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MSCS Requires 2Gb Fibre Channel HBAs on ESX Server 3.0.1

Details

Microsoft Cluster Services using Fibre Channel HBAs is currently supported on ESX Server 3.0.1 using only 2Gb adapters. This requires using the appropriate 2Gb Fibre Channel driver. ESX Server 3.0.1 is installed with 4Gb Fibre Channel drivers by default. New servers are now shipping with 4Gb HBAs. To use MSCS, you will have to replace 4Gb HBAs with VMware-supported 2Gb cards. Non-MSCS installations can use the 4Gb cards and the default 4Gb driver.
 
Warning: If your server has 4Gb HBAs, you cannot roll back the driver to support 2Gb. Rolling back the driver per the instructions in this document will break the system.

Note: MSCS support requirements for ESX Server 3.0.2 can be found at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1002304 .

Solution

To determine which Fibre Channel drivers are installed:

  1. Use the command vmkload_mod -l to determine which drivers are installed.

  2. Review the command output. 4Gb drivers are indicated by lpfcdd_732, qla2200_707, or qla2300_707. If one of these is present, modify your drivers.
To modify installed Fibre Channel drivers:

Replace any 4Gb HBAs with supported 2Gb HBAs. For a list of supported storage devices, see the VMware I/O Compatibility Guide for ESX Server 3.0 at http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_io_guide.pdf.
  1. Uninstall any 4Gb drivers by using the command rpm -e <4Gb_driver_name> .

    Example:

    rpm -e VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-qla2200-v7.07-7.7.4.1vmw-29822

    The actual driver name varies, depending on the Fibre Channel manufacturer and ESX Server build number.

  2. Install the 2Gb drivers using the command rpm -Uvh <2Gb_driver_name> .

    Example:

    rpm -Uvh VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-qla2300-v7xx-7.4.0.1vmw-29822.i386.rpm

    The actual driver name varies, depending on the Fibre Channel manufacturer and ESX Server build number.

  3. In the /etc/vmware/esx.conf file , change:

    • lpfcdd_732 to lpfcdd_7xx

    • qla2200_707 to qla2200_7xx

    • qla2300_707 to qla2300_7xx

  4. Issue the command:

    esxcfg-boot -b

    Also known as --update-boot, this option implies -g (--regenerate-grub) plus a new initrd creation. The command looks in esx.conf to see what is there and builds an appropriate initial RAM disk (initrd) and puts the appropriate data on the grub.conf kernel command line.

  5. Reboot the system.

  6. (Optional) Follow the instructions again in To determine which Fibre Channel drivers are installed (above). Ensure that all instances of 4Gb Fibre Channel drivers were replaced with 2Gb Fiber Channel drivers.

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1560391
  • Updated: Aug 14, 2009
  • Products:
    VMware ESX
    VMware VirtualCenter
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ESX 3.0.x
    VMware VirtualCenter 2.0.x