DELL R630 qlogic 57800 firmware esxi 7.0

[AughBT]

Hi There

I'm in the middle of an argument with VMware and DELL - we have a cluster with 10 nodes, esxi 7.0.3u3, DELL R630's.   There is a comms problem between the nodes and vCenter - VMware can see comms failures between the esxi hosts and vCenter.  VMWARE check the logs and told me to upgrade the firmware on the QLOGIC cards.  (according to the HCL) 

VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

However the VMWARE view of the firmware is not what I think it is.  To find out the firmware version VMware logs on to the esxi host and run the following command .

[root@esxi1-host:~] esxcli network nic get -n vmnic0
Advertised Auto Negotiation: false
Advertised Link Modes: 10000BaseSFI/Full
Auto Negotiation: false
Cable Type: FIBRE
Current Message Level: 0
Driver Info:
Bus Info: 0000:01:00:0
Driver: qfle3
Firmware Version: Storm: 7.13.20.0 MFW: 7.14.18
Version: 1.4.35.0
Link Detected: true
Link Status: Up
Name: vmnic0
PHYAddress: 0
Pause Autonegotiate: false
Pause RX: true
Pause TX: true
Supported Ports: FIBRE
Supports Auto Negotiation: false
Supports Pause: true
Supports Wakeon: false
Transceiver: external
Virtual Address: 00:50:56:58:9c:74
Wakeon: None
[root@esxi1-host:~]

VMware tell me that the firmware version is 7.14.18 and that it should be at least 7.15.x

However there is no such version of that firmware for qlogic cards - for investigation purposes and using IDRAC,  I upgrade the firmware to the latest verison available 16.10.04.  I then logged back into the esxi host and run that command again - this has no affect on the firmware version displayed.

I called up DELL and they tell me its not their problem and that I need to upgrade the driver.   But I don't want to upgrade the driver I want to upgrade the firmware.

Can any one explain what VMWARE are referring to when the are talking about when they say "firmware" - VMWARE say upgrade the  DELL firmware and DELL are saying upgrade the VMWARE driver

thanks

[dragance]

I will just touch on this part:

"Can any one explain what VMWARE are referring to when the are talking about when they say "firmware" - VMWARE say upgrade the  DELL firmware and DELL are saying upgrade the VMWARE driver"

VMware driver is .vib package for ESXi hypervisor enabling correct function with some device (in your case NIC and if you expand link which you sent from HCL you will find that exact driver), and Dell firmware is low level code provided by vendor (Dell in this case) for proper hardware operation. These 2 segments should be correlated and supported between each other and that's the reason when you ie upgrade ESXi on your hosts - operation before that is hardware firmware upgrade also. You can use vCenter lifecycle solution to manage both kind of works and make it simpler 😉

Now just take care if you are speaking about NICs or Fibre Channel cards here 👍

HTH,

Dragan

[AughBT]

Hi Dragan

These are NICs.

Sorry I'm still confused.  

Should I upgrade the driver?  found here?

VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

thanks

[dragance]

You should upgrade Dell firmware to 7.15.xx as HCL is giving for compatibility. Your driver is already on 1.4.35 which is OK.

BR,

Dragan

[AughBT]

I know mate - but there is no such version as 7.15.x of the firmware.

I've installed the latest version using DELL Open Manage - it was version 16.10.04 (see print scree attached) 

I've installed it and it made no difference - I still see 7.14.18

[dragance]

I see your point - that's correct version which you show on picture. Did you restarted host after applying that firmware patch? As I see it as required.

[e_espinel]

Hello.
To be clear about the versions
Driver: qfle3
Firmware Version: Storm: 7.13.20.0 (Firmware)
MFW: 7.14.18 (Bootcode for 578xx)
Version: 1.4.35.0 (driver version)

Dell Firmware Update Package has a version number that sometimes matches the firmware version, but not always (hence the confusion).

The latest Dell Firmware Update Package I found is 16.10.04, A00-00 (20 Dec 2022).
link: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=d4n9t

Version
- FFV 16.10.04
- FCoE Boot version 7.15.0
- iSCSI Boot version 7.15.0
- UEFI version 8.3.0
- Bootcode for 578xx (MFW) version 7.14.18

Ask DELL support for the procedure to install the desired ESXt host firmware.

Remember that the driver is updated first, then the firmware of a device.

The latestDriver

https://customerconnect.vmware.com/en/downloads/details?downloadGroup=DT-ESXI70-QLOGIC-MRVL-E3-ETHER...

[AughBT]

Hi Enrique,

Thanks for your assistance.

I actually found a later version of that driver last week.

Download VMware vSphere - VMware Customer Connect

However when I try to install it I get the following:

[root@esxi-01:~] esxcli software component apply -d /tmp/MRVL-E3-Ethernet-iSCSI-FCoE_3.0.202.0-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807_19995561.zip
Installation Result
Components Installed:
Components Removed:
Components Skipped: MRVL-E3-Ethernet-iSCSI-FCoE_3.0.202.0-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807
Message: Host is not changed.
Reboot Required: false
[root@esxi-01:~]

No upgrade is performed 

I have asked DELL this question - how to install the firmware and they tell me that's a question for VMWARE.....or maybe more accurately they tell me to upgrade the esxi driver.

I seem to be caught in a grey area between drivers and firmware and neither DELL or VMware know how to proceed. 

regards

[e_espinel]

Hello.

set vib acceptance level to community:

# esxcli software acceptance set --level=CommunitySupported

please use

# esxcli software vib install -d <full path>

[AughBT]

Hi Enrique

I'm confused. 

Its the firmware thats the problem....why would I try to install it as a VIB?

thanks

[e_espinel]

Hello.

The file MRVL-E3-Ethernet-iSCSI-FCoE_3.0.202.0-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807_19995561.zip is a driver