NVMe SSDs not detected in ESXi

Products

• VMware vSAN
• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Issue/Introduction

• Newly installed NVMe SSDs are detected at the driver level (esxcli nvme device list) but do not appear as usable storage devices in the ESXi UI or /dev/disks/.
  
  
• The NVMe controller status may show as offline.
  
  
• Attempts to format the namespace using esxcli nvme device namespace format fail with the error: Failed to offline namespace.
  
  
• The Device Display Name appears empty when checking with esxcfg-mpath -l or in the vCenter Server storage adapter view.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

The specific NVMe device IDs are not listed on the Broadcom Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).
Devices not on the HCL are not supported for use as ESXi storage or vSAN storage.

Resolution

1. Identify the Vendor ID (VID), Device ID (DID), Sub-Vendor ID (SVID) and Sub-Device ID (SSID) of the controller.
   As the device is not recognized by ESXi, this must be done externally. Hardware vendor must be contacted if needed.
   
   
2. Open Broadcom Compatibility Guide - vSAN SSD,
   • Find VID, DID, SVID, and SSID(Max SSID) options on the floor of the left menu.  Then select these four values you record in step 1.
     
     
3. Click the View Results button on the top of the left menu. The results will be shown in the middle part of the Web page.
   
   
4. If there are entries, according to the Model name find the product and click the link. Otherwise, the Device is incompatible.
   
   
5. Select ESXi versions then check whether the current driver and firmware versions are in the compatible list.
   
   
6. For assistance with the firmware upgrade, contact the hardware vendor.

Additional Information

Japanese version of this KB : https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/443064