So I discovered (during research for this post) that I can remotely manage and monitor my RAID array!
To achieve this I need a few things
- ESXi Hostname – ESXi-Anton (Full name is ESXi-Anton.anton.lan)
- The I/O processor model number – LSI SAS2208 ROC controller
- Use the Broadcom site to find a card with the same processor model to get the latest drivers for ESXi this card ticks the box!
- A myVMware account – These are free to make
- WinSCP
- enable ssh and ESXi Shell
- Latest SMIS package found on the same page above
For some reason the Broadcom site did not let me download the text file with the download link. Here it is for future reference
Here is the SMIS Package download For future downloads
Now to install the vib file on the ESXi host. I would recommend being careful. You are using the root account to play with the internals on your host and can easily cause damage to the system
Make sure to extract the zip and the nested zip inside the zip. The file you’re looking for has bootbank in the name and its found inside the vib20 folder and the other file was called vmware-esx-provider-lsiprovider.vib
Enabled console shell and ssh on the ESXI host
I connected to my host like this with winscp
I then just drag dropped the files onto the root directory on the esxi host
Next SSH into the ESXi host
Using the “ls -l Avago_bootbank_lsi-mr3_7.702.14.00-1OEM.650.0.0.4598673.vib” shows that the file is in the root directory
Install the vib using the command “esxcli software vib install -v /Avago_bootbank_lsi-mr3_7.702.14.00-1OEM.650.0.0.4598673.vib –force –maintenance-mode”
Install the other VIB using the command “esxcli software vib install -v /vmware-esx-provider-lsiprovider.vib –no-sig-check”
After that restart the ESXi Host and wait for it to boot, during boot you should the modules you installed get loaded
Once that is done, load up a windows VM and install the Intel RWC2, once that is done edit the hosts file with the ESXi IP and hostname like so
NOTE!!! I had to open the firewall ports on my windows server 2016 VM in order to get it to talk, I used a troubleshooting guide I found on the net (its below if you have issues).
Any hey presto! Remote management of the RAID array!
I tried RWC 3 but it does not currently support ESXi hosts!
This post was based on intel’s own guide https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/motherboards/server/sb/vmware_esxi_50_installation_and_rwc2_tips_and_tric.pdf
I used the troubleshooting guide here https://kb.stonegroup.co.uk/how-to-enable-raid-monitoring-and-configuration-under-esxi-5x_195.html#TS_1
Emu Wars 