No tape drive inside VM with ESXi 4.1?

[Primetime_de]

Hi,

I just noticed in my test lab that I can't add my tape drive (Tandberg LTO-3 on Adaptec 29320) to my VMs.

I speak about the "old" way, not pass-through.

In the storage adapter tab no device is recognized at the Adaptec controller.

With ESX 4.0U2 this works fine.

Can anyone confirm this?

Best regards,

Christian

[DSTAVERT]

I would always create your own post to ask a question.

The only supported method to connect a tape/autoloader to a VM is using an Adaptec parallel SCSI adapter (from the HCL).

[Coinspinnr]

I've only had luck with adaptec 29320 LPE controllers (Both PCI-X and PCI-E) with the steps I listed earlier which has worked consistenly for us on a dozen servers.

I have not been able to get any of of our HP or lsi logic controllers to work yet.

[ltotape]

willismatthew wrote:

I am trying to add a SAS tap drive to the vm.  I am using a perc H800 sas card and it is not working properly.  I believe it uses that megaraid_sas driver.  So how would I correct this issue under this scenario?  Thanks

Your HBA may not support tape drives.

Take a look at this page:

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/global/products/pvaul/topics/en/us/raid_controller?c=u...

Notice under "PERC 6Gbps SAS HBA", it says "Adds support for Tape"?  That kind of implies that the other HBAs listed above do not support tape devices.  (Unless the table is supposed to be read from the bottom.  Confusing.)

I suggest you double-check with Dell, if there is any doubt.  If you have successfully used the HBA with the tape drive outside of the VM, then the HBA is probably OK.

Message was edited by: ltotape

[flynntof]

I've had success working with the  command on a number of Vmware Esx4.1 u1 servers and the Adaptec 29320LPe controller.

esxcli nmp satp deleterule --satp VMW_SATP_ALUA --claim-option tpgs_on

However on on machine Where backup was successfully working through a VM t; the path has suddenly died.

We've made no chnages to the system but the Storage adapters now show the AS-29320LPE has have 0 targets, 0 devices and 0 paths.

Has anyone a solution for this?

[Primetime_de]

Sehr geehrter Absender,

ich bin bis zum 1. August 2011 nicht im Büro. Ich werde Ihre Email sobald wie möglich beantworten. Ihre Email wird nicht weitergeleitet.

Mit freundlichem Gruß

Christian Meier

WORTMANN AG

[spoonwzd]

I am on annual leave until 06-08-11 and therefore my access to emails will be sporadic. Please contact the Nexus helpdesk on 01392667570 or at support@nexusos.co.uk if your need is urgent.

[Coinspinnr]

This has worked for us consistently with the adaptec 29320LPE cards

To fix the dead path issue

Enable local support via console

Alt F1

Login as root

Run the following command

esxcli nmp satp addrule --satp VMW_SATP_LOCAL --driver="aic79xx" --description="Specific rule for Adaptec Card"

reboot ESXi the server

you may have to remove the tape drive from the vm and then add it back.

[flynntof]

ESXI 4.1U1

HP LTO 4 tape drive

ASC-29320LPE scsi card

I have a problem where by I cannot see the tape drive HP LTO4 on the scsi controller on the Storage Adapter (VMHBA2). It was working and suddenly dropped off.

I've replaced the SCSI card ASC-29320LPE and the Tape drive as well.

I've tried both the SATP rules listed in the previous posts with no luck.

I have the same configuration at other sites with no problem

Has anyone else got an idea at what might be wrong?

Regards

[torbenxpc]

Tak for din email. Jeg er ikke at træffe d. 29 og 30 august. Du kan henvende dig til vores support for at få hjælp. mailto:support@xpconsult.dk <mailto:support@xpconsult.dk> eller du kan ringe på vores hoved nummer som er 72163111, for at få hjælp til din henvendelse.

Venlig hilsen

Torben Hagelskjær XPConsult

[Primetime_de]

Sehr geehrter Absender,

ich befinde mich derzeit nicht im Büro. Ich werde Ihre Email sobald wie möglich beantworten. Ihre Email wird nicht weitergeleitet.

Mit freundlichem Gruß

Christian Meier

WORTMANN AG

[info7511]

Dear Sender, I'm out of the office until 5th of september and have only very limited and unsteady access to my emails. In case of hotline issues, additional Information or data requests please contact: detac.plm@siemens.com Thanks and kind regards Sascha Kloeppel GTAC Services - GTAC EMEA

[Coinspinnr]

In the Adaptec BIOS, you need to change the option to enable multiple LUN support for the SCSI ID of the changer in order for windows to recognize the tape drive and changer properly.

That will probably address the issue.

[Coinspinnr]

This is the command you want to use for the adaptec 29320

esxcli nmp satp addrule --satp VMW_SATP_LOCAL --driver="aic79xx" --description="Specific rule for Adaptec Card"

[celavey]

I just upgraded to ESXi 5. is it the same on ESXi 4.1 when fixing on this?

[Coinspinnr]

I will be testing in the next few days and will post results.

[Thorsten_Schnei]

Hi Coinspinnr,

how did your test go ? Does the same trick work on ESXi 5 ?

Thanks

Thorsten

[MMRTN]

Has anyone resolved this?

I have a Dell Poweredge 2900 using an HP Ultrium LTO 448 tape drive, on a factory Perc 6i controller.

Would I need to use the Adaptec driver as well in this command or a differnet one? (esxcli nmp satp addrule --satp VMW_SATP_LOCAL --driver="aic79xx" --description="Specific rule for Adaptec Card")

[flynntof]

Hello

You will need to get an Adaptec 29320 card for your server. The cards are about $200 and you can be pretty sure it will work straight away. I have a number of Dell using the same raid controller but needed a separate controller for the tape drive

Regard

Paul

[MMRTN]

flynntof, thanks for that. Will I then still need to run this command at the console to get this to be seen by the host ESXi Server?

I also see there are a few different flavours of that card, I assume there is no just specific one, but all that model work?

thanks 

[Coinspinnr]

After you install the adaptec 29320 LPE scsi controller, you will need to run the command from the console and either reboot or go to storage adapters under the configuration tab in the vSphere Client and select rescan all. At that point it should change from a dead path and see your tape drive.

esxcli nmp satp addrule --satp VMW_SATP_LOCAL --driver="aic79xx" --description="Specific rule for Adaptec Card"

If you are using a changer, make sure to go into the adaptec bios and turn on multiple lun support on the scsi ID you will be using.

If you are using a different controller, replace the aic79xx with the esx driver for the card you are going to use. Some of the LSI cards are using the mptspi driver.

So for lsi logic you would use esxcli nmp satp addrule --satp VMW_SATP_LOCAL --driver="mptspi" --description="Any description you want to put here between the quotes"

Hope that helps

Nathan Williams