Manage an Adaptec SmartRAID controller on VMware ESXi 7 from Adaptec maxView Storage Manager v4 - RAID - Tutorials

When using an Adaptec SmartRAID controller with a Windows computer, you can easily manage it using the "maxView Storage Manager" web interface.

However, when using the VMware ESXi hypervisor, you no longer have the option to install this web interface on your server.
To resolve this issue, you will need to install the Redfish server (which replaces the old CIM server) on VMware ESXi 7 and install the "maxView Storage Manager" web interface on a Windows or Linux computer.
This will allow maxView Storage Manager to display information about your server's Adaptec SmartRAID controller on VMware ESXi by connecting to the previously installed Redfish server.

1. Download the VMware version of maxView Storage Manager 4

To get started, go to the review for your Microsemi Adaptec SmartRAID controller (in our case: Microsemi Adaptec SmartRAID 3154-8i8e), then click on the "Storage Manager Downloads" link.

Download the VMware version of maxView Storage Manager: maxView Storage Manager 4... for VMware.

Click "Download Now."

Note: as you can see in the download description, maxView Storage Manager version 4 is compatible with VMware ESXi 7 and 8.

As you can see, the suggested file for downloading "maxView Storage Manager 4.17.00.26540 for VMware" is "msm_vmware_B26540.zip".
Click the "Primary" button to download it.

Unzip the downloaded zip file and you will find several folders:

ASM-ADAPTECREDFISHSERVER-ESXI70GA-ADAP: the "ArcConf" command line tool and the "Redfish" server for ESXi 7.0.
ASM-ADAPTECREDFISHSERVER-ESXI70U1U2-ADAP: same, but for ESXi 7.0 Update 1 and Update 2.
ASM-ADAPTECREDFISHSERVER-ESXI70U3-ADAP: same, but for ESXi 7.0 Update 3.
ASM-ADAPTECREDFISHSERVER-ESXI80-ADAP: same, but for ESXi 8.0.
ASM-ADAPTECREDFISHSERVER-ESXI80U1U2-ADAP: same, but for ESXi 8.0 Update 1 and Update 2.
esxi7_0: Only the "ArcConf" command-line tool for ESXi 7.0.
esxi8_0: Same, but for ESXi 8.0.
linux: Only the "ArcConf" command-line tool for Linux.
MAXVIEW-VWC7-PLUGIN-WIN64-ADAP: the HTML5 plugin for VMware vSphere 7.0 (requires vCenter).
However, this plugin only allows monitoring, as the information is available in read-only mode.
MAXVIEW-VWC8-PLUGIN-WIN64-ADAP: same, but for ESXi 8.0.
windows_x64: only the "ArcConf" command line tool for 64-bit Windows.

In this case, you will need to choose the "ASM-ADAPTECREDFISHSERVER-ESXI70...-ADAP" folder which corresponds to your version of VMware ESXi.

In our case, we have version 7.0 Update 3 (= 70U3).

In the selected folder (in our case "ASM-ADAPTECREDFISHSERVER-ESXI70U3-ADAP"), navigate to the "cdrom1\esxi7_0\bundle" subfolder.
In this subfolder, you will find two compressed files:

AdaptecArcconf_4.17.26540-MIS.7.0.3.18644231_23311033.zip: to install the "ArcConf" command-line tool on VMware ESXi 7.0.
Useful for managing your Adaptec SmartRAID controller from the command line on your VMware ESXi 7.0 hypervisor or remotely via SSH.
AdaptecRedfish_4.17.26540-MIS.7.0.3.18644231_23311319.zip: to install the RedFish server you'll need on VMware ESXi 7.0 so you can retrieve information from your Adaptec SmartRAID controller from a computer running the "maxView Storage Manager" web interface.

2. Store .ZIP files to be installed on the VMware ESXi host

On your VMware ESXi hypervisor, go to "Storage -> Datastores" section, select the datastore "datastore1" (for example), and then click "Datastore browser".

In this "datastore1" datastore, create a new folder by clicking on "Create a directory".

Specify a simple name without spaces to avoid problems when you need to install the desired files from the command line.
In our case: adaptec-smartraid.

Select the created "adaptec-smartraid" folder and click "Upload".

Select the 2 ZIP files mentioned above one by one and click "Open" each time.

Once you have added the 2 ZIP files to your datastore, you will get this.

3. Install the RedFish server and the ARCCONF command line tool

To install the new packages, you'll need to enable VMware ESXi 7's SSH server.
To do this, go to the "Host" section and click Actions -> Services -> Enable Secure Shell (SSH).

Once the SSH server is enabled, 2 messages will appear on this page.

Alternatively, you can go to the "Host -> Manage -> Services" section and start the "TSM-SSH" service (which is the same thing).

Download the popular SSH client "PuTTY", type the IP address of your VMware ESXi hypervisor and click "Open".

Check if the "ArcConf" command line tool is already installed.

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esxcli software vib list | grep arcconf

In our case, we see the old version installed in the past on VMware ESXi 6.7.

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arcconf                        3.07-23971                             Adaptec  VMwareAccepted    2024-05-09

If this "ArcConf" tool is already installed, uninstall it.

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esxcli software vib remove -n arcconf

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Removal Result
   Message: Operation finished successfully.
   Reboot Required: false
   VIBs Installed:
   VIBs Removed: Adaptec_bootbank_arcconf_3.07-23971
   VIBs Skipped:

Check if CIM server (which was used by maxView for ESXi 6.7) is already installed.

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esxcli software vib list | grep arc-cim-provider

In our case, we had installed the CIM server previously on ESXi 6.7.

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arc-cim-provider               3.07-23971                             Adaptec  VMwareAccepted    2024-05-09

If CIM server is already installed in your case, uninstall it.

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esxcli software vib remove -n arc-cim-provider

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Removal Result
   Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
   Reboot Required: true
   VIBs Installed:
   VIBs Removed: Adaptec_bootbank_arc-cim-provider_3.07-23971
   VIBs Skipped:

Now, check if RedFish server is already installed.

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esxcli software vib list | grep adaptecredfishserver

In our case, it's not yet installed, so nothing is displayed.
However, if it's already installed in your case, uninstall it.

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esxcli software vib remove -n adaptecredfishserver

If you had to uninstall CIM Server or RedFish (which require a reboot), then reboot your hypervisor.

Bash

reboot

Change the acceptance level for installing VIB files on your VMware ESXi 7 hypervisor to "VMwareAccepted".

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esxcli software acceptance set –-level=VMwareAccepted

However, for some unknown reason, although the syntax is correct, VMware ESXi may tell you that this command is incorrect.

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Error: Unknown command or namespace software acceptance set –-level=VMwareAccepted

If you also have this problem, use the VMware ESXi 7 web interface. Log in as root, go to "Host -> Manage -> Security & Users -> Acceptance Level" and click "Change Settings."

Select the "Accepted by VMware" option and click "Save".

Your VMware ESXi 7 hypervisor acceptance level is now "Accepted by VMware".

By the way, if you type the command below.

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esxcli software acceptance get

It will show you the value below.

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VMwareAccepted

Install the "ArcConf" command line tool by typing the command below.
Note: don't forget to adapt the path if necessary.

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esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/adaptec-smartraid/AdaptecArcconf_4.17.26540-MIS.7.0.3.18644231_23311033.zip

Wait a few seconds, and this will be displayed.

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Installation Result
   Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
   Reboot Required: true
   VIBs Installed: MIS_bootbank_arcconf_4.17.26540-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231
   VIBs Removed:
   VIBs Skipped:

Now, install the RedFish server.

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esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/adaptec-smartraid/AdaptecRedfish_4.17.26540-MIS.7.0.3.18644231_23311319.zip

After a few seconds, this will be displayed.

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Installation Result
   Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
   Reboot Required: true
   VIBs Installed: MIS_bootbank_adaptecredfishserver_4.17.26540-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231
   VIBs Removed:
   VIBs Skipped:

Now that the necessary packages have been installed, restart your VMware ESXi 7 hypervisor.

Bash

reboot

Re-enable your VMware ESXi 7 hypervisor's SSH server, log in again as root, and verify that the desired packages have been installed.

To verify that the "ArcConf" command-line tool has been installed, type this command.

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esxcli software vib list | grep arcconf

You should see this displayed.

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arcconf                        4.17.26540-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231       MIS     VMwareAccepted    2024-05-19

Pour le serveur RedFish, tapez cette commande.

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esxcli software vib list | grep adaptecredfishserver

You should see this displayed.

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adaptecredfishserver           4.17.26540-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231       MIS     VMwareAccepted    2024-05-19

Note that "arc-cim-provider" (which was used with maxView for VMware ESXi 6.7) is not supported by VMware.
Hence the use of the new "RedFish" server.

Source : maxView™ Storage Manager User Guide for Adaptec® Smart Storage Controllers - 3.4 Installing on VMware 7.x and ESXi 8.x - Microchip.

In the "VMware ESXi Host Client," go to the "Host -> Manage -> Modules" section.
In the list of modules, you should see the following:

adaptecredfishserver / Adaptec Redfish Server for man...................... / Version 4.17.26540-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231 / Vendor MIS (= Microsemi).
arcconf / Arcconf CLI / Version 4.17.26540-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231 / Vendor MIS (= Microsemi).

In the "Services" tab, you will see these:

AdaptecRedfishServer: the Redfish server to which maxView Storage Manager can connect to retrieve information from the Adaptec SmartRAID controller installed on your VMware ESXi 7 server.
arcconf: the "ArcConf" command-line tool.