Reference Guide

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 and 12 drivers are provided in the Kernel Module Package (KMP) format while Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

drivers are provided in the Kernel Module Loader (KMOD) format. KMODs are Red Hat Packet Manager (RPM)s and are driver packaging

methods that contain kernel modules, instituted to better handle kernel update situations. To install or update the NVMe PCIe SSD driver:

1 For SLES, download the SUSE GPG Public key from the SUSE website and import by using the command #rpm –import <GPG

public key>.

2 Uncompress the zipped tarball driver release package.

3 Install the driver package using the command: rpm -ihv < driver rpm package name >.rpm

NOTE: Use rpm -Uvh <package name> when updating an existing package.

4 Restart the system for the driver update to take eect.

5 After the system restarts, verify that the driver has been installed with the system command: # modinfo nvme

The version shown in the output must match with the version of the package.

6 Verify that the driver has been loaded with the system command:# lsmod | grep nvme or # cat /proc/modules | grep

nvme

These commands returnnvme if the driver is loaded.

The NVMe PCIe SSDs are ready for use. See Conguring NVMe PCIe SSD 2.5 inch SFF in dierent operating systems.

Installing or upgrading NVMe PCIe SSD driver for

VMware

NOTE

: For a complete list of supported operating systems, see Supported operating systems for NVMe PCIe SSD .

NOTE: Use the procedures in this section to install or upgrade the driver for VMware ESXi 5.5. To ensure that you have the

current version of the driver, download the latest VMware ESXi 5.5 driver from Dell.com/support. For more information, see

Downloading NVMe PCIe SSD drivers.

NOTE: VMware ESXi 5.5 U3 and later contains an in-box driver. Dell recommends that you to go to VMware’s download site for

the latest NVMe driver and follow the documentation provided there for installation instructions.

1 Transfer the NVMe PCIe SSD driver to the ESXi host using either vSphere Client Browse Datastore or an SFTP/FTP/SCP client.

Using the vSphere Client:

a Navigate to the conguration.

b Select Storage from the hardware section.

c Right-click Datastore, and then select Browse.

d Upload the PCIe SSD driver to the datastore.

Using an SFTP/FTP/SCP client:

a Launch the SFTP/FTP/SCP program.

b Extract the driver les from the *.zip le.

c Copy the PCIe SSD driver le to a local folder on the host.

2 Power o all VMs running inside the ESXi host operating system.

3 Enable the ESXi shell service.

Using the vSphere client:

a Navigate to the Conguration tab of the host IP.

b Click Software > Security Prole.

c Click Services > ESXi Shell > Properties.

d Start the ESXi shell service.

Directly from the host settings:

a Press <F2> to customize system settings.

Driver installation