Emulex Blog: The Implementer's Blog

Are we up, or are we down?

Posted April 5th, 2012 by Alex Amaya

During our testing with HP’s ProLiant DL380 G7 server and HP’s 82E 8Gb Fibre Channel (8GFC) adapter, we encountered some connectivity issues with our internal infrastructure. With daily changes to our test lab infrastructure to accommodate the different tests we perform, there is always the possibility of something getting damaged along the way.

Deploying HP 8GbFC adapters with VMware ESXi 5.0 is a straightforward install since our Emulex lpfc820 drivers are already inbox . However, we did experience intermittent problems with our LUNs disconnecting and then reconnecting. With Emulex OneCommand® Manager vCenter Server plug-in, there is an option to track up and down link connectivity. This feature is not on by default. When enabled, we noticed our link status in the Tasks & Events tab from vCenter Server showing one of our ports disconnecting often. First, we tried replacing the SFP and we still experienced the intermittent disconnect. Next, we replaced the Fibre cable and the problem was solved. The description in the Task & Events tab will provide the WWWN of the Fibre Channel ports with a link down and up status. The image below illustrates the link up status after the cable was replaced.

For more information, check out the latest technical whitepaper from HP, which covers some of the features with ESXi 5.0. The deployment guide entitled, VMware vSphere 5.0: 8Gb/s Fibre Channel SANs with HP ProLiant DL380 G7 Servers and HP 3PAR Utility Storage, can be downloaded from the Implementer’s Lab

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Installing or Updating Emulex Drivers on VMware ESXi 5.0

Posted November 22nd, 2011 by Alex Amaya

Most likely, you are not surprised to hear that VMware ESXi 5.0 users no longer have access to a Service Console. You may have also noticed that there are several new features and changes. One change is the install procedure to manually update or install Emulex drivers. Most of the Emulex drivers are inbox drivers and will need to be updated whenever a new version is released. I’d like to share the process for updating your Emulex drivers in this blog post. Other options you may wish to consider are auto deploy, or using the VSphere Management Assistant (vMA) appliance.
Here are the steps to updating your drivers:

  1. Login with your VMware vSphere Client to vCenter Server.
  2. Select the host you want to update or install new drivers.
  3. Go into Tech Support Mode to enable SSH. It is a simple task to perform: Highlight the host-> select Configuration Tab -> then select Security Profile from the software table of contents. Highlight TSM-SSH then Properties. Once you enable SSH, a warning symbol will appear to let you know your host is no longer secure. See VMware KB 1016205 & 2003637.
  4. From your Windows or Linux client, download the Emulex driver for the adapter and store it in a temporary location.
  5. From your Windows or Linux client, run a program such as WinSCP for Windows and move the driver you downloaded from VMware’s website to the ESXi host. I prefer to place the Emulex driver in the /var/log/vmware directory.
  6. Next, SSH into the ESXi 5 host by using a tool called putty.exe
  7. Once logged in, run the following commands to install the driver:
    1. # esxcli software vib install –no-sig-check –maintenance-mode -d
    2. Example: #esxcli software vib install –no-sig-check –maintenance-mode –d Emulex-FCoE-FC-lpfc829-8.2.3.108.36-offline-bundle.zip
  8. Reboot the host to activate the new or updated driver
  9. If for some reason you need to remove the driver, execute the following esxcli command: # esxcli software vib remove –n –f

We hope this helped you learn how to install or update Emulex drivers on VMware ESXi 5.0. If you have any feedback or questions, comment here or contact Emulex Technical Support.

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