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Virident FlashMAX II User Manual

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Virident FlashMAX II
User's Guide for VMware ESXi
© 2012- 13 Virident Systems

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Summary of Contents for Virident FlashMAX II

  • Page 1 Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide for VMware ESXi © 2012- 13 Virident Systems...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Processor Settings in BIOS ......................4 Software Installation ..........................5 Device Driver Installation ......................6 5.1.1 Install Virident Driver VIBs Using Offline Bundle ..............6 5.1.2 Install Virident Driver Using VMware vSphere Update Manager (VUM)....... 6 5.1.3 Reboot ........................... 8 5.1.4 Confirm driver installation after reboot ................
  • Page 3 10.2 Partitioning and write performance ................... 23 10.3 Setup recommendations to utilize full performance of FlashMAX II with a single Guest VM. .. 24 10.3.1 After adding 4 vmdks using VM “Edit Settings” will see VM properties hardware tab shows as below ........................... 24 Troubleshooting on ESXi Systems ....................
  • Page 4 OR REPRESENTATIONS SHALL BE DEEMED TO HAVE BEEN VIRIDENT GIVEN BY VIRIDENT IN RESPECT OF THE PROGRAM OR SOFTWARE END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT DOCUMENTATION. VIRIDENT DOES NOT WARRANT OR ENTER INTO ANY TERM TO THE EFFECT THAT ANY PROGRAM WILL BE FREE FROM DEFECTS OR THAT ITS This is a legal agreement between you, the end user, OPERATION WILL BE ERROR-FREE.
  • Page 5 E. Waiver. A waiver by Virident of any term or condition of deemed to be binding on Virident unless accepted in this Agreement in any instance shall not be deemed or writing by an authorized representative.

  • Page 6: Introduction

    1 Introduction The Virident FlashMAX™ line of solid state storage devices is a revolutionary product family that utilizes the industry standard PCI Express bus interface, along with an innovative hardware and software architecture to deliver highest sustained application performance over its life time and enterprise-class reliability.

  • Page 7: Bracket Installation

    If necessary, install the appropriate bracket on the FlashMAX II device. Please use only brackets supplied by Virident with the device. Also, do not remove the heatsinks during the bracket replacement process as doing so could incur damage to the device and void the warranty.

  • Page 8: Pci Slot Selection

    3.2 PCI Slot Selection FlashMAX II devices need to be installed in x8 or x16 PCIe Gen 2 slots. If no PCIe x8/x16 slots are available, x4 slots can be used. However, using an x4 slot may result in up to 50% reduction in performance.

  • Page 9: Processor Settings In Bios

    Intel has identified an issue in Xeon E5-2600 series processors that may result in severe drops of PCIe and FlashMAX II bandwidth when running workloads that have low CPU consumption. To avoid this issue, C2 and C1E processor power states must be disabled. For details, please see Erratum BT160 in the below document: http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/specification-updates/xeon-e5-family-...

  • Page 10: Software Installation

    VCLI is executed. Syntax: ~# esxcli --server=<ESX host name/IP Address> --username=<root> --password=<password> <command name space> <command arguments> Example: ~# esxcli --server='lab-m6' --username='root' – password='password' software vib list Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...

  • Page 11: Device Driver Installation

    5.1 Device Driver Installation Download the device driver offline bundle from Virident Support website before proceeding. Ensure that the device is seen by the operating system. ~ # lspci | grep -i virident 000:131:00.0 Memory controller: Virident Systems, Inc. FlashMAX II [vgca] 5.1.1...
  • Page 12 2. Create a new baseline with type as Host Extension and include the driver from the repository. 3. Attach proper baseline to host or cluster and stage/remediate. Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...

  • Page 13: Reboot

    ESXi systems as well. 5.3 Firmware Upgrade In some cases your FlashMAX II device may require firmware upgrade. Use the vgc-monitor utility to check whether or not the firmware is up to date. If the firmware is up to date, the following is displayed:...

  • Page 14: Flashmax Ii Firmware Upgrade Procedure

    Usable_Capacity RAID /dev/vgca0 2222 GB enabled The following message is displayed if the FlashMAX II device has older firmware ~ # esxcli vgc monitor drive vgc-monitor: 3.1.1(51450.C6) /dev/vgca: Could not get information about FlashMAX drive /dev/vgca: No such device (rc=19) Unclaimed Drives: 0000:86:00.0...

  • Page 15: Configuring Flashmax Ii Datastore Using Vsphere Client

    Host system Power Cycle is mandatory for successful firmware upgrade 6 Configuring FlashMAX II Datastore using vSphere Client Add the FlashMAX II device as a VMware datastore using the vSphere client. Select Configuration-> Storage-> Add Storage… Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...
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  • Page 17 Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...
  • Page 18 Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...
  • Page 19 Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...

  • Page 20: Flashmax Ii Configuration & Management Utilities

    FlashMAX II devices. 7.1 Esxcli vgc config Most administrative interactions with the Virident FlashMAX II device are handled by the esxcli vgc config command. This utility can show the current partitioning and write acceleration modes on an existing device.
  • Page 21 Description: Configures the performance mode and number of partitions. Please check your FlashMAX II device specifications for two partition support Syntax: esxcli vgc config drive [cmd options] Description: drive drive related options Cmd options: -d|--drive=<str> drive name /dev/vgc[a-h]. (required) -m|--mode=<str>...

  • Page 22: Esxcli Vgc Monitor

    A suite of utilities is delivered with the device driver to allow end-users access to these statistics. The FlashMAX II vgc monitor utility is the main tool for monitoring Virident FlashMAX II device status and health. When called without parameters, it lists all Virident FlashMAX II devices in the system with their configuration and health summary.

  • Page 23: Esxcli Vgc Beacon

    LEDs. Execute the “esxcli vgc beacon” command with the desired “/dev/vgc*a-z+” device and “-b 1”or “-b 0” to enable or disable the beacon respectively. When enabled, the named FlashMAX II device can be identified using two on-board LEDs flashing in unison.

  • Page 24: Using Vgc-Diags To Collect Log Bundle

    7.4 Using vgc-diags to collect log bundle The vgc-diags utility saves support information, such as log files, system configuration, device configuration, and device metadata into a single tgz archive file. Virident support team may ask you to provide this support file when troubleshooting technical issues.

  • Page 25: Using Vgc-Secure-Erase For Purging The Drive Data

    For example, the standards for magnetic disk media are different than what is required for flash memory. Virident has a Secure Erase Utility that will perform this function for customers who need to securely erase data from a device.
  • Page 26 Use this for detailed error logs from driver (in syslog). --yes Start the operation without user confirmation. --help Displays options/parameters that vgc-secure-erase can take. The following example shows the simple command lines & respective outputs of vgc-secure-erase utility. Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...
  • Page 27 Secure Erase (Purge) on device /dev/vgca0 completed succesfully. Reformatting the device /dev/vgca0 Note that factory bad blocks are quarantined before the card is put into operation and therefore never were written to. Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...

  • Page 28: Multiple Virident Flashmax Ii Devices

    9 Using FlashMAX II Devices in Pass-Through Mode Virident FlashMAX II devices can be used in pass-through mode on ESXi hosts. They can be added as a PCI device to a Linux of Windows Guest VM. In such cases, it is required that the Guest VM have the Guest OS (Windows or Linux) specific drivers installed.

  • Page 29: Setup Recommendations To Utilize Full Performance Of Flashmax Ii With A Single Guest Vm

    When multiple partitions are created, the aggregate performance is divided among partitions. 10.3 Setup recommendations to utilize full performance of FlashMAX II with a single Guest VM.  Create a windows 2008 Enterprise VM with 4 LSI SCSI controllers  Configure FlashMAX II device in “maxperformance” mode.
  • Page 30 Virident FlashMAX II User’s Guide - Version 3.1.1...

  • Page 31: Troubleshooting On Esxi Systems

    11 Troubleshooting on ESXi Systems If the FlashMAX II device or device drivers do not appear to be working properly, use the information in this section to try to identify the problem. If the issue cannot be resolved or fixed using this information it may be necessary to contact Virident Support.

  • Page 32: Thermal Shutdown

    30 minutes and the device will enter “ADMIN OFFLINE” state. If thermal shutdown happens then airflow around the FlashMAX II card needs to be increased. Consider changing system BIOS settings to increase fan speed or using different PCI slot. See section 3.1 “Fan Speed Settings in BIOS”.

  • Page 33: Onboard Diagnostic Leds

    12 Onboard diagnostic LEDs There are two onboard LEDS on the Virident FlashMAX II device. They are visible through the back bracket and always indicate the state of the system. The following table explains what each combination of these LEDs indicates:...

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