Operational Defect Database
BugZero found this defect 152 days ago.
Data sources
All data on this page is proprietary to BugZero® or gathered from public sources
Hewlett Packard Enterprise | a00136389en_us
Advisory: Linux - Manually Set Up NVMe-oF/TCP for Linux Installation
Last update date:
12/20/2023
Affected products:
HPE ProLiant DL110 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL320 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL325 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL345 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL365 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DL560 Gen11
HPE ProLiant DX365 Gen11
HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen11
Affected releases:
No affected releases provided.
Fixed releases:
No fixed releases provided.
Description:
Info
The Linux kernel has native NVMe-oF/TCP support. However, many Linux distributions do not integrate this function in their installers. The NVMe-oF/TCP may not be able to be used in the installation phase without some modifications.
Scope
Any HPE system running Linux using the NVMe-oF/TCP in the installer. This is not a hardware-dependent issue. This is an OS issue. At the time when this document was written, among the tier-1 Linux distributions, the following NVMe-oF/TCP in the installer applies: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 has the functionality for the NVMe-oF/TCP in the installer. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 and Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS installers do not have the NVMe-oF/TCP functionality in the installer.
Resolution
To add the NVMe-oF/TCP functionality to the installer, perform the following: When the system boots to the installer, press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to switch to a pseudo terminal. For Ubuntu, use apt to install the package nvme-cli, or download from https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvme-cli : $ sudo apt install nvme-cli Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 already have nvme-cli installed in the full installation ISO. The commands below require root permission. For Ubuntu, use "sudo" to get the root permission or "sudo su" to change the current user to root. Load the nvme-fabrics kernel module: $ modprobe nvme-fabrics Assuming the NVMe-oF/TCPtarget server’s IP is 192.168.x.x, port is 4420 and NQN (NVMe Qualified Name) is nqn.2023-11.io.example:node1. Discover the NVMe-oF/TCP targets by the command: $ nvme discover -t tcp -a 192.168.x.x -s 4420 Discovery Log Number of Records 1, Generation counter 2 =====Discovery Log Entry 0====== trtype: tcp adrfam: ipv4 subtype: nvme subsystem treq: not specified, sq flow control disable supported portid: 1 trsvcid: 4420 subnqn: nqn.2023-11.io.example:node1 traddr: 192.168.x.x sectype: none Then it is an option to specify the NQN to connect: $ nvme connect -t tcp -a 192.168.x.x -s 4420 -n nqn.2023-11.io.example:node1 OR To connect to all the NVMe-oF/TCP targets: $ nvme connect-all -t tcp -a 192.168.x.x -s 4420 The connected targets will display in /dev just as physically attached NVMe drives: $ ls /dev/nvme[0-9]* /dev/nvme0 /dev/nvme0n1 After performing the steps above, for Ubuntu, press Ctrl+Alt+F1, for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, press Ctrl+Alt+F6 to switch back to the installer and continue the installation. The NVMe targets will display as NVMe devices. To boot from the NVMe-oF/TCP target, the NVMe-oF target in BIOS/Platform Configuration (RBSU) will be configured. An NVMe-oF attempt can be added from BIOS/Platform Configuration (RBSU)/Network Options/NVMe-oF Configuration/Add an NVMe-oF Attempt. Then select the created attempt and fill the IP, port and NQN in there. The NQN should match the NVMe-oF target to boot. HPE ROM version 2.10 (or later) is required. A patch in nvme-cli upstream git repository enables nvme-cli to use the setting from BIOS by reading /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/NBFT so that it does not need to input the target IP, port and NQN manually. The patch was merged in nvme-cli version 2.5. The patch is not included in either Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 or Ubuntu 22.04. More details and documents for building from source is available in the nvme-cli upstream git repository: https://github.com/linux-nvme/nvme-cli . Disclaimer: One or more of the links above will take you outside the HPE website. HPE is not responsible for content outside of its domain. RECEIVE PROACTIVE UPDATES : Receive support alerts (such as Customer Advisories), as well as updates on drivers, software, firmware, and customer replaceable components, proactively in your e-mail through HPE Support Alerts. Sign up for Support Alerts at the following URL: HPE Email Preference Center NAVIGATION TIP: For hints on navigating HPE.com to locate the latest drivers, patches and other support software downloads, refer to the Navigation Tips document. SEARCH TIP: For hints on locating similar documents on HPE.com, refer to the Search Tips document.
