Info
When running a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 installation, an HPE Gen11 server or HPE Synergy 480 Gen10 Plus server with NVMe multipathing capable drives using standard partitions for the system, the boot fails.
This occurs because the NVMe multipathing default is enabled on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and does not handle the drive path properly.
When this occurs, the following may be observed:
The system may stop responding during boot if configured to wait forever for the root to be displayed.
Or
If Red Hat Enterprise is configured defaults, the serial console may display a message similar to the following instead of the expected login prompt:
------------------------------------------
[[0;32m OK [0m] Started Cleanup udevd DB.
[[0;32m OK [0m] Started Setup Virtual Console.
[[0;32m OK [0m] Reached target Switch Root.
Starting Switch Root...
[[0;1;31mFAILED[0m] Failed to start Switch Root.
See "systemctl status initrd-switch-root.service" for details.
Generating "/run/initramfs/rdsosreport.txt"
Entering emergency mode. Exit the shell to continue.
Type "journalctl" to view system logs.
You might want to save "/run/initramfs/rdsosreport.txt" to a USB stick or /boot after mounting them and attach it to a bug report.
:/#
------------------------------------------
Scope
Any HPE Gen11 server or HPE Synergy 480 Gen10 Plus server installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 with NVMe multipathing capable drives.
Note
: DM Multipath and native NVMe multipathing support the Asymmetric Namespace Access (ANA) multipathing scheme of NVMe devices. For additional information refer to
Enabling multipathing on NVMe devices
.
Resolution
Red Hat recommends using Red Hat Enterprise Linux default disk management method "LVM" for disk partitioning instead of using standard partitioning.
If standard partitioning is needed, the following workarounds are available:
Set the boot parameter "nvme_core.multipath=N" during the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 installation.
Or
Avoid using the multipathing capable NVMe drives.
Or
Use traditional dm-multipath for NVMe drives. Refer to
Enabling multipathing on NVMe devices
for additional information.
Disclaimer: One or more of the links above will take you outside the HPE website. HPE is not responsible for content outside of its domain.
RECEIVE PROACTIVE UPDATES:
Receive support alerts
(such as Customer Advisories), as well as updates on drivers, software, firmware, and
customer replaceable components, proactively in your e-mail through HPE Support Alerts.
Sign up for Support Alerts at the following URL:
HPE Email Preference
Center
NAVIGATION TIP:
For hints on navigating HPE.com to locate the latest drivers, patches and other support software downloads, refer to the
Navigation Tips document.
SEARCH TIP:
For hints on locating similar documents on HPE.com, refer to the
Search Tips document.
