vSphere VAAI plugin

[obr]

Hi @ll

I want to use the VAAI feature. On the download side I've found the QNAP_QNPNasPlugin_1.0.zip (contains the .vib file). What shall I do with it? I assume I have to install it on the ESX5.1 hosts? But how to do this? With the vCenter Update Manager I cannot add neither the .vib nor the .zip (unrecognized file).

Thanks for your support....

[tommls]

I would like to know too...Qnap support isn't very good about documenting things.
Thank you, Tom

[sbrahime]

Does anyone has managed to install this plugin?

[tommls]

VMware gave me this info:

Existing ESXi installation using esxcli and async driver VIB file You can install async drivers on an existing ESXi host from an async driver VIB file. The VIB file is copied to the ESXi host using the datastore browser, and installed using esxcli in the ESXi shell.

Note: This requires remote ESXi network connectivity using the vSphere Client.

To install the async drivers:
1. Extract the contents of the async driver zip file.
2. Identify the offline-bundle.zip file(s).
3. Extract the contents of the offline-bundle.zip file(s).
4. Identify the async-driver.vib file(s).
5. Log into the ESXi host using the vSphere Client with administrator privileges, such as root.
6. Using the Datastore Browser, upload the async-driver.vib file(s) to an ESXi host’s datastore.
7. Enter the host into maintenance mode.
8. Log in as root to the ESXi console through SSH or iLO/DRAC.
9. Run this command to install drivers from the VIB file (this requires an absolute path):

esxcli software vib install –v /path/async-driver.vib

For example:

esxcli software vib install –v /vmfs/volumes/datastore/async-driver.vib

10. Reboot the ESXi host.
11. Exit maintenance mode.

Please refer the below mentioned KB article for more information:-

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2005205

There's also a way to do it via update manager but I got an error (unrecognized file) and asked Qnap support about it, I may have a response before December. I also told VMware about the error and asked for more info on how to use a local shared repository...

HTH Tom

[tommls]

I had emailed Qnap...I was asked for the version number of THEIR plugin!!
Had I known tech support was so awful I would never have bought a Qnap, sigh...
Nothing works as it's supposed to...iSCSI doesn't work at all, VMware said it was because something, I can't remember what, was not being read...

[obr]

I've asked QNAP support, too .. and got an email answer:
"Sehr geehrter Herr Braun,

anbei ein Link:

https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads

Mit freundlichen Grüßen..."

WTF???

[tommls]

Qnap support doesn't know beans
Do the procedure I gave from VMware
To put the zip file into local storage, use the datastore browser
Then ssh into the host, do cd vmfs/volumes/your_local_storage
Do a ls and you should see your Qnap plugin there
Then type unzip Q followed by hitting the tab key
Then you should see the zip and vib files
Then you can do the above procedure to install the vib
Qnap support doesn't know beans

[MikeSpragg]

If you are using VMware ESXI 5.5 - you need to add --no-sig-check to the end as well e.g.

esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/QNAP_QNPNasPlugin_1.0.vib --no-sig-check

Otherwise it fails with no valid signature/license found.

[tommls]

Qnap tech support told me this vib requires firmware 4.0.5 installed to the Qnap, this firmware is not yet released...
Go figure!!
Meanwhile Thank you for the 5.5 tip!!

[bazbill]

If you are using VMware ESXI 5.5 - you need to add --no-sig-check to the end as well e.g.

esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/QNAP_QNPNasPlugin_1.0.vib --no-sig-check

Otherwise it fails with no valid signature/license found.

This has worked for me as well... However, even though the vib is now listed and showing as installed, the module is not loading. Even after rebooting my ESXi 5.5 host a couple times.

Mike, were you able to actually get ESXi to load the module after the vib was installed and the host rebooted? Were there perhaps some additional steps required?

[obr]

Hi

same with me: module is not listed after installation and reboot. What is missing here?

Thx

[bazbill]

UPDATE: Over the last few weeks I had 2/4 of my 2TB drives fail. When the first one failed, I replaced the single drive and the RAID rebuild started but wouldn't finish and the load of my TS-459 Pro II spiked well over 100 and the Web UI became unusable... in an effort to get things rebuilt and my device usable again, I replaced all 4 of my 26 month old 2TB Seagate drives with 3TB WD Red drives AND updated the firmware to the beta 4.1.0 .. Raid6 build went very well and completed overnight.

Why am I posting this here? Because, once the build was complete, I created a new 2.5 TB iSCSI target and told my ESXi 5.5 server to rescan datastores. I then added the target and confirmed that "hardware acceleration" is now showing as "Supported" !!

[teracow]

.

[bazbill]

Seagate Barracuda LP: ST2000DL003

The drive is listed here: http://wiki.qnap.com/wiki/Compatible/In ... .5#Seagate but then now listed here as "not recommended": http://www.qnap.com/useng/index.php?sn=4085&lang=en-us

I had 4 of these in RAID5 configuration and they worked quite nicely for the first 25 months, then during month 26 (Nov 2013) the failures started happening. My NAS was running 24X7 since I got it over 2 years ago for use in my home lab with vSphere.

[teracow]

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