patch reverted after second reboot

[DieterA]

Hi,

I'm trying to create an unattend installation of ESXi 5.0 update 1 for our servers (HP Proliant dl 380p Gen 8). I've used the HP customised CD to install the server. (Lot's of devices are not recognised in the generic CD)

I've created a kickstart file and this works perfect. Now I'm trying the commands that I will run at first boot. I'm trying them first manually on the ESXi local shell to see if they work, before putting them in the kickstart script.

I now have the following problem:

I patch to the latest version (ESXi500-201207001) using the command "esxcli software vib install". Afterwards I install the lastest broadcom drivers also using "esxcli software vib install". (The update from vmware installs an older version of the broadcom drivers and if I don't install the drivers again no nics are found anymore)

When I reboot the server it comes back installed with the latest version (build 768111) and everything seems to be working. However when I reboot the server for a second time it boots back to the original version I installed (build 623860). Do I have to "apply" the update somehow or what am I doing wrong?

[the_e_dean]

Similar issue here on a DL360G7 with a fresh install using the HP image. Except when I run the update locally via esxcli and it reboots into 768111, it purple screens and reboots back into 623860.

[dtracey]

Hi there,

I used to see similar issues with losing configuration changes following the automated kickstart build of ESXi 4.1, which included patches.  This was down to the configuration not being properly written to the boot bank before the host was rebooted.  By default, the bootbank gets written to every hour, or on a 'clean' shutdown.

A couple of things to try:

1) Leave the host for over 60mins before rebooting after the install of patch and drivers.

or

2) Run the /sbin/auto-backup.sh script after you install both the patch and the drivers (but before the initial reboot).

or

3) After installing the patch, reboot and THEN install the drivers.

or

4) Try installing them with PowerCLI (Install-VMHostPatch -localpath C:\PathToMetadata.zip etc...)

Let me know how you get on.

Dan

[DieterA]

I have had the same issue with the PSOD on our DL380G6 servers. I ended up using the native vmware image and then everything works perfect and I can patch the server to the latest version. Apparently one of the HP drivers get reverted to an incompatible version when patching to the latest version. And I think this driver isn't used anymore in the Gen8-servers. This is why it works there without a problem.

[DieterA]

I found the problem and fixed it.

When applying the latest patch from vmware, also the Smart Array driver gets reverted to an old version. So it doesn't see any local storage anymore. This is quite neccessary when trying to write a valid configuration back to the bootbank of the local disks.

So besides installing the latest broadcom drivers, I also need to install the latest Smart Array-drivers after applying the latest patch.

Everything works fine now. To make sure I've rebooted the server 5 times and it keeps on working.

[paule1234]

I'm having the same issue with a Dell PowerEdge 2950 III running the Dell custom CD of ESXi 5.0.0 U1, build 623860.  After I applied the ESXi500-201207001 patch and rebooted, I got a PSOD and noticed the next to the last line of the purple screen had "megaraid_sas" in it, so I assume something went wrong initializing the RAID controller (PERC 6/i).   I rebooted and the console says I'm running build 623860.  I'm booting ESXi off an internal 4GB USB stick.

[lakey81]

Dieter,

Which driver are you installing to get this to work?  I tried the hpsa driver after installing the patch but my BL460 G6's are still pink screening after reboot.  I really didn't want to use the VMware image then install all the drivers.

[DieterA]

Hi lakey81,

We've used the hpsa driver and since our custom iso is working like a charm.

But to be honest I did some more research and we no longer use our custom iso.

We still use the HP version of ESXi 5.0 (version of june 2012) but in our customization script we use "esxcli software vib update" instead of "esxcli software vib install" to install the patches.

The update command only updates existing files to the latest version. It doesn't downgrade files and install new features as the install command would do.

This is no problem as the drivers are at the latest version in the HP version of the ESXi image and new features are rarely introduced in patches.

We have used it to upgrade all our existing ESXi-servers and everyone is still working like a charm.

I hope that this will help you solve your problem. If not don't hesitate to contact me.

[lakey81]

You're the man!  Doing "update" instead of "install" did the trick for applying the update with no need to reinstall the hpsa driver.