ESXi not properly detecting my Linkreal PLX8749 PCIe switch

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ipreferpie

Member
May 27, 2018
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Hi there,

I recently got a Linkreal LRNV9349-8i (w/ the Broadcom PLX8749 chip) PCIe switch to upgrade my SuperMicro AOC3-4E4T. Here is my hardware specs:

CPU: dual Xeon 8176 ES2 QL1F
Motherboard: X11DPH-T
Cables: 8pc Dilinker MiniSAS to Oculink SFF8611 cables (active, MiniSAS host to Oculink backplane) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VRC25FG
Backplane: BPN-SAS3-846EL1-8N
Attached U.2 NVME drives: a) Optane 905p x3 b) Intel D4502 7.68TB x2 c) Dell PM1733 15.36TB x2
Host OS: ESXi 6.7u3

I’ve been running the system smoothly for 5 years with the AOC3-4E4T, but upgraded to the Linkreal once I got the Intel and Dell U.2 drives. However, it only seems to detect the Linkreal as a generic PLX PCIe switch that doesn’t allow passthrough. And all the attached drives don’t seem to get detected in my ESXi host. I’ve uploaded a screenshot for reference.

Am I missing anything to make it work? Such as updating firmware (but I can’t seem to find any links), or BIOS settings (Northbridge IIO bifurcation is Auto, and Slot 2 CPU 2 OPROM is EFI), or ESXi drivers? Would anyone with experience be able to help? Many thanks in advance!
 

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ipreferpie

Member
May 27, 2018
51
1
8
Sorry I wasn’t clear… I meant I have 8 pieces of the MiniSAS to Oculink SFF-8611 cables that the backplane takes.

Another note, while the Amazon site says that the cables are for a MiniSAS host and Oculink backplane, I see that most cables are the other way around. One thing I’m suspecting is that the cables are mislabeled and not compatible. But I can’t seem to find another site that sells SFF-8643 (host) —> SFF-8611 (backplane) anywhere else to test it.
 
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gea

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Dec 31, 2010
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Basically I would not expect that you can passthrough the pcie switch but you should be able to passthrough u.2/u.3 nvme disks.
As mini SAS, SFF-xx or Oculink are basically mechanical connectors you need to care about the signals as they can provide Sata, SAS or NVMe.

To make this work, you need connector cables that provide NVMe/pci-e signals, your backplane must support u.2/u.3 NVMe and you must use u.2/u.3 Nvme (not Sata/SAS disks).
 
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ipreferpie

Member
May 27, 2018
51
1
8
gea said:
Basically I would not expect that you can passthrough the pcie switch but you should be able to passthrough u.2/u.3 nvme disks.
As mini SAS, SFF-xx or Oculink are basically mechanical connectors you need to care about the signals as they can provide Sata, SAS or NVMe.

To make this work, you need connector cables that provide NVMe/pci-e signals, your backplane must support u.2/u.3 NVMe and you must use u.2/u.3 Nvme (not Sata/SAS disks).
Click to expand...
Yes that makes sense. After trying, it looks like the Linkreal card is indeed detected on ESXi, but any of the connected U.2 NVMe drives aren’t (both controller and drive). While the unidirectional cables were advertised as being SFF8643 host —> SFF8611 backplane, I suspect that they may be reversed. I ordered from a different vendor to see if that will work.

Just to confirm PLX 8749 cards don’t need drivers or special configuration to work with ESXi, right? Many thanks!
 
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gea

Well-Known Member
Dec 31, 2010
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From OS view, the attached NVMe should be visible like direct connected PCI-e, M.2 or U.2/3 devices, no extra drivers needed if the OS supports NVMe what any current OS does,
 
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