Huawei Server Best Practice

with VMware ESXi System

Issue 01

Date 2016-07-01

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2016. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior
written consent of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Trademarks and Permissions

and other Huawei trademarks are trademarks of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
All other trademarks and trade names mentioned in this document are the property of their respective
holders.

Notice
The purchased products, services and features are stipulated by the contract made between Huawei and
the customer. All or part of the products, services and features described in this document may not be
within the purchase scope or the usage scope. Unless otherwise specified in the contract, all statements,
information, and recommendations in this document are provided "AS IS" without warranties, guarantees or
representations of any kind, either express or implied.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made in the
preparation of this document to ensure accuracy of the contents, but all statements, information, and
recommendations in this document do not constitute a warranty of any kind, express or implied.

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Address: Huawei Industrial Base
Bantian, Longgang
Shenzhen 518129
People's Republic of China

Website: http://e.huawei.com

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System Contents

Contents

1 Overview......................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Preparing for the Deployment .................................................................................................... 2
2.1 Checking Server Compatibility ........................................................................................................................ 2
2.2 Confirming the Server Version ......................................................................................................................... 2
2.2.1 Checking the Server Software Information ............................................................................................. 3
2.2.2 Obtaining the Upgrade Guide ................................................................................................................. 3

3 Deploying the VMware ESXi System ....................................................................................... 4

3.1 Preparing for the Installation ............................................................................................................................ 4
3.1.1 Loading Default BIOS Settings .............................................................................................................. 4
3.1.2 Configuring a RAID Controller Card...................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Installing the VMware ESXi System ............................................................................................................... 5

4 Performing Operations After the Deployment ....................................................................... 6

4.1 Checking the Mapping Between the Firmware and Drivers ............................................................................ 6
4.2 Upgrading the Firmware and Drivers ............................................................................................................... 7
4.3 Deploying the Fault Locating Method ............................................................................................................. 7
4.4 Optimizing the VMware ESXi System ............................................................................................................ 7
4.4.1 Setting Power Management Policy ......................................................................................................... 7
4.4.2 Disabling Power.CStateMaxLatency in the System ................................................................................ 8

5 Handling Exceptions and Collecting Information ............................................................... 10

5.1 Collecting VMware ESXi System Logs ......................................................................................................... 10
5.2 Collecting Server Hardware Logs .................................................................................................................. 10
5.2.1 Obtaining the InfoCollect Tool ............................................................................................................. 10
5.2.2 Obtaining the InfoCollect Tool User Guide .......................................................................................... 11

6 Known Issues ............................................................................................................................... 12

6.1 Incompatibility Between Monitor/Mwait and EVC ....................................................................................... 12
6.2 Incompatibility with USB 3.0 ........................................................................................................................ 13
6.3 Exceptions Due to Lack of Necessary Drivers During System Installation ................................................... 14

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 1 Overview

1 Overview

This document describes how to use the VMware ESXi system on Huawei servers to achieve
optimal performance and stability.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 2 Preparing for the Deployment

2 Preparing for the Deployment

2.1 Checking Server Compatibility

Before deploying the VMware ESXi system, check the server compatibility list. Make sure
that the VMware ESXi system version you are using is compatible with Huawei servers.
To check the VMware ESXi system version compatibility with Huawei servers, visit the
following location:
http://support.huawei.com/onlinetoolsweb/ftca/en

2.2 Confirming the Server Version

Before deploying the VMware ESXi system, check that the components such as BIOS and
BMC of the server have been updated to the latest versions.
To check the server version information and obtain the server software upgrade guide, visit
the following location:
http://support.huawei.com/enterprise/productsupport?lang=en&idAbsPath=7919749|9856522
&pid=9856522

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 2 Preparing for the Deployment

2.2.1 Checking the Server Software Information

The server software locates at the Downloads page of the corresponding product. You can
visit http://support.huawei.com/enterprise, and choose Support > Documentation > Server >
Rack Server > RH2288H V3 > Downloads to access the page (the product name is just an
example).

2.2.2 Obtaining the Upgrade Guide

Visit http://support.huawei.com/enterprise, choose Support > Downloads > IT > Server >
Rack Server > RH2288 V3 (the product name is just an example), and select the desired
version. You can find the upgrade guide in Release Documentation. For example, the
upgrade guide for rack servers is the HUAWEI Rack Server Upgrade Guide (iBMC) 02.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 3 Deploying the VMware ESXi System

3 Deploying the VMware ESXi System

3.1 Preparing for the Installation

3.1.1 Loading Default BIOS Settings
Huawei servers have been set to the optimal factory defaults before shipment. You are advised
to use the default BIOS settings. If you have modified the BIOS settings of the Huawei
servers prior to the deployment, or if you are not sure whether the BIOS settings are the
default values, you can press Delete during the BIOS power-on self test (POST) process to
launch the BIOS SETUP menu, and press F9 to load the default settings. Then, press F10 to
save the settings.
The following are the recommended BIOS settings for the VMware ESXi system on Huawei
servers. You can access the BIOS SETUP menu to check whether your settings have adopted
the recommended values.

BIOS Item Recommended Value

Hyper_threading[ALL] Enable
Monitor/Mwait Disable
VMX Enable
PCIe SR-IOV Enable
Intel VT for Direct I/O(VT-d) Enable
Interrupt Remapping Enable
PCIe 64-bit Decode Enable
Hardware Prefetcher Enable
Adjacent Cache Prefetch Enable
DCU Streamer Prefetcher Enable
DCU IP Prefetcher Enable

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 3 Deploying the VMware ESXi System

3.1.2 Configuring a RAID Controller Card

If you need to configure RAID arrays by using the RAID controller card, configure them
before you install the VMware ESXi system.

3.1.2.1 Configuring a RAID Array

The RAID arrays of different RAID controller cards require different configuration methods.
For details, see the HUAWEI Server RAID Controller Card User Guide.

3.1.2.2 Configuring Startup Items

After configuring multiple RAID arrays, or RAID arrays that include multiple VDs, it is
required to configure startup items. Otherwise, exceptions may occur during the VMware
ESXi system installation. Different RAID controller cards require different startup item
configurations. For details, see the HUAWEI Server RAID Controller Card User Guide.

3.2 Installing the VMware ESXi System

You are advised to install the VMware ESXi system by using the Huawei ServiceCD tool. For
details, see "01-04 Installing an OS by Using the ServiceCD" in the HUAWEI Server OS
Installation Guide. Alternatively, you can install the VMware ESXi system by using the
VMware ISO.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 4 Performing Operations After the Deployment

4 Performing Operations After the

Deployment

4.1 Checking the Mapping Between the Firmware and

Drivers
The drivers of certain cards on Huawei servers require firmware of corresponding versions.
After installing the VMware ESXi system, check the mapping between the firmware and
drivers by using the following method.
Step 1 Visit http://support.huawei.com/enterprise, and choose Support > Documentation > Server >
Application Server > FusionServer iDriver > Downloads. Select the desired version, and
download the iDriver package. Then, run the install_driver.sh script in the iDriver package
by using the following command:
sh install_driver.sh

Step 2 Choose 3: To check the current module information and driver version.

Then, an interface similar to the following figure will be displayed, showing the firmware and
driver mapping check results. Among the command output:
CurrentDriverVer indicates the driver version currently used in the system.
NewDriverVersion indicates the driver version recommended for the system.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 4 Performing Operations After the Deployment

CurrentFirmwareVer indicates the current firmware version.

NewFirmwareVersion indicates the firmware version recommended for the system.

If you find that CurrentFirmwareVer is different from NewFirmwareVersion, or that

CurrentDriverVer is different from NewDriverVersion, you need to upgrade the firmware
and/or the drivers.

4.2 Upgrading the Firmware and Drivers

In section 4.1 , if you find that the firmware or driver version is not the latest, upgrade the
firmware and/or the drivers by referring to "01-08 Installing Drivers and Firmwares" in the
HUAWEI Server OS Installation Guide.

4.3 Deploying the Fault Locating Method

Collecting as many logs as possible when servers become faulty is helpful for quickly
analyzing and locating the fault. You are advised to configure Serial Over LAN (SOL) for the
servers, and adjust the size of the ESXi dump partition.
For details about the configuration methods, see "01-10 Methods of Locating OS Problems"
in the HUAWEI Server OS Installation Guide.

4.4 Optimizing the VMware ESXi System

To ensure that the servers achieve optimal performance and stability with the VMware ESXi
system, you are advised to optimize the VMware ESXi system as follows.

4.4.1 Setting Power Management Policy

Choose Configuration > Power Management in the VMware ESXi system. In the Edit
Power Policy Settings window, select High performance for Power Management Policy.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 4 Performing Operations After the Deployment

4.4.2 Disabling Power.CStateMaxLatency in the System

The servers deliver higher performance when the Power.CStateMaxLatency option of the
CPU is disabled in the VMware ESXi system. Use the following method to disable this
option.
Step 1 Choose Manage > Advanced System Settings, and select Power.CStateMaxLatency.

Step 2 Set Power.CStateMaxLatency to 0.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 4 Performing Operations After the Deployment

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 5 Handling Exceptions and Collecting Information

5 Handling Exceptions and Collecting

Information

Collect the VMware ESXi system logs and server hardware logs in the case of any exceptions
when you are using the VMware ESXi system on Huawei servers.

5.1 Collecting VMware ESXi System Logs

You can collect VMware ESXi system logs by using the vSphere Client or vSphere Web
Client. For details on the collection methods, visit the VMware official knowledge base (KB):
Collecting diagnostic information for VMware ESX/ESXi (653)
You can also collect VMware ESXi system logs by using vm-support commands. For details
on the collection methods, visit the VMware official KB:
Collecting diagnostic information using the vm-support command in VMware ESX/ESXi
(1010705)

5.2 Collecting Server Hardware Logs

Use Huawei's proprietary FusionServer tool InfoCollect to collect server hardware logs.

5.2.1 Obtaining the InfoCollect Tool

Visit http://support.huawei.com/enterprise, and choose Support > Downloads > IT > Server >
TaiShan > FusionServer Tools > Downloads to access the Downloads page. Select the latest
version, and download the FusionServer Tools-InfoCollect V110.zip package.
http://support.huawei.com/enterprise/productNewOffering?lang=en&idAbsPath=7919749|985
6522|9856629|21015513&pid=21015513&from=soft

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 5 Handling Exceptions and Collecting Information

5.2.2 Obtaining the InfoCollect Tool User Guide

For details about how to use the InfoCollect tool, refer to the FusionServer Tools V2R2
InfoCollect User Guide 10. Visit http://support.huawei.com/enterprise, choose Support >
Downloads > IT > Server > TaiShan > FusionServer Tools > Documentation to access the
Documentation page, and obtain the document.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 6 Known Issues

6 Known Issues

6.1 Incompatibility Between Monitor/Mwait and EVC

In the BIOS settings of Huawei servers, the Monitor/Mwait feature is set to Disabled.

In a cluster where the Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) mode is enabled, the VMware
ESXi host may fail to be added to the cluster.

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 6 Known Issues

If this problem occurs, you are advised to check whether the servers in the cluster all use
CPUs of architectures of the same generation. If the server CPU architectures are of the same
generation, the EVC feature does not take effect. In such a case, you are advised to disable the
EVC feature of the cluster. Disabling the EVC feature does not affect practical usage.
If the servers in your cluster use CPUs of architectures of different generations, contact
Huawei technical support for an optimal solution.
For details about the EVC feature of the VMware ESXi system, visit the VMware official KB:
https://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003212

6.2 Incompatibility with USB 3.0

VMware ESXi 5.5 and earlier versions do not support USB 3.0. If you have enabled USB 3.0,
the keyboard and mouse may fail to respond during system installation. To solve this issue,
launch the BIOS SETUP menu, choose Advanced > USB Configuration, and set USB 3.0
to Disabled.

For details about the compatibility between VMware ESXi systems and USB, visit the
VMware official KB:
https://kb.vmware.com/kb/1022290

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Huawei Server Best Practice with VMware ESXi System 6 Known Issues

6.3 Exceptions Due to Lack of Necessary Drivers During

System Installation
During system installation, exceptions may occur due to lack of necessary drivers in the
system. In such a case, refer to "Installing an OS by Creating an Installation Source" in the
HUAWEI Server OS Installation Guide and customize the VMware ESXi system ISO to
install the system.
http://support.huawei.com/enterprise/docinforeader.action?contentId=DOC1000040282&idPa
th=7919749|9856522|21782478|21782482|9901877

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