I support a customer who has a host that should have been retired a while ago. It was on 7.0 U1d. Previous attempts to update it to U2 resulted in purple screen. The host was direct attached to FC ports on the SAN, which presented a nearly impossible compatibility matrix issue. I was able to get it connected and zoned to Brocade FC and updated the QLogic firmware. I was able to upload a Lenovo custom ISO of 7.0 U3i and install it via Lifecycle manager. The host upgraded and rebooted and storage is all intact and shows build 20842708! However, the ISO baseline shows non-compliant. I'm unable to get any additional updates to apply. I've attempted to create a baseline of just U3j and U3k. Both come back with "An error occurred during host configuration." I created a baseline with just ESXi patch 7.0 U3i (same as what is installed from ISO baseline) and that reports it installs just fine, but still, all show non-compliant. I'm sure there is an OEM VIB or something holding this up, but I can't figure it out. Tempted to reload from scratch.
Thanks in advance.
It's possible that the host has a custom VIB or driver installed that is preventing it from being fully compliant with the ISO baseline. Here are some steps you can take to try to resolve the issue:
Check the VMware HCL: Verify that all hardware components are on the VMware Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for ESXi 7.0 U3i. Check for any incompatible hardware components or drivers that may be causing the issue.
Check for custom VIBs: Check if any custom VIBs or drivers are installed on the host that may be preventing it from being compliant with the ISO baseline. You can use the following command to list all VIBs installed on the host:
esxcli software vib list
Look for any VIBs that are not part of the default VMware installation. You can also check the VMware Compatibility Guide to see if any third-party VIBs are known to cause issues.
Try a fresh install: If you suspect that a custom VIB or driver is causing the issue, you may want to try a fresh install of ESXi 7.0 U3i on the host. This will remove any custom VIBs or drivers and ensure that the host is fully compliant with the ISO baseline.
Contact VMware support: If the issue persists after trying the above steps, contact VMware support for further assistance. They may be able to provide additional troubleshooting steps or identify any known issues with the specific hardware or software configuration.
It's possible that the host has a custom VIB or driver installed that is preventing it from being fully compliant with the ISO baseline. Here are some steps you can take to try to resolve the issue:
Check the VMware HCL: Verify that all hardware components are on the VMware Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for ESXi 7.0 U3i. Check for any incompatible hardware components or drivers that may be causing the issue.
Check for custom VIBs: Check if any custom VIBs or drivers are installed on the host that may be preventing it from being compliant with the ISO baseline. You can use the following command to list all VIBs installed on the host:
esxcli software vib list
Look for any VIBs that are not part of the default VMware installation. You can also check the VMware Compatibility Guide to see if any third-party VIBs are known to cause issues.
Try a fresh install: If you suspect that a custom VIB or driver is causing the issue, you may want to try a fresh install of ESXi 7.0 U3i on the host. This will remove any custom VIBs or drivers and ensure that the host is fully compliant with the ISO baseline.
Contact VMware support: If the issue persists after trying the above steps, contact VMware support for further assistance. They may be able to provide additional troubleshooting steps or identify any known issues with the specific hardware or software configuration.
Thanks for the reply. Good info. Seems the qlnativefc driver is the problem child. The version on it seems pretty old. When I try to remove it, I get:
esxcli software vib remove --vibname qlnativefc
[InstallationError]
Failed to query file system stats: Errors:
Error getting data for filesystem on'/vmfs/volumes/### : Cannot open volume: /vmfs/volumes/###, skipping.
cause = Errors:
Likely the reason the update to U3i show non-compliant. Bout ready to reload from scratch, unless you have any suggestions for removing a stubborn VIB.
Thanks,
Joel
I mounted the ISO and booted up. During the process of checking the available drives to install to, I got the following message:
mFileSystem: Unable to get FS info for 0#mpx.vmhba34:C0:T0:7 (status = I/O error)
With that, I don't trust the file system or the drive it's on, so I will have to plan a trip down to that location and replace the drive before doing a wipe and load. The system functions, just can't get it to update the qlnativefc driver VIB.
Thanks,
Joel
