VMware esxi 4.1 ibm x3650 M3 SAS LSI Logic SAS1068E-1R HBA

Well did you reboot after enabling passthrough?

Hi,
Not sure what you mean by enabling passthrough?
I've rebooted the server a couple of times.

Apologies if I was a little short then.  Am a little on the edge of despair.
With the Passthrough - do you mean under the Configuraion, Advanced Settings tab, VMware DirectPassConfiguration?  This is showing - Host does not support passthrough confugraiont.

Or do you mean from the Esxi console somewhere?

Probably then it is not enabled in BIOS/EFI. Just enable and it will get good.

Hi,
I have VIrtulisation and VT-d enabled in EUFI/Bios.
Is this what you mean?
Cheers

Well walk-through is here:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1010789
So you say it worked before? Can you disconnect tape to estabilish passthrough to adapter and then re-connect tape? Maybe vmkernel somehow takes over the adapter.

2.In the Configuration tab, click Advanced Settings. The Pass-through Configuration page lists all available pass-through devices.

This is the bit where I am getting stuck.  There are no devices listed here.

I've disconnected the tape library but figure It'll require a reboot to test if this makes a difference.

Better power off with electricity disconnect.

Not ALL PCI devices are compatible with PCI Passthrough.

It's usually recommended, to use a standard SCSI HBA rather than a SAS card.

Is your motherboard indentical to the old motherboard ? BIOS and Firmware ?

The motherboard is identical I think. It's whatever IBM supplied. The bios and firmware are different as more current versions n

Ask IBM support why thay f@#$d up your system?

Ha ha. I wish.  Appreciate the post.
they say not their problem.  The board posts and holds the two Virtualisation and vt-d settings as enabled. As far as the are concerned it's all ok.

I suppose I could look at a different controller.  The sas hba is the one which ibm provided with the system.

I know we have another server with the same config working in Sydney office.   I was in the process of checking today when I saw had the same controller but don't have credentials to check setup in vsphere client

Sometimes you need to power off system for virtual bit to enable

Hi yes have done a complete power off. Unplugged power and all.

The change of BIOS/Firmware has likely caused the PCI Passthrough compatibility issue.

Check your BIOS version against HCL. IBM produces series with same BIOS, so you got the very old factory BIOS.

OK so I've found more articles.  I had found the EUFI versions and fixes but not this time.  According to the HCL the TS2900 works OK with the 7945 x3650.  I did find these two links which need following up

http://www-947.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5086606&brandind=5000008

http://www-947.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5085369

I'll retreive the IMM and EUFI versions tomorrow

You see them in vcenter hardware page

OK so all HCL are OK.  I got the VendorID:DeviceID info from Esxi SSH session and checked in HCL screen.

It looks like the card in question is vmhba03 and I'm not sure where to go now.  See three seperate screen shots below.

~ # esxcfg-scsidevs -a
vmhba0  ata_piix          link-n/a  sata.vmhba0                             (0:0:31.2) Intel Corporation ICH10 4 port SATA IDE Controller
vmhba1  ata_piix          link-n/a  sata.vmhba1                             (0:0:31.5) Intel Corporation ICH10 2 port SATA IDE Controller
vmhba2  megaraid_sas      link-n/a  unknown.vmhba2                          (0:1:0.0) LSI Logic / Symbios Logic MegaRAID SAS GEN2 Controller
vmhba32 ata_piix          link-n/a  sata.vmhba32                            (0:0:31.2) Intel Corporation ICH10 4 port SATA IDE Controller
vmhba33 ata_piix          link-n/a  sata.vmhba33                            (0:0:31.5) Intel Corporation ICH10 2 port SATA IDE Controller


000:000:31.2 8086:3a20 1014:3a20 vmkernel vmhba0      ICH10 – 4 port SATA IDE CONTROLLER
000:000:31.3 8086:3a30 1014:3a30 vmkernel
000:000:31.5 8086:3a26 1014:3a26 vmkernel vmhba1 ICH10 –2 port SATA IDE CONTROLLER
000:001:00.0 1000:0079 1014:03c7 vmkernel vmhba2  Either IBM ServeRAID-M5014 SAS/SATA CONTROLLER or M5014/46M0916 SAS/SATA Controller
000:006:00.0 101b:0452 0000:0000 vmkernel
000:007:00.0 102b:0530 1014:0369 vmkernel
000:011:00.0 14e4:1639 1014:03a9 vmkernel vmnic0
000:011:00.1 14e4:1639 1014:03a9 vmkernel vmnic1
000:021:00.0 1000:0058 1014:0396 passthru vmhba3  Either IBM 3GB SAS HBA v2 or ServeRAID-BR10ie SAS Controller.

\==+PCI Device :
               |----Segment.........................................0x0000
               |----Bus.............................................0x15
               |----Slot............................................0x00
               |----Function........................................0x00
               |----Runtime Owner...................................VM passthru
               |----Has Configured Owner............................true
               |----Configured Owner................................VM passthru
               |----Vendor Id.......................................0x1000
               |----Device Id.......................................0x0058
               |----Sub-Vendor Id...................................0x1014
               |----Sub-Device Id...................................0x0396
               |----Vendor Name.....................................LSI Logic /                                Symbios Logic
               |----Device Name.....................................LSI1068E
               |----Device Class....................................256
               |----PIC Line........................................11
               |----Service Console IRQ.............................11
               |----Vector..........................................152
               |----PCI Pin.........................................0
               |----Spawned Bus.....................................0
               |----Flags...........................................1025
               |----Module Id.......................................4294967295
               |----Chassis.........................................0
               |----Physical Slot...................................2
               |----VmKernel Device Name............................vmhba3
               |----Slot Description................................System Slot                                2
               |----Passthru Capable................................false
               |----Parent Device...................................PCI 0:0:3:0
               |----Dependent Device................................PCI 0:21:0:0
               |----Reset Method....................................2
               |----FPT Shareable...................................true

Maybe it is hba2? Or it is a composite card?

So the card in question is an IBM 3Gb SAS HBA v2 and is running the correct device driver software according to VMware.  VMware can see the card and has given it name vmhba3 but cannot see the device to use it.

I've given up on getting this device to work and now looking at prices for alternative backup.  Based on prices so far will probably go with cheapest 1RU server I can get and move backup software across to this.  

Problem has not been solved but I'll allocate points to those who assisted me and gave me hope/ideas/direction as this was still very beneficial and I learnt a lot as well.

You are right. Good luck.

Not really, just a suggestion to see if he is looking at right scsi card...

OK - let me explain.
Maybe I make a mistake in selecting a40116503 and should have selected a40113696.
My intent was to acknowledge that I had been assisted by two different people over a period of time and not to select one particular solution as the answer.  The trail of comments from gheist whilst not as comprehensive as Andrew's was enough to send me looking in other directions and from there I considered / found more areas on VMware that I hadn't previously been able to locate in my searches.  Maybe it was a simple as some-one else reaching out and giving me hope.

In the end there was no answer, Andrew was correct in that VMware doesn't support Tape Drive connections to Esxi hosts but also incorrect in that IBM Support can help.  IBM support finished once they had established that the motherboard posted with correct vt-d settings and the card was functioning correctly.

So in the end the solution was that there is no solution to this issue.  Could I have arrived at that conclusion myself, probably but I really found it hard to accept.  Years in this industry have taught me that most things can be fixed if you spend a little more time.  Not this time, instead its a little more money, anyway I'm rambling now.  Trust you find this answer to your question about my answer to my question acceptable.