

areca VMKAPI interface Raid driver Installation for VMware ESXi 6.7.0
======================================================================

VMware 6.7.0 uses a file package called a VIB (VMware Installation Bundle) as the mechanism for
installing or updating software packages on an ESXi server.

The file may be installed directly on an ESXi server from the command line, or
through the VMware Update Manager (VUM).  

Areca arcmsrn-2.00.00.xx is vmkapi(native) interface driver for ESXi 6.7.0 ~ later

VMW-ESX-6.7.0-arcmsrn-2.00.00.06-offline_bundle-17221775.zip   --- OFFLINE_BUNDLE
arcmsrn-2.00.00.06-1OEM.650.0.0.4598673.x86_64.vib             --- VIBFILE


COMMAND LINE INSTALLATION

New Installation
----------------

For new installs, you should perform the following steps:

	1. Copy the offline_bundle or vib to the ESXi server.  Technically, you can
           place the file anywhere that is accessible by the ESXi console shell.
           In following example, we'll assume the location is at '/vmfs/volumes/datastore1'.

           Here's an example of using the Linux 'scp' utility to copy the file
           from a local system to an ESXi server located at IP address 192.168.0.168:

               scp VMW-ESX-6.7.0-arcmsrn-2.00.00.06-offline_bundle-17221775.zip root@192.168.0.168:/vmfs/volumes/datastore1

	2. Issue the following command (full path to the file must be specified):

               esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/{OFFLINE_BUNDLE}
            or
               esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/{VIBFILE}
      
           In current example, this would be:

               esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/VMW-ESX-6.7.0-arcmsrn-2.00.00.06-offline_bundle-17221775.zip


Note: 1. If component or vib installation complain for bad signaute,
         append --no-sig-check to the end of command line.
         e.g. esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/{OFFLINE_BUNDLE} --no-sig-check

      2. Depending on the certificate used to sign the VIB, you may need to
         change the host acceptance level.  To do this, use the following command:
		esxcli software acceptance set --level=<level>

      3. Also, depending on the type of VIB being installed, you may have to put
         ESXi into maintenance mode.  This can be done through the VI Client, or by
         adding the '--maintenance-mode' option to the above esxcli command.

      

Update Installation
--------------------

The update process is similar to a new install, except the command that should
be issued as following:

	esxcli software component update -d /path to/{OFFLINE_BUNDLE}
    or
	esxcli software component update -v /path to/{VIBFILE}


VUM INSTALLATION

The VMware Update Manager (VUM) is a plugin for the Virtual Center Server
(vCenter Server).  You can use the VUM UI to install a VIB by importing
the associated offline bundle package (a ZIP file that contains the VIB and 
metadata).  You can then create an add-on baseline and remediate the
host(s) with this baseline.  Please see the vCenter Server documentation for
more details on VUM.


Download driver URL
-------------------

The latest driver component or vib can be downloaded from Areca website.
https://www.areca.com.tw/support/downloads.html


VAAI API
--------

At this moment, Areca driver and Raid controller are not support vmware VAAI API.
To disabling the VAAI functionality in ESXi/ESX, refer to following URL or search vmware knowledge base 1033665.
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1033665
