Recent 6.5U3 update causing i350 NICs to 'flap'

[JamesMcG]

I recently updated my vmware hosts from 6.5 U1 to U3. The hosts are Dell R620 with Intel i350-t4 NICs. For the most part all is well, but I have two hosts with frequent flapping (link down/up). Anyone else come across this?

I should mention one host is in an offsite DC so I haven't changed the patch cable. The other host however I've changed the patch cable, patch panel location, switch port...

[tayfundeger]

Hi,

I've had a similar problem before. Did you use dell custom iso when upgrading ESXi?

I solved a similar problem with the firmware update. Can you check the driver and firmware versions?

[JamesMcG]

I did use the Dell custom ISO yes. I'll find the driver and fw versions and report back!

[JamesMcG]

igbn	1.4.6-1OEM.600.0.0.2768847	INT	VMwareCertified   2019-09-16
ixgben	1.7.10-1OEM.600.0.0.2768847	INT	VMwareCertified   2019-09-16
net-igb	5.3.3-1OEM.600.0.0.2494585	INT	VMwareCertified   2019-09-16
net-ixgbe	4.5.3-1OEM.600.0.0.2494585	INT	VMwareCertified   2019-09-16

Then I'm seeing versions 17.x and 15.x for firmware on the two affected NICs. Current version is 24.2.

[tayfundeger]

Can you send me the following values? Whichever you have trouble with, please send it.

     VID =?
     DID =?
     SVID =?
     SDID =?

You can use the following KB.

VMware Knowledge Base

[JamesMcG]

Pardon the delay!

VID: 8086

DID: 1521

SVID: 1025

SDID: 1f60

0000:01:00.0 8086:1521 1028:1f60 vmkernel vmnic0

I took a run at updating the 3xi350 on one host yesterday. Perhaps it was my method but it didn't appear to work. I used bootutil.exe -up=combo -all . It appeared to work as I was prompted to update all three cards and it showed success. However when I check the version in iDRAC it hasn't changed.

Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree using this: Download Intel® Ethernet Connections Boot Utility, Preboot Images, and EFI Drivers  as it seems to be an update for pre-boot images only?

[JamesMcG]

tayfundeger​ don't mean to bother you...but right now you're my only hope!

[tayfundeger · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Now I was writing you an answer You can see the driver versions below. The driver you have used is newer. I was going to read the driver's release notes, but I couldn't because it was in maintenance mode.

VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

Since this problem starts after the update, it is very likely that there is a problem caused by the driver and firmware.

[JamesMcG]

Ok I'm going ahead with driver updates now, since the firmware update didn't change anything. I'll report back!

[JamesMcG]

Updating the driver to 1.4.10 (current is 1.4.6) worked. Been a few days without a bounce on the affected machines. Thanks!

[tayfundeger]

I'm glad the problem is solved