SCSI Controller is VMware certified health is in alert status on a newly configured vSAN ESA cluster

Products

• VMware vSAN
• VMware vSAN 8.x

Issue/Introduction

• The newly configured vSAN ESA cluster shows an alert 'SCSI Controller is VMware certified' in vSAN Skyline health.

SCSI controller is VMware certified
Score impact -3
Occurred on: <date & time>
Category: Hardware compatibility
Impact area: Availability
Description: Displays information about the storage I/O controller and verifies that the controller is supported in the VMware Compatibility Guide, based on its PCI ID. If there is a mismatch, contact VMware support.
Likely impacts: Controller is not VMware certified for ESXi release

• From vCenter CLI, /var/log/vmware/vsan-health/vmware-vsan-health-summary-result.log shows error for the controller.
  
  Test controlleronhcl health : red
ControllerList:
Host  Device  CurrentController  PciId  CurrentVsanMode  ControllerCertified
(Host-##, Vmhba#, Broadcom/LsiMegaraid12Gsas/PcieSecureSas39Xx, 1000,10E2,1590,032C, VsanEsa, Red), (Host-##, Vmhba3, Broadcom/LsiMegaraid12Gsas/PcieSecureSas39Xx, 1000,10E2,1590,032C, VsanEsa, Red), (Host-##, Vmhba3, Broadcom/LsiMegaraid12Gsas/PcieSecureSas39Xx, 1000,10E2,1590,032C, VsanEsa, Red),

 

 

Environment

• VMware vSAN ESA
  
  

Cause

• VMware vSAN will only support SAS and SATA devices attached to a Tri-mode controller.
  
  
• NVMe devices attached to a Tri-mode controller are NOT a vSAN-supported configuration.

Resolution

1. Take one host into maintenance mode with ensure accessibility/Full data migration.
2. Remove the storage pool for that host.
3. Physically remove the NVMe disks connected to Tri-mode controller and connect directly to the PCI slots.
4. Create the storage pool using the NVMe disks connected to the PCI slots directed..
5. Wait for the resync to complete.
6. Perform the above steps for all other hosts in the cluster.

Note:
Recommended to have the backup of the critical data before performing this action plan.
Please contact the hardware vendor and confirm the above steps can be executed for the current hardware.

Additional Information

NVMe devices attached to a Tri-mode controller are NOT a vSAN-supported configuration
VMware vSAN Design Guide

Adherence to the VMware Compatibility Guide (VCG)/Hardware Compatibility Guide (HCL) is critically important to the stability of vSAN environments. Using a noncompliant controller/disk or incorrect controller configuration for vSAN (including the driver, firmware, disk mode, etc.) puts the user data at risk and could lead to severe issues of data unavailability over time.