Intel Pro/1000 PT Quad PCIe doesn't work...

[jbsengineer]

Just an FYI. There were some threads about this but I couldn't find them.

We got some new Dell 2950's in with the PCIe architecture. With Intel having the new Quad PCIe NIC we decided to wing it and see if it wouldn't atleast work in our test labs. From what I've read it's the same chipset. However it doesn't work. ESX won't load a driver for it.

So my question is how do I let VMware know that atleast I would love to see it supported in the next release?

[Paul_Lalonde]

Guys...

I will have to re-compile the driver and add some debugging code to shed some light on what is going on in each of your systems.

I wish I had a quad-port PCIe to test... I wonder how much they are on eBay...

Paul

[ssoltysi]

I can overnight you a card as a loaner if that would help. Otherwise I'll look forward to the debugging code.

Sean

[mreferre]

Paul if you have done all this without even having a card available than ...... well you certianly have my admiration for what it is worth.

Now I get why so many people say this is a valuable community. Please stay around ....

Massimo.

[robbiehe]

Paul,

it is that you are not living in Holland else I would have brought you

one this evening \!!!

Robbie

[lambeth]

I hate to throw cold water on this, but you guys do realize that if you install and run with some driver that isn't provided by VMware, it will not be supported by VMware right?

I'm not suggesting that the person posting the driver is intentionally doing anything wrong, and it's true that in many cases all that is needed is adding the new PCI ID to the .c file and recompiling, but that isn't always the case.

[Discostew]

Hi, I'm having the same problem as everyone. Can a VM moderator chime in and let us all know if we need to return the Quad-port PCI-Express cards and replace them with Dual-port cards or if VMWare might actually patch this and get it to work since obviously so many people are having this issue?

[Paul_Lalonde]

Well, what's worse? Having a quad-port GigE NIC that doesn't work at all? Or, having a quad-port GigE NIC that does work, but isn't supported.

Either way you look at it, VMware isn't supporting the customer.

I don't mean to be harping on VMware -- I understand and respect its corporate policies -- but c'mon... really... ESX uses all Linux-derived device drivers so there's no reason why support for new devices can't be kept up to date.

Paul

[Paul_Lalonde]

I'll throw some debug code in, and we'll see how that goes. If that doesn't provide me with any insight, I'll take you up on your offer!

Thanks muchly.

Paul

[lambeth]

Well, what's worse? Having a quad-port GigE NIC

that doesn't work at all? Or, having a quad-port

GigE NIC that does work, but isn't supported.

I guess that depends on what kind of system you are maintaining and who you answer to as an IT person. I just wanted to make sure that people understrand that that's the choice they're making here. I suppose some people will find this to be an acceptable tradeoff, just like some people run unofficially supported hardware, and some people won't.

Either way you look at it, VMware isn't supporting

the customer.

We update drivers in dot releases and patch releases. Once we've released a driver which supports this device and done some QA on the device it would become supported and get added to the HCL.

I don't mean to be harping on VMware -- I understand

and respect its corporate policies -- but c'mon...

really... ESX uses all Linux-derived device drivers

so there's no reason why support for new devices

can't be kept up to date.

ESX is not linux, so sometimes there is more to it than simply recompiling the driver with new pci ids (as you are finding out) We try to be proactive about getting support in for new devices before they become available, but it doesn't always work that way. As ESX becomes more popular, device vendors will start becoming more proactive about ESX support and you'll likely see fewer cases of gaps like this.

Anyway I'm not trying to defend the fact that we don't have a driver released yet for this device. As I said, I'm just pointing out to people that if they run with some driver we don't ship, it isn't supported.

[brentreed]

Paul,

This is great for the test lab, and in fact I am ordering these cards, hoping a driver will be shipped from VMware soon, however please read the following taken from the HCL. If its not in the HCL (which it isnt) then this wont likely be supported by VMware. If there is any VMware peeps, please can you give an estimate when / where we can obtain an update.

Here is text from their HCL document:

Linux Driver Compatibility[/b]

While ESX Server software itself is not derived from Linux, it includes a Linux compatibility module to allow Linux

storage and networking drivers to be adapted and recompiled for ESX Server hosts. This enables VMware and VMware

partners to more easily support a wide range of high‐performance devices and eases the driver porting effort on the

storage and networking device vendors. VMware or VMware partners typically modifies these drivers for one or more

of the following reasons:

! To make the driver compatible with the ESX Server host

! To tune the driver for performance

! To add I/O resource governing or QoS support to the driver

! To fix generic bugs in the driver

It is not possible to directly load existing, precompiled, Linux device driver binaries onto an ESX Server host.[i][/i][/i]

[Paul_Lalonde]

I appreciate your comments. Like I said, I don't mean to harp on VMware. At the end of the day, I too would prefer that ESX be stable and reliable as opposed to "cutting edge" and shaky.

As for the Intel Pro/1000 PT Quad-Port PCIe adapter, it \*really* is just two Pro/1000 PT Dual-Port adapters on one card. The 82571GB (dual-port) and 82571EB (quad-port) chip identifiers are supported by the same driver in both the Linux and Windows worlds. Hence, my attempt to incorporate the PCI device ID for the quad-port into the vmkernel driver.

Regards,

Paul

[jatsma]

Anyway I'm not trying to defend the fact that we

don't have a driver released yet for this device. As

I said, I'm just pointing out to people that if they

run with some driver we don't ship, it isn't

supported.

Hello there

Yet another customer who tries to install an Intel Pro/1000 PT Quad NIC for use with VMware. This time on an HP Proliant DL380.

Intel recommends this NIC for virtualization.

See http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/server_adapters.htm

A good reason for VMware to join hands with Intel and get the NIC supported. Even more since the dual port version is already supported.

So, lambeth, no need to defend the fact that there is no support yet, but can you tell us all when support will be realized? Seems you've got some customers waiting for it.

Regards,

Joop

[RZamora]

Here's an update for all parties interested in this issue...

I purchased an Intel 1000/PT Dual Port adapter because I could not wait any longer for the Quad Port. My network engineer installed the Dual Port in the server, which already contained the Quad Port. Upon reboot, both the Dual and Quad Port adapters were recognized! We then removed the Dual Port and the Quad Port was still recognized.

Apparently Paul's driver does indeed work on my system(Dell PowerEdge 2950), but until the Dual Port adapter was recognized on startup, ESX did not load the driver. When the system started up for the first time after the Dual Port adapter was installed, the new hardware was detected and the e1000 driver automatically loaded. It is possible that any supported adapter that uses the e1000 driver will kickstart ESX into recognizing the Quad Port.

Regards,

Robert

[Paul_Lalonde]

Robert,

Fantastic news. Thanks for the update.

Paul

[ssoltysi]

Paul,

Does this lead you to believe there is a viable workaround without having to install a supported e1000 card? At this point we don't have any dual port cards, just the quads.

Thanks,

Sean

[lambeth]

So, lambeth, no need to defend the fact that there is

no support yet, but can you tell us all when support

will be realized? Seems you've got some customers

waiting for it.

We are aware that people are waiting for this. The driver has been updated and should be in the next 3.0.1 patch release (available at the end of this month I believe)

[mbaar]

Hello Andrew,

where did you hear, that the next patch is available at the end of this month and is it right that the intel card is running?

pls give us information about this.

[jbsengineer]

Here's an update for all parties interested in this

issue...

I purchased an Intel 1000/PT Dual Port adapter

because I could not wait any longer for the Quad

Port. My network engineer installed the Dual Port in

the server, which already contained the Quad Port.

Upon reboot, both the Dual and Quad Port adapters

were recognized! We then removed the Dual Port and

the Quad Port was still recognized.

Apparently Paul's driver does indeed work on my

system(Dell PowerEdge 2950), but until the Dual Port

adapter was recognized on startup, ESX did not load

the driver. When the system started up for the first

time after the Dual Port adapter was installed, the

new hardware was detected and the e1000 driver

automatically loaded. It is possible that any

supported adapter that uses the e1000 driver will

kickstart ESX into recognizing the Quad Port.

Regards,

Robert

This could be the case. I was switching the Quad and Dual in and out while I was testing Pauls driver.

[jbsengineer]

As for the unsupported talk. I realized loading this driver would negate support on the system. However I needed the Quad. 2950's only have 3 PCI slots. After my dual Qlogics I'm left with 1 more slot.

An FYI. I'm currently running the Quad in a test lab (about 40 VM's on 3 ESX servers). It's been running smooth for a month now. No issues.

P.S. looking forward to the patch,

[lambeth]

Hello Andrew,

where did you hear, that the next patch is available

at the end of this month and is it right that the

intel card is running?

I work for VMware and looked at the bug database. The required change has been submitted to the source code tree, and a QA engineer has verified the card is running with an internal build. There should be a patch release around the end of the month which will contain this change, but I don't have an exact date.