VMware Communities > VMTN > VMware Infrastructure™ > VI: ESX 3.5 > Discussions
Up to Discussions in VI: ESX 3.5

This Question is Possibly Answered

1 "correct" answer available (10 pts) 2 "helpful" answers available (6 pts)
5 Replies Last post: Jul 19, 2008 2:59 PM by kjb007
Reply

ESX 3.5 Update 1 - PSOD (Crash)

Jul 16, 2008 10:24 PM

Click to view dbvuetec's profile Lurker dbvuetec 2 posts since
Jul 16, 2008

Hi guys, I'm just in the process of evaluating ESX 3.5 Update 1, on a Dell 1850 server. This server has been running OpenSUSE in a production environment for a number of years now without any lockups or crashes. I have 3 vms installed on it (local storage SCSI raid), openSUSE 10.3, 11.0 and a novelty Windows XP which is used primarily for accessing the VI client, and the DRAC etc.

At the time of the crash, I was using WinSCP on the Windows XP guest, to copy a couple of ISO images off the 10.3 guest.

I might add this crash is quite disturbing, and although it could be a hardware problem (memory or chipset issue), it probably isn't, given that it has never crashed before up until this point.


Attachments:
Tags: esx3.5, psod, crash
Reply Re: ESX 3.5 Update 1 - PSOD (Crash) Jul 17, 2008 1:36 AM
Click to view RussellCorey's profile Hot Shot RussellCorey 99 posts since
May 12, 2008
bumping for sheer fascination
Reply Re: ESX 3.5 Update 1 - PSOD (Crash) Jul 17, 2008 3:12 AM
Click to view dbvuetec's profile Lurker dbvuetec 2 posts since
Jul 16, 2008

Update:

System has passed a full memtest using memtest86 3.4a. The server is in the list of officially supported hardware.

I tried copying the same iso file from the OpenSUSE 10.3 guest to the Windows XP guest, again with WinSCP, and again got the purple screen of death. I will attach this crash dump as well for comparison.


Attachments:
Reply Re: ESX 3.5 Update 1 - PSOD (Crash) Jul 17, 2008 9:35 PM
Click to view mcowger's profile Virtuoso mcowger 2,007 posts since
Aug 22, 2007
ESX stresses machines very diffirently, and a PSOD is almost always a hardware issue.

Makre sure you have updated the BIOS on that 1850, as well as the BMC and SAS backplane firmwares.

--Matt

Reply Re: ESX 3.5 Update 1 - PSOD (Crash) Jul 18, 2008 5:39 AM
in response to: mcowger
Click to view Texiwill's profile Guru Texiwill 10,056 posts since
Jan 13, 2004 Moderator
Hello,

As mcowger states, VMware ESX stresses systems more than any OS out there. I would do the following:

Ensure the BIOS is updated to the latest (per Dell Instructions) for system and PCI cards, etc.
Ensure that all components within the box are on the HCL (specifically RAID and other PCI/PCIe/PCI-X cards)
Ensure the BIOS is configured for ESX per Dell instrcutions.
Run Hardware DIags from Dell for at least 24-48 hours
Run memtest86 for at least 24-48 hours

Generally I see these issues when the BIOS has not been updated.


Best regards,
Edward L. Haletky
VMware Communities User Moderator
====
Author of the book 'VMWare ESX Server in the Enterprise: Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers', Copyright 2008 Pearson Education.
CIO Virtualization Blog: http://www.cio.com/blog/index/topic/168354
As well as the Virtualization Wiki at http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Virtualization
Reply Re: ESX 3.5 Update 1 - PSOD (Crash) Jul 19, 2008 2:59 PM
in response to: dbvuetec
Click to view kjb007's profile Guru kjb007 5,476 posts since
Sep 18, 2006
Both exceptions were page faults with the vm. Have you checked the console memory? Are you seeing memory utilization as high?

-KjB
Actions
Up to Discussions in VI: ESX 3.5