Enable Software NVMe over RDMA Adapters

ESXi supports software NVMe over RDMA adapters. Use the vSphere Client to enable the software NVMe over RDMA storage adapter.

Prerequisites

On your ESXi host, install an adapter that supports RDMA (RoCE v2), for example, Mellanox Technologies MT27700 Family ConnectX-4. Configure the VMkernel binding for the RDMA adapter. For information, see View RDMA Network Adapters.

Procedure

1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the ESXi host.
2. Click the Configure tab.
3. Under Storage, click Storage Adapters, and click the Add Software Adapter icon.
4. Select Add software NVMe over RDMA adapter, and select an appropriate RDMA adapter (vmrdma) from the drop-down menu.
   Note: If you get an error message that prevents you from creating the software NVMe over RDMA adapter, make sure that the VMkernel binding for the RDMA adapter is correctly configured. For information, see View RDMA Network Adapters.

Results

The software NVMe over RDMA adapter appears in the list as a vmhba storage adapter. You can remove the adapter if you need to free the underlying RDMA network adapter for other purposes.