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Re: vvol inaccessible vsphere 6.0

 
tshipp118
Occasional Contributor

vvol inaccessible vsphere 6.0

I am finally attempting to test out VVols, running vSphere 6.0u3. I have configured the array side with the proper folder and setup for VASA, etc.

I verified the HBA's on the hosts support second level lun id. The volume shows up on the hosts to add, however when I click finish the volume shows as inactive and there is an error "vSphere HA failed to create a configuration vVol for this datastore and so will not be able to protect virtual machines on the datastore until the problem is resolved. Error: (vim.fault.InaccessibleDatastore) ". 

Thoughts?

5 REPLIES 5
rshekar42
Advisor

Re: vvol inaccessible vsphere 6.0

Tim,

This error most likely indicates that the host did not establish connections to the Protocol Endpoint.

When you mount a VVol datastore to a set of hosts, Nimble VASA Provider automatically adds access control entries to give the hosts access to the protocol endpoint, and notifies the host to rescan to get access to the PE device.

I am guessing you already have other VMFS datastores mounted from Nimble to these hosts, so it may not be a zoning issue.

One thing to look at is driver/firmware versions you have: 

Some things to note from this article:

"In the results you will see the firmware versions needed to support VVols and links to any special drivers that might be needed for ESXi to support it as shown below.?"

"From what IтАЩve seen there are some I/O Adapters that will work using the standard ESXi image, some require custom server ESXI images (i.e. HPE, Dell) and other that require you to download and install a driver into ESXi. You can see many of these in the vSphere Drivers/Tools download page."

Also check/share the output of these commands on ESXi:

$ esxcli storage core adapter list

 

$ esxcli storage core device list --pe-only

And these commands on Nimble OS:

$ pe --list

$ pe --info <pe-name> --verbose

scole7626
Occasional Contributor

Re: vvol inaccessible vsphere 6.0

Tim,

What hardware are you using as hosts?  This is similar to an issue I have been having for more than a year and a half while attempting to use vvols with UCS hosts.  There are no appropriate SLLID drivers/firmware available for use with vvol in general.  Other vendors have some success, but with UCS you will see every piece of the puzzle except the PE and nothing will work for you.  What I have found in my research is there is only one VIC card (1340) that is documented to support vvols and it doesn't actually work.  Also the VIC that Nimble used in testing is the M81KR which no longer supports current firmwares because it is so old.  Of course if you are not using UCS then all of this is moot anyways.

If you figure something out please update the page.  This has been something I have been wanting for quite sometime.  I had this dream of using Nimble and Veeam in conjunction to backup individual servers at the storage level with minimal impact on VMware.

https://supportforums.cisco.com/discussion/12597111/ucs-support-vmware-virtual-volumes-vvol-hba-driver-update 

chris24
Respected Contributor

Re: vvol inaccessible vsphere 6.0

Hello,

This can happen for a number of reasons, try some of the following solutions.

  • Are you using CHAP? This is not supported with VVOls.
  • Is port 8443 open between the ESX host and the array?
  • Try unmounting and re-adding the VVOL.
  • Disable and Re-Enable HA.

Stanton ColeтАМ I believe this is fixed as per the link you sent FNIC driver, 1.6.0.33 released on the 22nd of Feb 2017.

Many thanks,

Chris

tshipp118
Occasional Contributor

Re: vvol inaccessible vsphere 6.0

Apologies for the delay in my response. 

I could see second level lun id support in the CLI of each host. But what I did do is patch/update everything. Andy by everything I mean all host drivers, firmware, and made sure I used the Dell ESXi image. Also I noticed I had the 3.4 NCM but for 5.5, so I replaced that too.

I basically threw the kitchen sink at it.

mblumberg16
Respected Contributor

Re: vvol inaccessible vsphere 6.0

Did it help you? is it all working now?

Thanks,

Moshe.