Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel®

VROC) Driver for ESXi*

User Guide

Revision 006

September 2024
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2 User Guide
Contents
1 Overview ........................................................................................................ 5
1.1 Reference OEM Platform Documentation ................................................... 5
1.2 Terms and Acronyms ............................................................................. 5
2 Product Requirements ...................................................................................... 7
2.1 Platform and VMD Requirements ............................................................. 7
2.2 Supported RAID Options......................................................................... 7
2.3 Hot Plug Requirements ........................................................................... 8
2.4 RAID Spare Drive and Rebuild Configuration Recommendations ................... 8
3 Product Installation/Upgrade ........................................................................... 10
3.1 ESXi* VROC driver Download Instructions and Supported Versions ............. 10
3.2 ESXi* VROC Driver Upgrade Procedure ................................................... 12
3.2.1 Installation of the ESXi* VMD Outbox (async) Driver ................... 12
4 Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool ............................................................ 13
4.1 Disk and RAID Command Options .......................................................... 13
4.2 RAID Volume Management ................................................................... 15
4.3 LED Management ................................................................................ 17
4.4 NVMe Firmware Update Management ..................................................... 19
5 VMware* ESXi Commands – General Reference .................................................. 20
5.1 List/Remove Software .......................................................................... 20
5.2 Disk Listing ........................................................................................ 20
5.3 Disk Management ................................................................................ 21
5.4 Saving Core Dump Example .................................................................. 21
6 Injecting Outbox ESXi* VROC Driver into ESXi* Bootable Image ........................... 22
6.1 Tools Needed ...................................................................................... 22
6.2 Software Needed and Injection Procedure Summary ................................. 22

Figures
Figure 2-1. Graphical Representation of Boot Options ............................................ 9

Tables
Table 1-1. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms ........................................................ 5
Table 3-1. Supported ESXi* and ESXi* VROC Driver Versions ............................... 11

User Guide 3
Revision History
Revision Description Revision Date

001 Initial Release November 2022

002 Updated Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6 April 2023

003 Updated Sections 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 4.1 August 2023

004 Updated Sections 1.2, 2.2, 4.1 and 4.2 October 2023

005 Updated Multiple Sections July 2024

006 Updated Chapters 3, 4 September 2024

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4 User Guide
Overview

1 Overview
This document provides guidance for the Intel® VROC Driver for ESXi*, referred to as
the ESXi* VROC driver.

The ESXi* VROC driver supports ESXi* versions 7.0U3d and 8.0x. This document
assumes reader familiarity with the ESXi* Operating System/Hypervisor and does not
provide detailed instructions for installing ESXi* or copying files within an ESXi*
environment.

The ESXi* VROC driver is designed to work with the Intel® VMD hardware logic
implemented on Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors. Intel® VMD is much like an HBA
controller for NVMe* SSDs and adds robust management for NVMe* SSDs in the data
center such as Hot Plug, LED management, and error handling, in addition to being a
dependency for Intel® VROC configuration.

VMware* ESXi 6.5 and 6.7 reached their end-of-life, as announced by VMware*. No
support is available for these versions, and it is recommended that customers upgrade
to ESXi* version 7.0U3 or 8.0x.

1.1 Reference OEM Platform Documentation

Refer to your OEM for a full list of available feature sets. If any of the information in
this document conflicts with the support information provided by the platform OEM,
the platform documentation and configurations take precedence.

Customers should always contact the place of purchase or system/software

manufacturer with support questions about their specific hardware or software
configuration.

1.2 Terms and Acronyms

Table 1-1. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

Term Definition

NVMe Non-Volatile Memory Express

ISO International Standards Organization

SSD Solid State Drive

VMD Volume Management Device

IOVP I/O Vendor Partner

GA General Availability

vSAN Virtual Storage Area Network

LED Light Emitting Diode

User Guide 5
Overview

Term Definition

ESXi Elastic Sky X integrated

OS Operating System

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer

VROC Virtual RAID on CPU

HII Human Interface Infrastructure

PEM Power Entry Module

BKC Best Known Configuration

NS Namespace

VCG VMware Compatibility Guide

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6 User Guide
 Product Requirements

2 Product Requirements

2.1 Platform and VMD Requirements

Platform and VMD requirements to use Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) RAID
volumes:
• Generations 1-6 Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor.
• Intel® NVMe* SSDs in U.2 format attached to a Hot Swappable Backplane (HSBP)
for Surprise Hot Plug management.
• 48 NVMe* SSDs is the maximum for total devices supported on a platform.
• A licensed Intel® VROC key (hardware, software, On-demand, as applicable) is
required on the system to enable VROC-configured RAID volumes.
• Intel® VROC UEFI drivers should be integrated with the system BIOS and consist of
the following UEFI driver set:
⎯ VMDVROC_1.efi
⎯ VMDVROC_2.efi
⎯ With the above UEFI drivers loaded, the BIOS will display a HII menu within the
BIOS setup menu as “Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU”. BIOS menu paths and options
may differ depending on BIOS vendor.
• Intel® VMD must be enabled in the BIOS. Check with your BIOS vendor for
instructions on enabling Intel® VMD in the BIOS setup menu.
• “Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU” is the BIOS menu option for creating Intel® VROC
RAID volumes and associated Intel proprietary metadata for RAID support in the
ESXi* Operating System.

2.2 Supported RAID Options

The “Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU” BIOS menu should be used to create the desired
RAID volume(s). Currently supported RAID configurations are:
• RAID 1 boot volume.
• RAID 1 data volume.
• Only 1 volume is supported on a given array of drives. Matrix RAID is not
supported.
• RAID 0/10/5 are not currently supported.
• Boot device and data device may be attached to the same Intel® VMD Domain if
vSAN IS NOT implemented. Example: If not using VSAN, plug in 4 drives behind
one Intel® VMD Domain/Controller. Make two RAID 1 volumes. Install the
operating system on one and use the other for data.
• If vSAN IS implemented: Boot volume must be on a separate Intel® VMD
Domain/Controller from data volume. Example: Boot volume (either a single
device or 2-disk RAID 1 volume) is on a dedicated Intel® VMD Domain/Controller.

User Guide 7
Product Requirements

• Additional scenario clarifications:

⎯ Multiple RAID 1 volumes are supported for NVMe drives behind Intel® VMD. Intel
verifies functionality of two volumes per domain/controller. The maximum volume
limit has not been tested as of this writing.
⎯ A disk can only be used in one RAID array. If you only use part of the disk in the
RAID array, the rest of the disk cannot be used (i.e.: no Matrix RAID).
⎯ There can be more than one vSphere configured datastore on a single RAID
array, but there cannot be more than one RAID array using the same disks (no
Matrix RAID).
⎯ If vSAN is used, you cannot have both a boot datastore AND any other datastore
on the same VMD controller. In other words, if you are using VSAN, you cannot
have the boot datastore and a “data” datastore based on the same VMD
controller.
⎯ If vSAN is not used, you can have a boot datastore AND “data” datastore based
on the same VMD controller.

2.3 Hot Plug Requirements

Hot plug for a VMD passthrough disk may be performed when the disk is assigned to a
VM as a virtual disk and the VM is powered down. In this case, Intel recommends
removing the datastore before hot plugging the device.
Intel does not recommend that customers perform hot plug for VMD passthrough disk
if the disk is already assigned to a VM as a virtual disk and when VMs are running.
The above guidance complies with VMware’s recommendations that IO to the disk be
stopped and the datastore removed or unmounted prior to hot plug actions.
Depending on the validation platform of choice, Intel® VMD must be enabled on the
surprise hot plug capable lanes of the platform. For surprise hot plug to work
correctly, some platforms allow a jumper to be set to disable ACPI hot plug. PCIe* hot
plug is required to support Intel® VMD.
RAID 1 full volume hot plug, where both RAID disks are physically removed from a
system, is not a supported scenario.

2.4 RAID Spare Drive and Rebuild Configuration

Recommendations
Options for drive replacement and RAID rebuild when using RAID 1 volumes are the
following:
• When configuring the ESXi* boot drive(s) as a RAID 1, Intel recommends a third
drive be placed in the system and be designated as an online spare. In case of
failure of a RAID 1 member drive, automatic rebuild to the spare drive occurs,
making it an active member without further administrator actions.
• If no spare drive has been designated in the system, and a member RAID 1 drive
fails, recommended actions are to unplug the failed drive from the system (use
Locate LED to assist as needed) and insert a clean drive of capacity at least equal
to the RAID volume size.
• The newly inserted drive does not auto rebuild into the RAID 1. It must be
manually selected before a rebuild begins, for example: vmd rebuildstart vmhba0

8 User Guide
 Product Requirements

-v 59 -d 1 (based on volume details provided by the intel-vmdr-cli tool. This tool

is discussed in greater depth in Section 4).

If system slot availability does not allow for a separate slot to insert a spare drive,
i.e.: all slots are occupied, another option for auto-rebuild is to provide an external
(on the shelf) spare drive. This option may simplify administrative drive replacement if
immediate insertion and volume rebuild is needed. Test prior to using in a production
environment. Recommended sequence of actions is the following:
1. ESXi* installed and the latest driver/tool installed.
2. Assign a third disk as a spare in BIOS.
3. Boot to ESXi*.
4. With the user tool, confirm and locate the disk that was designated as spare
(LED locate).
5. Unplug the designated spare (this disk has been marked in BIOS Intel VROC
settings as a spare drive and the slot it occupies is now available for another
disk).
6. If a member of the RAID 1 fails, unplug the failed drive, and insert the
external spare drive into the vacated slot.
7. Rebuild starts immediately.

Figure 2-1. Graphical Representation of Boot Options

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User Guide 9
 Product Installation/Upgrade

3 Product Installation/Upgrade

3.1 ESXi* VROC driver Download Instructions and

Supported Versions
An inbox ESXi* VROC driver is provided with ESXi* releases 7.0x/8.0x. As of this
writing, the ESXi* version 7.0x inbox driver is a 2.x level driver. ESXi* version 8.0x
inbox driver is a 3.x level driver. The inbox driver is production quality and fully
functional at the time of ESXi* GA release.

If improvements/fixes are identified for the inbox ESXi* VROC driver after ESXi* GA
release, an outbox or async driver may be provided by Intel upon request. When an
outbox/async driver is completed by Intel development, it will follow a standard
VMware* IOVP process which includes digital signing and certification. Once all
required processes are finalized, Intel will notify OEM customers and assist with
delivery and guidance for the updated driver as required.

Note: The ESXi* 2.x inbox driver may be upgraded to a 3.x or 9.x driver depending on
platform version. However, it is not recommended to downgrade a 3.x or 9.x driver to
a 2.x driver.

Production ESXi* VROC drivers are VMware* certified and can be downloaded from
Intel’s public web site as listed below. Non-production or test drivers are released via
other means. Contact your Intel representative if non-production drivers are required
for testing purposes.

How to download VMware* Intel® ESXi* VROC Production IOVP

Signed/Certified Drivers
1. For Intel® VROC Driver for ESXi* 8.x, access via the link
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/784751/intel-vroc-
driver-and-management-tool-for-vmware-esxi-8-x.html
2. For Intel® VROC Driver for ESXi* 7.x, access via the link
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/784752/intel-vroc-
driver-and-management-tool-for-vmware-esxi-7-x.html

The links above also include downloads for certified driver Release Notes, along with
the companion Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool for VMware* ESXi*.
See Section 4 for additional details on this tool.

As of this writing, the matrix below clarifies supported ESXi* and ESXi* VROC driver
versions, along with VMD Device ID, for each Intel® Xeon® platform.
• 2.x, 3.x, 9.x: ESXi* VROC 2.x, 3.x, 9.x drivers supported.
• VMD Device ID 28c0: 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors and later
• VMD Device ID 201d: Prior to 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors
• See VCG for further details on certified VROC drivers for each ESXi* release.

User Guide 10
 Product Installation/Upgrade

Table 3-1. Supported ESXi* and ESXi* VROC Driver Versions

ESXi* 7.0U3 ESXi* 8.0 ESXi* 8.0U1 ESXi* 8.0U2 ESXi* 8.0U3 ESXi* 9.0

Intel® Xeon® 6 Processors

No No No No Under Evaluation Planned
(P-Core)

Intel® Xeon® 6 Processors

No No No No No No
(E-Core)

5th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Supported

Processors Supported Supported Supported Supported
(Driver versions) Planned
3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0
VMD Device ID 28c0 2.7 - 9.0

4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable

Processors Supported Supported Supported Supported Supported
Planned
2.7 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0
VMD Device ID 28c0

Intel® Xeon® D Processor Supported Supported Supported Supported Supported

Planned
VMD Device ID 28c0 2.7 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0

3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable

Processors (1S/2S) Supported Supported Supported Supported Supported
Planned
2.7 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0
VMD Device ID 28c0

3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable

Processors (4S/8S) Supported Supported Supported Supported Supported
Planned
2.7 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0 3.0 - 9.0
VMD Device ID 28c0

2nd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable

Processors Supported Supported Supported Supported Supported
TBD
2.7 - 3.2 3.0 - 3.2 3.0 - 3.2 3.0 - 3.2 3.0 – 3.2
VMD Device ID 201d

Intel® Xeon® Scalable

Processors Supported Supported Supported Supported Supported
TBD
2.7 - 3.2 3.0 - 3.2 3.0 - 3.2 3.0 – 3.2 3.0 – 3.2
VMD Device ID 201d

User Guide 11
Product Installation/Upgrade

3.2 ESXi* VROC Driver Upgrade Procedure

As mentioned previously, VMware* ESXi has an integrated inbox ESXi* VROC driver.
The esxcli software vib list |grep vmd command displays the iavmd driver listed as
in the example below:

3.2.1 Installation of the ESXi* VMD Outbox (async) Driver

To update or install the VMD async driver, VMware* recommends using the following
component installation command syntax:

esxcli software component apply -d <path_to_component.zip> --no-sig-check

For example:

esxcli software component apply -d /tmp/INT-esx-8.0.0-Intel-Volume-Mgmt-Device-

9.0.0.1006-1OEM.800.1.0.20613240.zip --no-sig-check

Note: As a change to previous ESXi* VROC driver update practice, it is no longer

recommended to perform a VIB file standalone installation for production use. This
installation method, which requires a -f or --force option (starting with ESXi* 8.0),
lowers the driver security acceptance level below the ESXi* host level and may
introduce vulnerabilities into ESXi* operations:

Not recommended for production use: esxcli software vib install -d /tmp/[xxxxx].vib -f -
-no-sig-check

Note: --no-sig-check is used to load an unsigned driver, usually for test purposes.
Production drivers, however, are signed/certified and do not require this parameter.

Reboot the host to activate the updated driver. Use the esxcli software vib list
|grep vmd command to confirm the newly updated iavmd driver version.

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12 User Guide
 Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool

4 Intel® VROC and LED

Management Tool
As a companion to the ESXi* VROC driver, Intel offers a command line utility for
RAID/non-RAID volume, LED, and NVMe firmware management. The utility is named
Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool, using binary files named intel-vmdr-cli
(ESXi* 8.0x) or intel-vmdr-user (ESXi* 7.0x). It is commonly referred to as the user
or CLI tool.

The CLI tool is developed alongside a specific ESXi* VROC driver release to ensure
compatibility. Use of the latest production ESXi* VROC driver along with its paired CLI
tool is strongly recommended. Refer to the links below (same as in Section 3.1) for
CLI tool download along with compatible ESXi* VROC Driver-to-CLI tool mapping:
1. For Intel® VROC LED Management Tool for ESXi* 8.x, access via the link
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/784751/intel-vroc-
driver-and-management-tool-for-vmware-esxi-8-x.html
2. For Intel® VROC LED Management Tool for ESXi* 7.x, access via the link
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/784752/intel-vroc-
driver-and-management-tool-for-vmware-esxi-7-x.html

The CLI tool is installed using the command syntax shown below (--no-sig-check
option is required only when installing a pre-production or unsigned release).
esxcli software component apply -d <path_to_component.zip> --no-sig-check

Note: No reboot is required to activate the tool for ESXi* 7.0. However, reboot is required to
activate the tool for ESXi* 8.0 as displayed in the following.

After installing the intel-vmdr-cli (ESXi* 8.0x) or intel-vmdr-user (ESXi* 7.0x) tool, it
will be accessible at the following ESXi* host paths and CLI names, depending on the
ESXi* version used:
• For ESXi* 8.0x: /opt/intelvmdrcli/bin/intel-vmdr-cli
• For ESXi* 7.0x: /opt/intel/bin/intel-vmdr-user

4.1 Disk and RAID Command Options

General Syntax:
intel-vmdr-cli {command} {adapter name} {options}

Note: ESXi* 8.0u2 CLI tool command examples are presented in this user guide.

User Guide 13
Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool

Available RAID level options are dependent on the Intel VROC license installed on the
system. See your Intel representative for assistance in matching the appropriate
license for RAID requirements.

To view the Intel VROC license currently installed in an ESXi* system:

intel-vmdr-cli getlicenseinfo

./intel-vmdr-cli getlicenseinfo
Intel(R) VROC Premium SKU (Premium License)
RAID Level Support: 1
RAID Support for 3rd Party SSD: Yes

Note: ./intel-vmdr-cli as a standalone command (with no options) displays an extensive

list of commands and sample syntax. Examples given in this document are based on
ESXi* 8.0U2 and follow this command line guidance:

./intel-vmdr-cli

Management Interface Version: 3000000

Usage:

intel-vmdr-cli raidctrllist
intel-vmdr-cli vmdctrllist
intel-vmdr-cli disklist
intel-vmdr-cli volumelist
intel-vmdr-cli getlicenseinfo
intel-vmdr-cli setled [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID] -l[off, identify]
eg: intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba2 -d 1 -l identify

intel-vmdr-cli getled [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli getled vmhba2 -d 1

intel-vmdr-cli createvol [RAIDCtrlName] -b[StripSize] -d[TargetIDs] -l[RAIDLevel] -

n[VolumeName] -s[SourceDiskID (Optional)] -c[VolumeSize]
eg(Volume Creation): intel-vmdr-cli createvol vmhba2 -b 64 -d 0,1 -l 1 -n
testvolume -c 5120

eg(RAID Migration): intel-vmdr-cli createvol vmhba2 -b 64 -d 0,1 -l 1 -n testvolume

-s 1 -c 5120

intel-vmdr-cli volinitialize [RAIDCtrlName] -v[volumeID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli volinitialize vmhba2 -v 59

intel-vmdr-cli deletevol [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli deletevol vmhba2 -d 127

intel-vmdr-cli verifyvol [RAIDCCtrlName] -d[TargetID] -t[VerifyType]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli verifyvol vmhba2 -d 59 -t 0

intel-vmdr-cli getvolinfo [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli getvolinfo vmhba2 -d 59

intel-vmdr-cli getdiskinfo [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli getdiskinfo vmhba2 -d 1

intel-vmdr-cli markpassthrough [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli markpassthrough vmhba2 -d 1

intel-vmdr-cli rebuildstart [RAIDCtrlName] -v[VolumeID] -d[TargetID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli rebuildstart vmhba2 -v 59 -d 1

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 Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool

intel-vmdr-cli markdiskspare [RAIDCtrlName] -s[SpareDiskID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli markdiskspare vmhba2 -s 1

intel-vmdr-cli nvmeidctrl [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli nvmeidctrl vmhba2 -d 1

intel-vmdr-cli nvmegetlogpage [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID] -i[LogPageId] -l[LogLength]

-n[NamespaceID]
eg: intel-vmdr-cli nvmegetlogpage vmhba2 -d 1 -i 2 -l 512 -n 4294967295

intel-vmdr-cli nvmefwdownload [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID] -f[FirmwarePath]

eg: intel-vmdr-cli nvmefwdownload vmhba2 -d 1 -f "/tmp/your_firmware_image.bin"

intel-vmdr-cli nvmefwcommit [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID] -s[FirmwareSlot] -

a[FirmwareAction]
eg: intel-vmdr-cli nvmefwcommit vmhba2 -d 1 -s 1 -a 0

Description:
VMDCtrlName VMD Controller name = vmhba[X-x]
RAIDCtrlName RAID Controller name = vmhba[X]
-d TargetID of Disk/Volume
-b Strip size in KB
-n Name of volume
NVMe namespace Id (for nvmegetlogpage)
-c Volume size
-v Volume ID
-l State of the led[off, identify] (for setled)
RAID level (for createvol)
NVMe log page length (for nvmegetlogpage)
-s Source disk of volume(Applicable only for Migration)
Spare disk ID (for markdiskspare)
NVMe SSD firmware slot Id (for nvmefwcommit)
-i NVMe log page Id (for nvmegetlogpage)
-f NVMe firmware image path (for nvmefwdownload)
-a NVMe firmware commit action (for nvmefwcommit)
-t Type of volume verification (for verifyvol)

Many command options exist for viewing, creating, deleting, or analyzing disk and
RAID volumes as listed below. Several of these are presented in the next section to
demonstrate syntax and expected results.

4.2 RAID Volume Management

To view RAID-configured volumes:

intel-vmdr-cli volumelist

This displays any RAID volumes in the system. In our case, we have no RAID volumes
currently configured, as shown below.

./intel-vmdr-cli volumelist
Volume not found

Volume Creation

User Guide 15
Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool

Referring to results of the ./intel-vmdr-cli disklist command, VMD controller 0

(vmhba0) currently contains 4 PASSTHROUGH drives. PASSTHROUGH drives in this
example are connected to a VMD controller but are not yet in a RAID configuration.

./intel-vmdr-cli disklist

Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 0 Serial#: "BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN

" State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 1 Serial#: "BTLJ85110C514P0DGN
" State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 2 Serial#: "BTLJ74550A904P0DGN
" State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 3 Serial#: "PHLJ832307RK4P0DGN
" State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX01" Controller: vmhba1 TargetId: 0 Serial#: "BTLJ7244051S1P0FGN
" State: PASSTHROUGH

To create a separate RAID 1 data volume using two of the available PASSTHROUGH
drives (TargetId 0 and 1), with name of datavol, and size of 5120MB:
intel-vmdr-cli createvol vmhba0 -b 64 -d 0,1 -l 1 -n datavol -c 5120

./intel-vmdr-cli createvol vmhba0 -b 64 -d 0,1 -l 1 -n datavol -c 5120

SUCCESS: VOLUME CREATED

The two targeted ID’s now appear as MEMBER drives in the newly created volume:

./intel-vmdr-cli disklist
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 0 Serial#: "BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN
" State: MEMBER
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 1 Serial#: "BTLJ85110C514P0DGN
" State: MEMBER
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 2 Serial#: "BTLJ74550A904P0DGN
" State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 3 Serial#: "PHLJ832307RK4P0DGN
" State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX01" Controller: vmhba1 TargetId: 0 Serial#: "BTLJ7244051S1P0FGN
" State: PASSTHROUGH

The newly created volume can be listed to confirm its TargetId and health State, in
this case NORMAL. TargetID will be used in later commands to check volume info.

./intel-vmdr-cli volumelist
Volume Name: "datavol" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 59 State: NORMAL

Note: ESXi* volumes are not initialized by default upon creation.

./intel-vmdr-cli getvolinfo vmhba0 -d 59

Volume state is NORMAL
Volume block size in bytes: 512
Volume initialized: No
Background Operation: None
Volume Name: datavol
Volume RAID level: 1
Volume stripe size in KB: 64
Volume size in MB: 5120
Volume disk count: 2
Volume member disk id: 0
Volume member disk id: 1
Volume failed disk count: 0
Volume offline disk count: 0

Manual initialization is required. For new volumes, initialization is performed quickly:

intel-vmdr-cli volinitialize vmhba0 -v 59

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 Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool

./intel-vmdr-cli volinitialize vmhba0 -v 59

SUCCESS: VOLUME INITIALIZATION STARTED

To manually start verification on a RAID volume, use the specified volume’s

parameters:
intel-vmdr-cli verifyvol vmhba0 -d 59 -t 0

./intel-vmdr-cli verifyvol vmhba0 -d 59 -t 0

SUCCESS: Volume verification process started.
Please use getvolinfo command to track verification progress.

Volume verification may be time consuming, depending on size of the volume. To

check verification progress and display volume characteristics:
intel-vmdr-cli getvolinfo vmhba0 -d 59

./intel-vmdr-cli getvolinfo vmhba0 -d 59

Volume state is NORMAL
Volume block size in bytes: 512
Volume initialized: Yes
Background Operation: Verification
Background Operation Progress: 32.7%
Volume Name: datavol
Volume RAID level: 1
Volume stripe size in KB: 64
Volume size in MB: 5120
Volume disk count: 2
Volume member disk id: 0
Volume member disk id: 1
Volume failed disk count: 0
Volume offline disk count: 0

Volume Deletion

To remove an existing volume, specify the volume to be deleted:

intel-vmdr-cli deletevol vmhba0 -d 59

./intel-vmdr-cli deletevol vmhba0 -d 59

SUCCESS: VOLUME DELETED

4.3 LED Management

For LED Management, NVMe* devices should be attached to a system-integrated hot
swappable backplane, switch, or connectors on the motherboard.

For help in running the CLI tool to test LED management, enter the following for
syntax assistance:
intel-vmdr-cli setled

./intel-vmdr-cli setled
Usage:
intel-vmdr-cli setled [RAIDCtrlName] -d[TargetID] -l[off, identify]
eg: intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba2 -d 1 -l identify

Description:
VMDCtrlName RAID Controller name = vmhba[X]
-d TargetID of Disk
-l State of the led[off, identify]

User Guide 17
Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool

Example for setting LED state:

Options:
• [-l <STATE> ] - LED state (off, identify)
• [-d <NUM> ] - Target disk

Note: The CLI tool supports only off and identify states.

To find the disk number and target number, the disklist command is used:
intel-vmdr-cli disklist

./intel-vmdr-cli disklist
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 0 Serial#:
"BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 1 Serial#:
"BTLJ85110C514P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 2 Serial#:
"BTLJ74550A904P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 3 Serial#:
"PHLJ832307RK4P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX01" Controller: vmhba1 TargetId: 0 Serial#:
"BTLJ7244051S1P0FGN " State: PASSTHROUGH

The number after TargetID: is the disk number. In the example shown, controller
vmhba0 has 4 disks assigned, vmhba0-[0-3].

In the displays below, syntax is included to set LED’s to identify and off.

Confirm current LED state on device vmhba0-0 (disk number 0) of vmhba0 (off):
intel-vmdr-cli getled vmhba0 -d 0

./intel-vmdr-cli getled vmhba0 -d 0

rp_get_led Called
Targeting Disk:0
LED state:off

Set LED state on the same drive to identify:

intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba0 -d 0 -l identify

./intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba0 -d 0 -l identify

Targeting Disk:0 with LED:identify
Request to Set LED on disk has completed.

Return LED state to off:

intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba0 -d 0 -l off

./intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba0 -d 0 -l off

Targeting Disk:0 with LED:off
Request to Set LED on disk has completed.

In this example, set LED status on device vmhba0-1, (disk number 1) to off:
intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba0 -d 1 -l off

./intel-vmdr-cli setled vmhba0 -d 1 -l off

Targeting Disk:1 with LED:off

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 Intel® VROC and LED Management Tool

Request to Set LED on disk has completed.

Confirm the status register is correctly set to off:

intel-vmdr-cli getled vmhba0 -d 1

./intel-vmdr-cli getled vmhba0 -d 1

rp_get_led Called
Targeting Disk:1
LED state:off

4.4 NVMe Firmware Update Management

To update firmware on NVMe drives using the CLI tool, example commands and
syntax follow.

Confirm Drive Details and Firmware Version

./intel-vmdr-cli disklist
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 0 Serial#:
"BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 1 Serial#:
"BTLJ85110C514P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 2 Serial#:
"BTLJ74550A904P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX04" Controller: vmhba0 TargetId: 3 Serial#:
"PHLJ832307RK4P0DGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPF21Q01" Controller: vmhba1 TargetId: 0 Serial#:
"PHAL029300DA1P6MGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPF21Q01" Controller: vmhba1 TargetId: 1 Serial#:
"PHAL0293009C1P6MGN " State: PASSTHROUGH
Disk Name: "INTEL SSDPE2KX01" Controller: vmhba1 TargetId: 2 Serial#:
"BTLJ7244051S1P0FGN " State: PASSTHROUGH

Note: Global namespace ID is used here. Specific NVMe drive NS may also be used.
./intel-vmdr-cli nvmegetlogpage vmhba1 -d 1 -i 3 -l 512 -n oxffffffff
Active Firmware Info : 0x1
Firmware Revision for Slot 1 : (L0310100)

Obtain and Place Firmware Image

/tmp/L0310350.bin

Firmware Update – Stage 1 - Download

./intel-vmdr-cli nvmefwdownload vmhba1 -d 1 -f "/tmp/L0310350.bin"
Firmware download completed successfully

Firmware Update – Stage 2 - Commit

./intel-vmdr-cli nvmefwcommit vmhba1 -d 1 -s 1 -a 1
Firmware commit completed successfully, but it may require system reboot
Note: “-a” parameter may require “0” or other value due to drive/system type.

Reboot and Verify Updated Firmware Version

./intel-vmdr-cli nvmegetlogpage vmhba1 -d 1 -i 3 -l 512 -n oxffffffff
Active Firmware Info : 0x11
Firmware Revision for Slot 1 : (L0310350)

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User Guide 19
VMware* ESXi Commands – General Reference

5 VMware* ESXi Commands –

General Reference
The following miscellaneous commands are provided for general reference and
troubleshooting.

5.1 List/Remove Software

ESXi* Version:
vmware -vl

List of installed drivers:

esxcli software vib list

Installed ESXi* VROC driver:

esxcli software vib list | grep iavmd

To remove driver:
esxcli software vib remove -n <driver name>

5.2 Disk Listing

List disks:
esxcfg-mpath -L

Count number of disks:

ls /vmfs/devices/disks/ | grep NVMe* | grep : -vc

List disks with controllers:

esxcfg-scsidevs -A

List controllers:
esxcfg-scsidevs -a

List all datastores present:

esxcli storage vmfs extent list

If no datastores show up, run this command:

esxcli storage vmfs snapshot list

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 VMware* ESXi Commands – General Reference

5.3 Disk Management

Note: The diskID (-d) obtained via the esxcfg-scsidevs -A command follows the format:
t10.NVMe____INTEL_SSDPE2KX040T8_____________________BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN__00000001

To remotely detach/disable a disk:

esxcli storage core device set --state=off -d
t10.NVMe____INTEL_SSDPE2KX040T8_____________________BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN__00000001
To see results of the above command:
tail -f /var/log/vmkernel.log
2024-04-25T00:00:06.638Z In(182) vmkernel: cpu40:1051783 opID=c17c268d)ScsiDevice: 1831:
Device t10.NVMe____INTEL_SSDPE2KX040T8_____________________BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN__00000001
has been turned off administratively.

To remotely attach/enable a disk:

esxcli storage core device set --state=on -d
t10.NVMe____INTEL_SSDPE2KX040T8_____________________BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN__00000001
2024-04-25T00:02:27.611Z In(182) vmkernel: cpu2:1051751 opID=e3749acb)ScsiDevice: 1838:
Device t10.NVMe____INTEL_SSDPE2KX040T8_____________________BTLJ85110CKX4P0DGN__00000001
has been turned on administratively.

To format namespaces:
/vmfs/volumes/share/VMware/Tools/NVMe*cli/NVMe*-cli intel-NVMe*0 format 1

5.4 Saving Core Dump Example

partedUtil setptbl
/vmfs/devices/disks/t10.NVMe*____INTEL_SSDPEDMD400G4_CVFT534200N4400BGN__00000001 gpt "1
128 5000000 9D27538040AD11DBBF97000C2911D1B8 0"
# esxcli system coredump partition set --
partition=t10.NVMe*____INTEL_SSDPEDMD400G4_CVFT534200N4400BGN__00000001:1
# esxcli system coredump partition set --enable=true
# esxcli system coredump partition list
# vsish -e set /reliability/crashMe/Panic 1
# esxcfg-dumppart --copy –devname
/vmfs/devices/disks/t10.NVMe*____INTEL_SSDPECME016T4_CVF85504008C1P6BGN2D100000001:9

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User Guide 21
Injecting Outbox ESXi* VROC Driver into ESXi* Bootable Image

6 Injecting Outbox ESXi* VROC

Driver into ESXi* Bootable
Image

6.1 Tools Needed

Download the Windows* VMware.PowerCLI tool from VMware*:
https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/VMware.PowerCLI/11.4.0.14413515

6.2 Software Needed and Injection Procedure

Summary
The VMware* ESXi driver installation package should include a .zip depot file. The
following is used for this example:
• VMware-ESXi-7.0U3d-19482537-depot.zip
1. Log in to a vCenter Server or ESX host:
Connect-VIServer (may have trust certificate issue)
Connect-VIServer -server 10.2.61.32

Note: Do a Get-PowerCLIConfiguration. If it says unset, do a Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -

InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -Confirm:$false.

Note: To find out what commands are available, type: Get-VICommand.

Note: To show searchable help for all PowerCLI commands, type: Get-PowerCLIHelp.
2. Once you have connected, display all virtual machines by typing: Get-VM.
3. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Add-EsxSoftwareDepot
VMware-ESXi-7.0U3d-19482537-depot.zip
4. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Get-ESXImageProfile
Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level
ESXi-7.0U3d-19482537-standard VMware, Inc.* 3/29/2022 PartnerSupported
ESXi-7.0U3sd-19482531-no-tools VMware, Inc.* 3/11/2022 PartnerSupported
ESXi-7.0U3sd-19482531-standard VMware, Inc.* 3/29/2022 PartnerSupported
ESXi-7.0U3d-19482537-no-tools VMware, Inc.* 3/11/2022 PartnerSupported
5. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> New-EsxImageProfile
-CloneProfile "ESXi-7.0U3d-19482537-standard" -Name "profile" -
Vendor "Intel"
Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level
profile Intel 3/29/2022 PartnerSupported

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 Injecting Outbox ESXi* VROC Driver into ESXi* Bootable Image

6. Run the command: C:\Program Files

(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Remove-
EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile profile -SoftwarePackage iavmd
Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level
profile Intel 6/22/2022 PartnerSupported
7. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Get-EsxImageProfile
-Name profile | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Viblist | Sort-
Object
Name Version Vendor Creation Date
esxio-combiner 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
esx-ui 1.36.0-18403931 VMware* 7/30/2021 6:2...
esx-update 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
esx-xserver 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
gc 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
i40en 1.11.1.31-1vmw.703.0.20.191... VMware* 1/11/2022 11:...
icen 1.4.1.7-1vmw.703.0.20.19193900 VMware* 1/11/2022 11:...
8. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Get-
EsxSoftwarePackage -PackageUrl iavmd-3.0.0.1034-
1OEM.700.1.0.15843807.x86_64.vib
Name Version Vendor Creation Date
iavmd 3.0.0.1034-1OEM.700.1.0.158 Intel 4/2/2022 4:02...
9. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Add-
EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile profile -SoftwarePackage iavmd
Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level
profile Intel 6/22/2022 PartnerSupported
10. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Get-EsxImageProfile
-Name profile | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Viblist | Sort-
Object
Name Version Vendor Creation Date
esxio-combiner 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
esx-ui 1.36.0-18403931 VMware* 7/30/2021 6:2...
esx-update 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
esx-xserver 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
gc 7.0.3-0.35.19482537 VMware* 3/11/2022 2:1...
i40en 1.11.1.31-1vmw.703.0.20.191... VMware* 1/11/2022 11:...
iavmd 3.0.0.1034-1OEM.700.1.0.158... Intel® 4/2/2022 4:02...
icen 1.4.1.7-1vmw.703.0.20.19193900 VMware* 1/11/2022 11:...
11. Run the command: C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphere PowerCLI> Export-
EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "profile" -ExportToIso -FilePath
ESXI_7.0.u3d_19482537_vmd_3.0.0.1034.iso -NoSignatureCheck

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User Guide 23