Intel 750 NVMe SSD Driver (IaNVMe.sys) Crashing Windows Server 2012 R2

[PPete7]

I have just purchased two Supermicro SuperServer model http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/2u/2028/SYS-2028U-TN24R4T_.cfm SYS-2028U-TN24R4T+ systems with motherboard http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C600/X10DRU-i_.cfm X10DRU-i+ and latest BIOS v2.0. Each system has 24 Intel 750 NVMe SSD model http://ark.intel.com/products/86741/Intel-SSD-750-Series-1_2TB-2_5in-PCIe-3_0-20nm-MLC SSDPE2MW012T4X1 disks. The systems have Windows Server 2012 R2 with all updates and https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23929/Intel-SSD-Data-Center-Family-for-NVMe-Drivers Intel 750 SSD driver v1.5.0.1002. None of these disks is used for booting the OS – just for data storage.

The problem is that the Intel driver IaNVMe.sys crashes each system on reboot (see below console screenshot). The only way I can boot into Windows now is to go into SAFE MODE and rename the IaNVMe.sys driver. Then perform a normal boot, which then succeeds by using Microsoft NVMe driver.

On a related note, I installed the https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25771/-Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Enterprise-NVMe-Inte... Intel NVMe SSD RAID driver on just one of these systems. My hope is to use this to create RAID sets from the NVMe disks. It too (IaRNVMe.sys) is crashing the system on reboot. See the second screenshot below.

I have engaged Microsoft and they have collected MEMORY dumps that are being analyzed. We were able to capture the drivers causing the crashes by enabling the https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/244617 Windows Driver Verifier. Microsoft hopes to give me results of the analysis so that I can pass on to Intel if necessary.

Until then, does anyone have any idea why this is happening? Are these known issues? Are there better drivers?

Thanks!

KPA

[idata]

Hello KPA,

As we understand, your SuperMicro SuperServer 2028U-TN24R4T+ is getting BSOD's when it boots after you installed the Intel® SSD Data Center Family for NVMe Drivers 1.5.0.1002. Please check the following items about this situation:

- This server has 24x NVMe Hot-swap 2.5" drive bays. We advise you to check on this with https://www.supermicro.com/support/index.cfm SuperMicro support, since the manual for the http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/2u/2028/SYS-2028U-TN24R4T_.cfm SuperServer 2028U-TN24R4T+ indicates that there may be additional requirements for the server to operate in a fully populated 24x NVME drive configuration.

- It is advised to obtain the latest BIOS, software and drivers (including chipset) for your server from SuperMicro.

- The Intel® SSD 750 Series is a high end (enthusiast) consumer driver, however, it is not recommended/validated for use in Enterprise systems. Furthermore, most server systems have a list of tested drives, or may even require OEM drives to operate correctly. In your case SuperMicro has a list of supported 2.5" NVME drives, and notes about their usage in the following link:

http://www.supermicro.com/support/resources/HDD/display.cfm%3FCategory%3DSS%26sz%3DN.%26ctrl%3D73%26... http://www.supermicro.com/support/resources/HDD/display.cfm?Category=SS&sz=N.&ctrl=73&id=D25E4F34CBF...

JB

[PPete7]

Hi JB,

Thanks for your feedback. Below is my response.

1. Regarding your reference that "the manual for the http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/2u/2028/SYS-2028U-TN24R4T_.cfm SuperServer 2028U-TN24R4T+ indicates that there may be additional requirements for the server to operate in a fully populated 24x NVME drive configuration", the only thing I found in the manual that you referenced is below (see screenshot), explaining that expansion cards are required to add more drives up to 24. Of course this is already the case and the Windows Server 2012 R2 OS can see all 24 NVMe drives. Please point out any other concerns that you see so that I can follow up.

2. Regarding the need for the latest BIOS and drivers (including chipset) from Supermicro, that is already the case:

1. a. Chipset: ftp://ftp.supermicro.nl/driver/Intel_INF/C612_Series_Chipset/Chipset_v10.1.2.8.zip ftp://ftp.supermicro.nl/driver/Intel_INF/C612_Series_Chipset/Chipset_v10.1.2.8.zip
2. b. BIOS: http://www.supermicro.com/about/policies/disclaimer.cfm?url=/support/resources/getfile.aspx?ID=3492 http://www.supermicro.com/about/policies/disclaimer.cfm?url=/support/resources/getfile.aspx?ID=3492
3. c. Complete ISO for other drivers: ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/CDR_Images/CDR-X10/ ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/CDR_Images/CDR-X10/

3. Regarding your last comment stating "The Intel® SSD 750 Series is a high end (enthusiast) consumer driver, however, it is not recommended/validated for use in Enterprise systems", what does this really mean? Intel has provided https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23929/Intel-SSD-Data-Center-Family-for-NVMe-Drivers Windows Server 2012 R2 drivers for these NVMe SSDs and that is exactly what I am using these drives for. Whether my use is for enterprise or not seems of little import here as long as I am using the drives and drivers on supported OS. Please let me know if I am wrong about this. Furthermore, I contacted Supermicro regarding supported NVMe SSD drives for these servers, their statement is that they have not tested the Intel 750 NVMe SSD drives but they have other end users who have successfully used them in Supermicro computers.

Hence, the fundamental question is, should the https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23929/Intel-SSD-Data-Center-Family-for-NVMe-Drivers Windows Server 2012 R2 Intel drivers be crashing the OS? If the answer is NO, I would expect you would want to look into this and solve the problem for me and others since these are your drivers.

Thanks and I look forward to your feedback.

[idata]

Thanks for the information, the concern regarding compatibility is that since this server uses multiple backplanes, riser board and hot-plug support, we would advise to use SSD's tested by the vendor. Still, we will check further on our end.

In the meantime, please let us know any additional logs or errors you have received from the system. If you prefer to send logs privately, we can use a different contact method.

[PPete7]

I have MEMORY dumps that I generated for Microsoft Support regarding the failing IaNVMe.sys. Let me know if you want to start analyzing them concurrently with Microsoft and I will send them over. Let me know where to send them if this is what you prefer.

Thanks.