R710 Purple screen ESXi 6.0/6.5

[Duwayne]

Hello i have a R710 (newest firmware / bios) and no matter what ESXi i have tried using i get purple screens.

i have tried 6.0, 6.0 dell customized, 6.5, and 6.5 dell customized.

i read that 6.0 u2 is the newest offically supported by the R710.

server is R710, perc6/i for backpanel with 2 drives in raid 1.

also perc 5/e with eSAS to MD1000 with 6 1TB disks in raid 50.

below are the two different purple screens i keep getting. the first one on boot up 50% of the time.

if it boots after running for 10-20 minutes i get the second one.

if anyone has any ideas that would be amazing.

[Stanley_]

from 95% purple screens are related to HW issue.

- Did you try MemTest/CPU burn test

- any errors visible in DRAC?

- did you try to disconnect the perc5/e with the MD1000

[Duwayne]

I ran full hardware diagnostics + memory with extra ones checked (twice).

no errors in drac / Dell OMSA.

i did not try removing the perc5/e controller.

i will try that next, thanks!

[suhaakin]

If you can collecta log bundle from this host i can debug dump file for you. just let me know where can i download the log bundle.

DuwayneDuwayne‌

[Duwayne]

How do i do that?(sorry pretty new) is it in a log folder somewhere?

[Stanley_]

anything visible in the ESXi logs (bundle) just before the crash?

Did you try to install anything else? Linux/Windows to this server?

you know R710 is not supported with ESXi 6.5

VMware Compatibility Guide - System Search‌

there are some notes related to this R710 model in combination with VSA

VMware KB 2038275.

did you try to install ESXi to USB sticka and then boot from it?

and just for sure as last step .. did you do MD5 checksum of your downloaded installation ISO files?

[Duwayne]

anything visible in the ESXi logs (bundle) just before the crash?

I don't know im not that familiar with esxi yet.

Did you try to install anything else? Linux/Windows to this server?

i had one VM installed / running but the purple screen would happen 50% of the time on bootup, and before the VM would even start.

you know R710 is not supported with ESXi 6.5

VMware Compatibility Guide - System Search

there are some notes related to this R710 model in combination with VSA

VMware KB 2038275.

yeah i saw that its not officially supported/yet. however the 6.5 image does have all the drivers and reads the hardware fine.

and after 6.5 psod, i moved to 6.0 dell and that psod, so i moved to 6.0 vm image with the same results.

so i think it might be a driver/hardware issue as previously suspected.

did you try to install ESXi to USB sticka and then boot from it?

didn't try from a usb stick, i tried from my MD1000, from a SSD i threw in the server, and the raid setup i have in the server all psod.

and just for sure as last step .. did you do MD5 checksum of your downloaded installation ISO files?

yeah i use hash check shell extension and double checked they were fine. even re downloaded the 6.0 dell image twice.

i am about to hit the bed, but i will try to find the logs requested earlier in the morning.

[Stanley_]

anything visible in the ESXi logs (bundle) just before the crash?

     I don't know im not that familiar with esxi yet.

                 * try to generate/Export system Logs if possible.

                   C# client |   File -> Export  -> Export System Logs....

Did you try to install anything else? Linux/Windows to this server?

i had one VM installed / running but the purple screen would happen 50% of the time on bootup, and before the VM would even start.

               * I was thinking instead of ESXi.. install Linux/Windows on physical HW.  Then we will be sure it's related to ESXi or it's HW.

one more thing: did you try to set BIOS to default + just enable virtualization (VT-x..)

[Stanley_]

  C# (Desktop) client

  File -> Export  -> Export System Logs....

[Duwayne]

I had server 2016 running on bare metal for months without any issues

And I moved to hyperv this evening and it's working flawlessly

I will put esxi on it tomorrow and try a flash drive as well.

[zaspam]

Hi,

I have an R810 that I upgraded to 6.5 and also have a similar problem.

One idea is to try and go into BIOS -> Processor settings and disable C1 and C states. This came up as a possible solution when I looked it up on google.

Though this didn't solve my issue, you may try it, it may actually solve yours.

Furthermore, to help you troubleshooting, then PSOD (Purple Screen Of Death) that you get is usually an NMI (Non-Maskable Interrupt) which gets logged in the system log of the IDRAC of your server.

Try looking in there if you could determine what the culprit may be.

Cheers and don't give up ... I know I won't

[Stanley_]

Similar issue.. pointing to HBA from LSI

ESXi5 Update1 PSOD on DELL R710

[Duwayne]

I don't know if im crazy or not.

but i installed 6.0 dell image, verified md5 again, got my VM up and running, and the moment i attach my RDM storage (MD1000) everytime it wipes the drive...

am i crazy or is this intended?

you map the RDM, go to the os, mount the drive, all files are there, give it 2 minutes and all files disappear.

why does vmware wipe the drive?

if i didn't have the data pre backed up ide be pretty mad...

[zaspam]

As for this problem, i would not blame vmware it appears that you have an issue with your VM. Mapping the RDM definitely should not wipe anything, and it cannot since it has no idea what file system the LUN has.

I suggest you try and mount your RDM LUN on a different VM (preferrably a clean installed VM) and then observe if your data i deleted.

Best regards

[Duwayne]

this was 6.0 dell customized no a thumb drive, and a brand new server 2016 install.

it also happened when i booted up my p2v on a separate install.

thats 2/2 with two different installs on different storage media, one being a p2v that i since converted to hyperv and have had zero issues.

[JeffatSJE]

Did you get this to work?

I know Esxi 5.5 works on R710 but have not tried newer version and it looks like it is not in the Hardware compatible list for version 6.x