Windows VROC driver destroys RAID1 VROC array when the VMD technology is disabled in Setup

[George2005]

Hello,

I've encountered with the "weird" behaviour of Windows VROC driver which has destroyed the fully functional RAID1 VROC array during the the time when the Intel VMD technology has been disabled in Setup.

Firstly I've noticed this problem after BIOS upgrading when the all Setup settings has gone to the default values (including the disabling the Intel VMD technology). So I've though that the problem would be caused by BIOS upgrading itself but later I've realised that such problem could be reproducible simply by temporarily disabling the Intel VMD technology in Setup (i.e. without any BIOS upgrading).

My RAID1 VROC array is not bootable and consists of two 512 GB NVMe drives. It's operated on C422 Chipset Platform (i.e. MB Supermicro X11SRA-F & CPU Xeon W-2133 & 64 GB ECC DDR4 2666 MHz & VROCSTANMOD key). The operating system (Windows 10 x64 Enterprise) is booted from single SSD 256 GB drive and there is Intel RSTe driver & GUI (v. 5.3.1.1020) installed there.

The problem is reproducible in that way:

1. There is the fully functional RAID1 VROC array (so the Intel VMD technology is enabled in Setup, including both ports of PStack2 which hosts the NVMe drives). The Normal state of array is indicated both in Setup (i.e. UEFI OROM of VMD) and Windows RSTe GUI.

2. Go to the Setup and disable the Intel VMD technology

3. Boot into the Windows and see in Windows RSTe GUI that there is no RAID - two separate NVMe drives are displayed instead (well, that's the logical as the Intel VMD technology is disabled now)

4. Go to the Setup and enable Intel VMD technology again

5. Boot into the Windows and see in Windows RSTe GUI that there is still no RAID - two separate NVMe drives are still displayed instead (as the Intel VMD technology is enabled now the RAID1 VROC array has been destroyed!)

6. For sure - go to the Setup (i.e. UEFI OROM of VMD) and check the RAID state - there is not also any RAID any more.

The array is destroyed by the Windows VROC driver (and/or RSTe GUI) definitely (see point no. 3 above). If I disable the Intel VMD technology in Setup but I don't let the system boot into the Windows (i.e. with the VROC driver & RSTe GUI installed) the RAID1 VROC array has NOT been destroyed. I could even cycle the power and when I enable the Intel VMD technology in Setup again the RAID1 VROC array is back & ready in the Normal state.

So I would like to know if the behaviour described above is a bug or "feature" and if it's possible to fix it in a way that RAID1 VROC array shouldn't be destroyed in case of (temporarily) disabling the Intel VMD technology.

Thank you very much

Regards

[idata]

Hello George2005,

Thank you for contacting Intel Technical Support.As we understand you are experiencing a RAID configuration loss every time that you disable the Intel® VMD technology in the BIOS.We really appreciate your detailed feedback regarding your issue.We are going to proceed to further investigate in your inquiry to see if it is possible to keep the RAID configuration in cases that anyone disables the Intel® VMD technology.We will be replying to your post as soon as we have an update on your inquiry.Thank you for your patience and understanding.Best regards,

Josh B.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[George2005]

Hello,

exactly, the problem is that the RAID configuration is lost every time that I disable the Intel® VMD technology in the BIOS (and boot into the Windows with Intel RSTe/VROC driver & GUI installed).

I've thought so far that the VROC RAID configuration has been kept as metadata on both NVMe drives (i.e. like SATA RAID configuration) but it seems to me now that the configuration would be kept in NVRAM only so the Intel® VMD technology disabling in BIOS could let the RSTe/VROC driver erase such RAID configuration (i.e. destroy the array finally).

So I would appreciate very much to fix the VROC driver (or VMD OROM code etc.) not to cause losing the RAID configuration during the Intel® VMD technology disabling in BIOS.

Thank you very much for your help.

Regards,

[idata]

Hello Jiri Stencl(George2005),

Thank you for your patience. We have been working on trying to replicate your issue in our lab and we ran several tests using a generic system without experiencing the same issue you are reporting. We recommend you to contact your original equipment manufacturer in order to try to get a solution to your issue that seems to be related to the customization of VROC per platform by the OEM. We hope you find this information helpful. Best regards, Josh B.Intel® Customer Support TechnicianUnder Contract to Intel Corporation

[George2005]

Hello,

thank you very much for your lab investigation.

Well, I will have to contact Supermicro as your OEM partner to solve this issue.

Thanks again for all,

Regards