not manageable from my above very detailed message (i might add i am not the only one having this issue, its quiet widely documented for many data centers having this issue with LSI HBA RAID hardware controllers, ive not seen mention the Intel version of this, which is why i posted here hoping you do not have this issue).

I will note here, the RAID Web Console 2 is different from the LSI MegaRAID manager with regards the finding of ESXi hardware so maybe you have fixed the issue of SLP, i really have no idea, you would be the one who has access to these details, i can only provide my detail findings with regards the genuine LSI 9266-8i controller and its management system.

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idata
Employee
1,715 Views

Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

We will investigate further and will let you know with our findings.

 

 

Jose H.

 

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idata
Employee
1,715 Views

Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

What I was able to find is that in order for the RAID card to be managed externally over the network (same subnet) it is needed a management tool usually downloadable from the Broadcom website: https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9217-8i# downloads https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9217-8i# downloads . This .vib extension file then is loaded to the ESXi machine using Putty for example and that will allow the RAID card to be externally managed.

 

 

The big issue here is that there is no such file available from the Broadcom website for VMware. You can look under Management Software and Tools from the above URL. The probable reason is because this is an entry level card not even listed as a RAID controller but as Host Bus Adapter so the management options are limited.

 

 

Hope this helps a little at least as informational.

 

 

Jose H.

 

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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
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Hi

I can not find any file VIB under that link you sent, can you send a screen shot of its location? i assume you pointed me to a compatible SMIS driver for the RMS25JB0x0 series of RAID cards?

We did some searching, here are my findings..

The RMS25JB0x0 cards are powered by the LSI SAS2908 chip, below i listed the support from VMWare on this:

https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=34298 VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

Driver : lsi-msgpt2 version 20.00.01.00-3vmw

Firmware : 19.00.00.00

The VMWare support directly for the RMS25JB080 card is below:

https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=33733 VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

Driver : lsi-msgpt2 version 20.00.01.00-3vmw

Firmware : 19.00.00.00

Both of the above are IDENTICAL drivers (this is good, as i would assume so).

However LSI RAID card that uses the LSI SAS2308 is an LSI 9205-8e, which is so deleted i cant even find it on LSI / AVAGO / BROADCOM website, that said, this card driver is the same on VMWare (https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=19799 VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search ) so again not surprising. Heres the problem:

VMWare says to go to LSI for the SMIS drivers (under management tools), the only SMIS drivers i can find that are ESXi version 6 or 6.5 compliant support the below cards: which says to me the Intel RAID card using the LSI SAS2908 chip is way to old and no SMIS drivers are avaible for ESXI version 6 and 6.5.

Your comments on this? (ive seen this on other forums about older cards, LSI / AVAGO / BROADCOM no longer writing SMIS drivers for cards that work perfectly but are end of life), so whos responsibility is it to write these SMIS drivers? i assume INTEL as your using there chip in your hardware!

Current SMIS drivers for VMWare ESXi 6 and 6.5 are listed below (taken from LSI / AVAGO / BROADCOM Managment Tools website.

MegaRAID SAS 9361-24i

MegaRAID SAS 9361-16i

Syncro 9361-8i

Syncro 9380-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9361-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9361-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9341-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9341-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9380-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9380-4i4e

MegaRAID SAS 9270-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9271-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9271-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9271-8iCC

MegaRAID SAS 9286-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9286CV-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9286CV-8eCC

MegaRAID SAS 9265-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9285-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9285CV-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9266-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9266-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9240-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9240-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9250-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-4i

MegaRAID SAS 9260-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9260CV-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9260DE-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9261-8i

MegaRAID SAS 9280-4i4e

MegaRAID SAS 9280-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9280DE-8e

MegaRAID SAS 9280-24i4e

MegaRAID SAS 9280-16i4e

MegaRAID SAS 9260-16i

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idata
Employee
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Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

There are NO VMware .vib files (SMIS drivers) for this RAID card under the Broadcom website unfortunately. The search I did was under host bus adapters LSI 9217-8i. The exact reason why are not available is not known so it's difficult to know who are responsible to create them.

 

 

We could try to elevate this question to the engineering department at least to have an official answer but I think it's a bit difficult to have actual management drivers for this card. I will go ahead but probably it will take a little longer, so I will let you know when we have something.

 

 

Regards.

 

 

Jose H.

 

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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
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Hi Jose

The LSI 9217.8i is supported by VMWare but only version 5.5 (from VMWares website), i also cant find the SMIS drivers for it on LSI / AVAGO / BROADCOM website.

If no SMIS drivers can be found for the Intel RMS25JB0x0 then it is not manageable once VMWare ESXi is installed (also confirmed by your own documentation), then something needs to be escalated to be fixed (finding compatible SMIS drivers for this card).

I cant believe in 2017 a current server board with its associated RAID controller is not fully VMWare compliant as it cant be managed!

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idata
Employee
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Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

The reason why there are no management drivers for this particular RAID module could be more because it is categorized as entry level by Intel so this would make it more a marketing reason more than a technical reason.

 

 

I have already requested this to be elevated so we will have updates within a week or two hopefully.

 

 

Jose H.
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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
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Hi Jose

Well lets explore that statement... the RAID controller RMS3CC080 which is the higher end version for the same board in to the same SLOT that supports RAID 5, where are the SMIS drivers for this card? Does it need SMIS drivers (as it uses the Intel RAID Web Console 3)?

Its way more expensive than RAID cards for the Lenovo servers that are cheaper, but also do RAID 5 and do have SMIS drivers (and are also VMWare compliant).

Would you like me to open a new question for this card or are you happy to have it here? Its another option, if this card is manageable running VMWare then i can use this card (as its just a part slightly more expensive)

Many Thanks

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idata
Employee
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Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

There are management files available under the RAID Web Console 2 installation package in the form of .mib extension files.

 

 

I am still investigating if those are the ones needed for injecting on the vmware machine using Putty.

 

 

Jose H.
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idata
Employee
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Hello (((GRIFFCOMM,

 

 

There are management files available under the RAID Web Console 2 installation package in the form of .mib extension files.

 

 

I am still investigating if those are the ones needed for injecting on the vmware machine.

 

 

Jose H.

 

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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
1,715 Views

Hi Jose

Thanks for checking...

.MIB are generally listed as SNMP files (Management Information Base File)

You might also want to check the Intel RAID Web Console 3 which is for use by RAID controller RMS3CC080

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idata
Employee
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Hello Ashley,

 

 

We are running a LAB and will get back with you as soon as possible with the possible fix on the installation. Please allow us some time.

 

 

If there is anything else we can help please feel free to ask.

 

 

Best regards,

 

 

Henry A.
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GRIFFCOMM
New Contributor I
1,578 Views

Hi Henry

Thanks, please keep me updated.

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