Enable NVMe over RDMA and TCP Software Adapters

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

Prerequisites

On your ESXi host, install an adapter that supports the following types of storage.

• NVMe over RDMA adapter. For example, Mellanox Technologies MT27700 Family ConnectX-4.
• NVMe over TCP adapter. For example, i40en.

Configure the VMkernel binding for the RDMA adapter. For more information, see View RDMA Network Adapters. You must configure the VMkernel binding for the TCP adapter.

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 the adapter type as required.
   • NVMe over RDMA adapter
   • NVMe over TCP adapter
5. Depending on your selection in step 4, select an appropriate RDMA adapter or TCP network adapter (vmnic) 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 configured correctly. For more information, see View RDMA Network Adapters.

Results

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