USB drives on VMware ESXI6 servers

http://www.virten.net/2015/10/usb-devices-as-vmfs-datastore-in-vsphere-esxi-6-0/

Information archived below:

USB Devices as VMFS Datastore in vSphere ESXi 6.0

In the last years I've seen many requests in forums and blogs where people are trying to use USB devices like USB sticks or external hard disks as VMFS formatted datastore. It was actually possible in vSphere 5, but very picky. Some USB flash drives were working, others not. In vSphere 6, this behavior has been changed obviously. This post explains how you can use USB devices as datastore on your ESXi host. Of course, this is neither a supported, nor a performant storage solution, so use at your own risk.
[Update: If you are looking for USB VMFS Datastores in vSphere 6.5, read this article.]

Create VMFS Datastore on USB drives

1. Connect to the ESXi host with SSH
2. Stop the USB arbitrator service. This service is used to passthrough USB device from an ESX/ESXi host to a virtual machine. (When disabling it, you can no longer passthrough USB devices to VMs)

   ~ # /etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop

3. (optional) Use this command to permanently disable the USB arbitrator service after reboot.

   ~ # chkconfig usbarbitrator off

4. Plug in the USB Device to your ESXi host
5. Get the device identifier (mpx.vmhbaXX). You should see the USB Device in /dev/disks/:

   ~ # ls /dev/disks/

6. Write a GPT label to the device (Assuming that the Device ID is mpx.vmhba36)

   ~ # partedUtil mklabel /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba36\:C0\:T0\:L0 gpt

7. To create a partition you need to know the start sector, end sector, which depends on the device size and the GUID.
   The start sector is always 2048
   The GUID for VMFS is AA31E02A400F11DB9590000C2911D1B8
   The end sector can be calculated with the following formula (Use the numbers from getptbl):

   ~ # partedUtil getptbl /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba36\:C0\:T0\:L0
   gpt
   1947 255 63 31293440

   1947 * 255 * 63 - 1 = 31278554
   You can also calculate the endsector with the following command:
   

   ~ # eval expr $(partedUtil getptbl /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba36\:C0\:T0\:L0 | tail -1 | awk '{print $1 " \\* " $2 " \\* " $3}') - 1
   31278554

8. Create the VMFS partition (Replace with your endsector)

   ~ # partedUtil setptbl /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba36\:C0\:T0\:L0 gpt "1 2048 31278554 AA31E02A400F11DB9590000C2911D1B8 0"

9. Format the partition with VMFS5

   ~ # vmkfstools -C vmfs5 -S USB-Stick /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba36\:C0\:T0\:L0:1

The USB-Stick should now appear in your datastores view.

And the final proof is a virtual machine running on it:

This is how your command output should look like:

~ # partedUtil mklabel /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba43\:C0\:T0\:L0 gpt
~ # eval expr $(partedUtil getptbl /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba43\:C0\:T0\:L0 | tail -1 | awk '{print $1 " \\* " $2 " \\* " $3}') - 1
31278554
~ # partedUtil setptbl /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba43\:C0\:T0\:L0 gpt "1 2048 31278554 AA31E02A400F11DB9590000C2911D1B8 0"
gpt
0 0 0 0
1 2048 31278554 AA31E02A400F11DB9590000C2911D1B8 0
~ # vmkfstools -C vmfs5 -S USB-Stick /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba43\:C0\:T0\:L0:1
create fs deviceName:'/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba43:C0:T0:L0:1', fsShortName:'vmfs5', fsName:'USB-Stick'
deviceFullPath:/dev/disks/mpx.vmhba43:C0:T0:L0:1 deviceFile:mpx.vmhba43:C0:T0:L0:1
ATS on device /dev/disks/mpx.vmhba43:C0:T0:L0:1: not supported
.
Checking if remote hosts are using this device as a valid file system. This may take a few seconds...
Creating vmfs5 file system on "mpx.vmhba43:C0:T0:L0:1" with blockSize 1048576 and volume label "USB-Stick".
Successfully created new volume: 56226b60-118f2e3f-04ba-001b2193b3b0

[Update: October 19. 2015 - Figured out why devices are detected as USB 2. Devices now with full USB 3.0 performance. Performance test results updated.]

http://www.virten.net/2015/10/usb-3-0-devices-detected-as-usb-2-in-esxi-6-0-and-5-5/ 

USB 3.0 devices detected as USB 2 in ESXi 6.0 and 5.5

In my latest post USB Devices as VMFS Datastore in vSphere ESXi 6.0 I had a problem with USB 3.0 devices that are detected as USB 2 in ESXi. I know that USB 3.0, also known as eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI), is supported in ESXi 6.0 and ESXi 5.5 Build 2143827 or later. Unfortunately all of my devices are detected as USB 2.1, despite the USB 3 hub was visible. This problem applies to both, USB devices in path-through mode, and USB devices mounted from the command line with usbarbitrator disabled. The solution was quite simple and not related to an ESXi, but to a UEFI configuration.


Within the UEFI the xHCI mode is configurable with a default of "Smart Auto". According to the documentation, in "Smart Auto" mode the USB 3.0 port acts like a 2.0 port before OS USB 3.0 drivers are loaded. For whatever reason, this does not work properly with ESXi. After setting xHCI Mode to "Enabled", all devices are correctly identified as USB 3.0.
During my tests I've use two USB 3.0 capable devices on my 5th Gen Intel NUC (NUC5i5MYHE):

• External 1TB 2.5" HDD (Seagate RSS LLC FreeAgent GoFlex USB 3.0)
• USB 3.0 to mSATA SSD Enclosure (ASMedia Technology Inc.)

ESXi 6.0 with xHCI Mode "Smart Auto"
Both devices are connected to "Bus 001", which is the 2.0 root hub:
~ # vmware -v VMware ESXi 6.0.0 build-3073146 ~ # lsusb Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0bc2:5031 Seagate RSS LLC FreeAgent GoFlex USB 3.0 Bus 001 Device 006: ID 174c:1153 ASMedia Technology Inc. Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0930:6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102 Flash Drive / HEMA Flash Drive 2 GB / PNY Attache 4GB Stick Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8001 Intel Corp. Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub ESXi 5.5 with xHCI Mode "Smart Auto"
Same problem here. Both devices on "Bus 001".
~ # vmware -v VMware ESXi 5.5.0 build-3116895 ~ # lsusb Bus 001 Device 008: ID 0bc2:5031 Seagate RSS LLC FreeAgent GoFlex USB 3.0 Bus 001 Device 007: ID 174c:1153 ASMedia Technology Inc. Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0930:6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102 Flash Drive / HEMA Flash Drive 2 GB / PNY Attache 4GB Stick Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8001 Intel Corp. Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub You can also use the lsusb -v command to see a verbose output containing the USB version (2.10):
~ # lsusb -v Bus 001 Device 008: ID 0bc2:5031 Seagate RSS LLC FreeAgent GoFlex USB 3.0 Device Descriptor: bLength 18 bDescriptorType 1 bcdUSB 2.10 bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level) [...] Bus 001 Device 007: ID 174c:1153 ASMedia Technology Inc. Device Descriptor: bLength 18 bDescriptorType 1 bcdUSB 2.10 [...] The problem described here applies only if you see a USB 3.0 root hub but devices are connected to the wrong hub. If you do not see the USB 3.0 hub you have to verify that the xhci module is enabled and loaded with:
~ # esxcli system module list |grep xhci Name Is Loaded   Is Enabled xhci true true To enable it (Load it automatically on boot):
~ # esxcli system module set -e true -m xhci To load it while ESXi is running:
~ # vmkload_mod xhci xHCI Mode "Enabled"
After setting the xHCI Mode to "Enabled" in the UEFI, both devices are connected to the USB 3.0 hub:
~ # vmware -v VMware ESXi 5.5.0 build-3116895 ~ # lsusb Bus 002 Device 002: ID 174c:1153 ASMedia Technology Inc. Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0bc2:5031 Seagate RSS LLC FreeAgent GoFlex USB 3.0 Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0930:6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102 Flash Drive / HEMA Flash Drive 2 GB / P Attache 4GB Stick Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub ~ # vmware -v VMware ESXi 6.0.0 build-3073146 ~ # lsusb Bus 002 Device 002: ID 174c:1153 ASMedia Technology Inc. Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0bc2:5031 Seagate RSS LLC FreeAgent GoFlex USB 3.0 Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0930:6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102 Flash Drive / HEMA Flash Drive 2 GB / PNY Attache 4GB Stick Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub lsusb -v Bus 002 Device 003: ID 174c:1153 ASMedia Technology Inc. Device Descriptor: bLength 18 bDescriptorType 1 bcdUSB 3.00 [...]

vmware convert virtual ide to virtual scsi disk image

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1016192

• Virtual machine contains an IDE virtual disk as the primary operating system bootable disk after conversion from physical source.
• Virtual machine has an IDE virtual disk but the additional secondary virtual disks are SCSI with an LSI or Bus Logic controller.
• Virtual machine fails to start with only a black screen after conversion with possible underscore. The primary disk is an IDE virtual disk but LSI or Bus Logic was selected during conversion.
• After conversion using P2V, the virtual machine fails to start.
• Virtual machines created after P2V fails to start between 95% and 99%.
• After powering off a virtual machine, you are unable to increase the size of its hard disk(s) when the disk is not SCSI based.
• Increasing the size of hard disk when the disk that is not SCSI based fails with the error:
  
  Failed to extend disk : The file specified is not a virtual disk

Solution:


When converting a physical machine to a virtual machine using VMware Converter or vCenter Converter Enterprise, if an adapter type is not selected during the initial customization the resulting virtual machine may contain an IDE disk as the primary operating system disk.

You must convert the IDE disk to SCSI to get the best performance. If the primary disk is an IDE virtual disk, the newly converted virtual machine may fail to start because the guest operating system does not support the driver. This issue may occur because, in ESX 4.x the default disk type for Windows XP 32-bit virtual machine creation is IDE. This default value can be manually changed during the virtual machine creation wizard by selecting the custom option. Windows XP 64 bit will still use SCSI by default.

Note: For newer versions of Windows and Linux operating system guests, the typical SCSI adapter types are the LSI Logic controllers. When using LSI Logic SCSI controllers in the Windows XP virtual machine, ensure to download and install the appropriate LSI driver before proceeding. For more information on downloading and installing LSI Logic SCSI drivers, see Storage Drivers for ESX 3.5.x and Microsoft Windows XP When Using the VMware LSI Logic Storage Adapter (1007035).

In situations where you are manually changing an IDE disk to a SCSI disk that holds a Windows Operating system volume, you may need to repair the master boot record of the disk. For more information, see Repairing boot sector problems in Windows NT-based operating systems (1006556).

To convert the IDE disk to SCSI:

1. Download the driver (LSI20320-R controller) from the Avago.
   Note: The preceding link was correct as of April 22, 2015. If you find the link is broken, provide a feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
   
2. Power off the virtual machine.
3. From the Edit Settings menu for this virtual machine:
   
   
   • Go to Add > Hard Disk > Create New Virtual Disk.
   • Change the Capacity to 1 GB and click Next. 
   • Ensure that the Virtual Device Node is set to SCSI.
   • Complete the wizard and select the New SCSI Controller.
   • If the current type is not LSI Logic Parallel Select Change Type, change the type to LSI Logic Parallel.
   • Click OK.
   • Choose the same controller as in Step 4 as the adapter type. The SCSI ID should read SCSI 0:0.
     
4. Power on the virtual machine.
5. Follow the Found New Hardware wizard or in the Windows device manager inside the Windows guest and select the unknown device.
6. Right-click Update Driver and select the LSILogic SCSI controller driver downloaded earlier. This installs the drivers for the LSILogic SCSI controller inside the guest operating system.
7. Power off the virtual machine.
8. Locate the datastore path where the virtual machine resides.
   
   For example:
   
   # cd /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name/
   
   
9. From the ESX Service Console, open the primary disk (.vmdk) using the vi editor. For more information, see Editing files on an ESX host using vi or nano (1020302).
   
   
   
10. Look for the line:
    
    ddb.adapterType = "ide"
    
    
11. To change the adapter type to LSI Logic change the line to:
    
    ddb.adapterType = "lsilogic"
    To change the adapter type to Bus Logic change the line to:
    
    ddb.adapterType = "buslogic"
    
    In some instances the entry appears as ddb.adapterType = "legacyESX". In this case change the line to:
    
    ddb.adapterType = "lsilogic"
    
    
12. Save the file.
13. From VMware Infrastructure/vSphere Client:
    
    
    1. Click Edit Settings for the virtual machine.
    2. Select the IDE virtual disk.
    3. Choose to Remove the Disk from the virtual machine.
    4. Click OK.
       
       Caution: Do not choose delete from disk.
       
14. From the Edit Settings menu for this virtual machine:
    
    
    1. Go to Add > Hard Disk > Use Existing Virtual Disk.
    2. Navigate to the location of the disk and select to add it into the virtual machine.
    3. Choose the same controller as in Step 9 as the adapter type. The SCSI ID should read SCSI 0:0.
       
15. If a CDROM device exists in the virtual machine it may need to have the IDE channel adjusted from IDE 0:1 to IDE 0:0. If this option is greyed out, remove the CD-ROM from the virtual machine and add it back. This sets it to IDE 0:0.