QLogic Driver Readme Marvell Semiconductor Inc. All rights reserved Table of Contents 1. Package Contents 2. Supported Adapters/Controllers 3. Supported Operating Systems 4. Installing the Driver 5. Additional Notes 6. Contacting Support 1. Package Contents The QLogic Windows(R) Fibre Channel Adapter STOR miniport driver package contains the following files: * QL2300.CAT - Catalog file * QL2300.SYS - QLogic Fibre Channel miniport driver * QL2X00.INF - Driver installation script * qlsrvc.exe - Windows service to get hostname and OS name 2. Supported Adapters/Controllers * 2500 Series Adapters * 2600 Series Adapters * 2700 Series Adapters * 2800 Series Adapters 3. Supported Operating Systems This release of the FC Adapter STOR miniport driver works with Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 as follows: * The x64-bit STOR miniport driver version works with the Windows Server 2016 x64 platform. Windows Server 2019 uses WS2016 driver package. NOTE: For specific service packs (SP) and OS updates, refer to the descriptions where this software version is posted on the QLogic Web site: https://www.marvell.com/support/fibre-channel-adapters.jsp 4. Installing the Driver This section provides procedures for using the Fibre Channel Adapter STOR miniport driver, including: * 4.1 Creating the Driver Disk or Folder * 4.2 Installing the Driver * 4.3 Removing the Driver 4.1 Creating the Driver Disk or Folder NOTE: QLogic recommends using a driver disk only for Boot from SAN installations. To create a driver disk or folder: 1. Go to the QLogic Driver Downloads/Documentation Web page: http://driverdownloads.qlogic.com 2. In the first box, click "QLogic Products". 3. In the selection list, do the following: a. Click "Fibre Channel Adapters". b. In the second box, click your adapter model number. c. In the third box, click your Windows platform. d. Click the Go button. 4. Under "Drivers", click the download link for the appropriate driver type. 5. Read the license agreement, and then click "Agree". 6. When prompted, select to save the driver to a temporary location on the hard drive. 7. For a Boot from SAN installation, save the driver on a USB flash drive. 8. Run the self-extracting file you just downloaded and enter a temporary directory in the “Unzip to folder” box. If final driver package is not saved in an .EXE format, this step does not apply. 9. Right-click the driver to extract the driver files to the temporary location. 4.2 Installing the Driver The operating system manages and controls the driver installation process. To install the driver, follow these procedures. NOTE: This section provides the most common ways of installing and upgrading the driver for each operating system. For other installation methods, consult the operating system documentation. Driver installation procedures include the following: * 4.2.1 Initial OS installation with the Fibre Channel Adapter as Boot or as Add-On * 4.2.2 Adding the Fibre Channel Adapter to the Existing OS * 4.2.3 Updating the Existing Driver * 4.2.4 Updating driver on Windows 2016 Nano Server 4.2.1 Initial OS installation with the Fibre Channel Adapter as Boot or as Add-On Depending on your OS, follow the appropriate installation procedure. Windows Server 2016 and 2019 (all supported versions) -------------------------------------------------------------- This procedure is only necessary when installing the driver during the initial OS installation. Windows Server 2012 includes support for QLogic 4Gb and 8Gb adapters. You can install the supported driver first, and then upgrade to the new driver. This procedure requires a USB flash drive (refer to section 4.1 Creating the Driver Disk or Folder). 1. Using the Setup CD, start the Windows installation procedure. 2. When the following message appears, click "Custom (Advanced)": Which type of installation do you want? 3. When the following message appears, click "Load Driver": Where do you want to install Windows? 4. At the Load Driver window, insert the USB flash drive in a USB port, and then click "OK". 5. To continue with the standard installation procedure, click "Next". 4.2.2 Adding the Fibre Channel Adapter to the Existing OS To add the Fibre Channel adapter's driver to an existing Windows system, follow the procedure provided for your Windows version. Windows Server 2016 and 2019 (all supported versions) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Connect the adapter to the appropriate slot on your computer according to the device manufacturer’s instructions. 2. Restart or turn on the computer. When the computer starts up, Windows detects the newly-installed adapter, and then displays the "Found New Hardware with Fibre Channel Controller" message. The Found New Hardware wizard starts installing a device driver for the newly-installed adapter. 3. Click "I don’t have the disc. Show me other options." 4. Click "Browse my computer for driver software (advanced)." 5. Click "Browse", and then navigate to the folder containing the extracted driver. 6. Click "Next". 7. On the "The software for this device has been successfully installed" message box, click "Close". Windows may display the following message: System Settings Change. Your hardware settings have changed. You must restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Do you want to restart your computer now? 8. If there are other adapters or ports to update, click "No". If all adapters and ports have been updated, click "Yes" to immediately restart the computer. NOTE: If Windows automatically installs the driver for the newly- added Fibre Channel adapter upon startup, without prompting you for a selection (for example, Windows Vista installed an Inbox driver), go to Section 4.2.3, "Updating the Existing Driver." 4.2.3 Updating the Existing Driver To install an updated version of the driver, follow the procedure provided for your Windows version. Windows Server 2016 and 2019 (all supported versions) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Start the Device Manager. 2. Scroll down the list of hardware types, and then double-click "Storage Controller". 3. From the devices list, double-click "QLogic Fibre Channel HBA". 4. Click the "Driver" tab, and then click "Update Driver" to start the Hardware Update Wizard. 5. Type the path to the folder containing the extracted driver, then click "Next". 6. On the "Windows has successfully updated your software" window, click "Close". 4.2.4 Updating driver on Windows 2016 Nano Server 1. Go to Qlogic driver directory (e.g, c:>cd QLogiDriver) 2. Execute the following command: pnputil.exe /add-driver .\ql2x00.inf /install NOTE: Microsoft does not support creating vFC (Virtual Fibre Channel) ports on Nano Server 4.3. Removing the Driver To remove the driver in a Windows environment, uninstall it as a Plug and Play device: 1. Turn off your computer. 2. Remove the device from your computer according to the manufacturer's instructions. NOTE: You do not usually have to use the Device Manager or the Hardware wizard to uninstall a Plug and Play device. After you remove the device from your computer and restart your system, Windows recognizes that it has been removed. 5. Additional Notes 5.1 Removing the driver does not restore some registry entries To ensure the driver functions properly, the driver installation script uses the QL2x00.inf file to change some of the system-related registry entries, such as the disk timeout value of the system disk driver. Removing the driver does not restore those values. 5.2 Changing Queue Depth Parameter Sets the maximum depth of the device queue. Please use the following procedure to change the qd parameter: For driver version 9.4.3.20 or before, this setting is not preserved over driver update. Please set the parameter again after driver update. For driver version 9.4.4.20 and later, this setting remains preserved over driver update. 1. Click on "Start", select "Run", and open the REGEDIT/REGEDT32 program. 2. Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and follow the tree structure down to the QLogic driver as follows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Services Ql2300 Parameters Device 3. Double click on DriverParameter:REG_SZ:qd=32 4. If the string "qd=" does not exist, append to end of string ;qd=32 (Range 0 to 254; default is 20) 5. Click OK. 6. Exit the Registry Editor, then shutdown and reboot the system. 5.3 Increasing the Maximum Number of Targets Per NPIV QLogic FC adapters support 16 Targets per NPIV per port by default. This value is sufficient for most environments. In certain environments if support for a large number of targets is required, please use the following procedure to change the numnpiv (Maximum Number of NPIVs supported per adapter port) parameter from the default value of “64”. By reducing the numnpiv value, you can increase the Maximum Number of Targets supported per adapter port for a given NPIV.The setting is global and applies to all QLogic adapters in the server that support NPIV. 1. Click on "Start", select "Run", and open the REGEDIT/REGEDT32 program. 2. Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and follow the tree structure down to the QLogic driver as follows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Services Ql2300 Parameters Device 3. Double click on DriverParameter:REG_SZ:numnpiv=32 4. If the string "numnpiv=" does not exist, append the following to the end of string ;numnpiv=32 5. Values can be 16,32,64,128. The default value is 64. Below is a summary of the maximum number of targets supported per NPIV per adapter port for a given value of numnpiv. numnpiv maximum number of targets supported 16 64 32 32 64 16 128 8 Note: If the value entered for numnpiv is not in the above list, or is out of range, the inputted value will be ignored and the default will be used. No error message is generated 6. Click OK. 7. Exit the Registry Editor, then reboot the system for the parameter value change to take effect. Note: For Windows Server 2012 and above, half of the virtual ports (numnpiv value) are designated for Virtual Fibre Channel (vFC) and these vFC NPIVs are managed using the Windows 2012 Hyper-V Manager. The setting of numnpiv is applicable for 2500 and 2600 Series and requires a minimum driver version of 9.1.11.23 to be installed. 5.4 NVMe system requirement Server with connected target devices on NVMe over fabric is required to have minimum of two logical processors. 5.5 Controlling I/O throttling for SAN Congestion Management Following registry parameters can be used to control I/O throttling : "scmrflowctlhost" - Control I/O throttling for hba port for adapters that support SCM. 1 - Enable Throttling (Default) 0 - Disable Throttling. "scmrflowctltgt" - Control I/O throttling for target devices for adapters that support SCM. 1 - Enable Throttling (Default) 0 - Disable Throttling. Note: Please refer to previous sections (5.2 and 5.3) regarding driver parameter update. The following parameters are meant for fine tuning I/O throttling and any changes to them may have a severe performance impact. These are experimental and will be removed in future releases. Please consult Marvell's engineering team before making any changes, if at all. "scmrthrottlemode" "scmrdroppct "scmrdroppctlowwm" "scmruppct "scmruseslowqueue" "scmrcgiostatus" 6. Contacting Support For further assistance, contact QLogic Technical Support at: https://www.marvell.com/support/fibre-channel-adapters.jsp (c) Copyright 2021. All rights reserved worldwide. QLogic and the QLogic logo are registered trademarks of Marvell Semiconductor Inc.. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.