HELP installing XenServer 7.20 with Dynamic Smart Array B140i

[Spartansoul]

What's up, folks.

I'm trying to install XenServer 7.20 on a ProLiant ML110 Gen9, with RAID 1 arrays previosly configured from HP SSA, but I can't get the installation program detects the RAID controller, and I have not been able to get a driver to load it using the F9 key.

I don't know how to configure RAID 1 via software.

I need that server ready urgently, so please, let me your answers how to install this. I've been trying to install XenServer with RAID 1 for two weeks and it has not been possible.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Regards from Colombia.

[parnassus]

Unfortunately HPE Dynamic Smart Array B140i looks unsupported by Citrix XenServer, that's because HPE didn't provide any specific device driver for XenServer (this problem is not limited to HPE Dynamic Smart Array controllers but, also, hits some HPE Smart Array controllers...my take is that HPE is not so Citrix XenServer friendly as it is against VMware vSphere), the only feasible way is to let the XenServer 7's OS on Dom0 (which is CentOS 7 Linux based) to manage disk directly (so build you RAID1 via mdadm like normally happens on Linux)...so forget about Hardware RAID with hardware you have...I think this approach (once the disk controller operates in AHCI mode) is well documented.

[Spartansoul]

Thank you so much for the answer.

So, all I need to do is configure the hard disks in AHCI mode instead of RAID, huh?

Well, since it is a configuration for the first time in my life, I appreciate your collaboration, if you don't mind, in providing me with a somekind of tutorial (URL link or whatever) to configure RAID 1 via mdadm.

Thank you again. Great weekend.

[parnassus]

Sorry, Citrix XenServer 7.2 (Current Release), if deployed respecting what Citrix wrote on its Technical FAQs (here), doesn't support Software based RAID implementation (as CentOS 7 does through mdadm) nor it supports HostRAID or FakeRAID solutions...so if you want to adhere to official Citrix requirements and deployment guidelines go without RAID1 otherwise there was a discussion here about implementing RAID1 on a fresh new stock install of XenServer 7...clearly it is an unofficial method (forget about any support by Citrix in case of troubles on such configuration).

Consider also that HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen9 isn't listed among supported HPE Server for XenServer 7.0 and 7.1, 7.2 seems to new and it is not listed at all (AFAIK only the tower Server HPE ProLiant ML350 Gen9 was certified and only some specific HPE Smart Array Controllers are supported with proper HPE device drivers, check compatibility matrix - HPE side and Citrix side - reading this post I wrote when XenServer 7.0 was released).

[Jimmy Vance]

---

@parnassus wrote:
Unfortunately HPE Dynamic Smart Array B140i looks unsupported by Citrix XenServer, that's because HPE didn't provide any specific device driver for XenServer (this problem is not limited to HPE Dynamic Smart Array controllers but, also, hits some HPE Smart Array controllers...my take is that HPE is not so Citrix XenServer friendly as it is against VMware vSphere), 

---

While you are correct that the proprietary B140i driver (hpdsa) wasn't released for Xenserver, the 'P' series Smart Array driver (hpsa) is open source.  If it isn't included with Xenserver, it is a Xenserver issue for not picking up the source. from the mainline kernel tree.  Doesn't really have anything to do with HPE being Xenserver freindly or not