We also ran into this problem on one of our test ESXi-hosts. It was running ESXI 6 U2 and this is what happened after the upgrade:
1. Shut down all guest systems and put the host into maintenance mode.
2. Updated the OS with the following command: "esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-6.5.0-20170304001-standard -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml" and rebooted when finished.
3. Server booted up just fine, but I could see that the HP vibs where not up to date, so I proceeded to run this command: "esxcli software vib update -d "http://vibsdepot.hpe.com/index-ecli-650.xml" in order to get the latest vibs.
...and after a rebbot - the dreaded PSOD! Listing the sfcb-smx as the culprit.
So, after quite the ordeal to fix it (including firmware updates, etc.), I found this solution for us:
1. Started the server with an Ubuntu live CD
2. Mounted the hard drive containing the file boot.cfg
3. Edited the file and removed the following from the file: " --- hpe_smx_.v00" (keep the spaces/formatting, as between all the other packages in the config line)
4. Rebooted the server - No PSOD!
5. Removed the package with the following command: "esxcli software vib remove --vibname=hpe-smx-provider"
6. Rebooted the server and still no issues
...okay, it's a dirty fix - and we're not running on the latest vibs from HP (which doesn't work). But it's running, and since it's a test system I'll leave it at that until HP releases a new vib for smx. And best of all, no re-installation!
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