Troubleshooting when vVol Datastore Fails to Mount on UCS Server
Problem
When creating a VVol datastore on a Cisco UCS Server with Fibre Channel, failures can occur when an older driver is in use. The older fnic driver cannot detect protocol endpoints as it does not support sub-luns (VVols).
Impact
The FlashArray vSphere Plugin fails to mount the VVol datastore with the error:
The following hosts do not have a valid protocol endpoint connection to the selected Pure Storage Array
Or when mounting manually, the datastore is marked on the host as inaccessible.
The /var/log/vmkernel.log file on the ESXi host will show the following VVol PE warnings when the “Rescan Storage” is initiated:
2018-01-09T18:04:42.098Z cpu5:65799)WARNING: ScsiPath: 705: Sanity check failed for path vmhba0:C0:T1:L1. The path to a VVol PE comes from adapter vmhba0 which is not PE capable. Path dropped.
The problem is likely caused by outdated scsi-fnic Cisco UCS drivers.
To check for general support for sub-luns (VVols), run the following command:
esxcli storage core adapter list
Look for Second Level Lun ID in the Capabilities column.
Solution
Check Installed Version Of scsi-fnic Cisco UCS Driver
- Log in to ESXi host and execute
esxcli software vib get -n scsi-fnic
Update scsi-fnic Cisco UCS Driver
To install the new driver version:
- Download the updated driver package from http://software.cisco.com
or at
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/details?productId=491&downloadGroup=DT-ESX60-CISCO-FNIC-16033
- Copy scsi-fnic vib file to the host which needs updating
- As root execute the following command on the ESXi host:
esxcli software vib install -v <full_path_to driver_file>
Example:
esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/scsi-fnic_1.6.0.37-1OEM.600.0.0.2494585.vib
The installation result should look similar to the output below:
Installation Result
Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
Reboot Required: true
VIBs Installed: CSCO_bootbank_scsi-fnic_1.6.0.37-1OEM.600.0.0.2494585
VIBs Removed: CSCO_bootbank_scsi-fnic_1.6.0.36-1OEM.600.0.0.2494585
VIBs Skipped: