Replacing the CIM provider.

[PeterLageri]

Hello.

A customer is using an Emulex CIM Provider.

The problem is that sometimes the VVMware 5.5 Hardware Status not showing until restart of CIM Server (sfcdb-watchdog) is done and Vmware support point out that the Emulex CIM provided was not 5.5 compliant. Emulex provided a new driver which is compliant but the problem remains. Apparently there is no Emulex hardware present no their hosts.

How do I determine which CIM Provider must be present?

I can see Qlogic as HBAs.

Best Regards

Peter

[virtualdive]

Hi Peter,

Are you running ESXi 5.5 base version of Update 1? Because there are some CIM problems resolved in Update 1. Here is the 5.5 Release notes.

CIM and API Issues

• Unable to get IPMI sensor data
  When you run exscli hardware ipmi sdr list command, you might see an error similar to the following for used up resources:
  No records or incompatible version or read failed
  
  This issue is resolved in this release.

Thanks,

[PeterLageri]

Hello virtualdive.

But I do get a list with that command and they use ESXi 5.5 base version. (5.5.0, 1331820)

Best Regards

Peter

[ScreamingSilenc]

You can disabling a Single ESXi CIM provider when it fails or is unstable.

1. To see the CIM providers installed on your ESXi host:

- Log in to the ESXi shell as the root user.

- Run the command:

esxcli system settings advanced list | grep CIM

- You see output similar to:

  Path: /UserVars/CIMEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM service

   Path: /UserVars/CIMLogLevel

   Description: Set the log level of the CIM Service

   Path: /UserVars/CIMWatchdogInterval

   Description: Set the watchdog polling interval for the CIM Service

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_viProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_vi provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_kmoduleProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_kmodule provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_pciProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_pci provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_hdrProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_hdr provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_hhrcwrapperProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_hhrcwrapper provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_iodmProviderProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_iodmProvider provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_sfcbrInteropProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_sfcbrInterop provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_swmgtProviderEnabled

   Description: Enable or disable the CIM vmw_swmgt provider

   Path: /UserVars/CIMvmw_hhrcwrapperProviderPollingInterval

- Disable a CIM provider by running the command:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /UserVars/CIMProviderName -i 0

        Note: To re-enable the CIM provider, run the command:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /UserVars/CIMProviderName -i 1

- To allow the changes to take effect, restart the SFCBD agent by running the command:

/etc/init.d/sfcbd-watchdog restart

[PeterLageri]

But my question was how do I determine which CIM provide is the correct one if the Emulex CIM provide is not relevant?

Best Regards

Peter

[virtualdive]

Hi Peter,

CIM provider can be found based on the Name, Model number of the hardware. Do you know the Model number of the Emulex you are talking about?

Thanks,

[ScreamingSilenc]

Can you provide the output from /proc/scsi/lpfc

1. To determine the firmware for a Emulex HBA on an ESXi/ESX host:
   1. Go to /proc/scsi/lpfc.
   2. Run the ls command to see all of the adapters in the directory.
      
      The output appears similar to:
      
      1 2
      
   3. Run the command:
      
      head -4 <#>, where <#> is the HBA number
      
      The output appears similar to:
      
      Emulex LightPulse FC SCSI 7.3.2_vmw2
      Emulex LP10000DC 2Gb 2-port PCI-X Fibre Channel Adapter on PCI bus 42 device 08 irq 42
      SerialNum: BG51909398
      Firmware Version: 1.91A5 (T2D1.91A5)

[PeterLageri]

emulex-cim-provider            10.0.774.0-01OEM.550.0.0.1331820       Emulex    VMwareAccepted    2014-03-14

Best Regards

Peter

[PeterLageri]

Can't cd to /proc/scsi/lpfc

[ScreamingSilenc]

Ok thats because you don't have Emulex HBA and no driver is loaded.

Instead please provide lspci output.

[virtualdive]

Okay, I read your problem once again. You said "A customer is using an Emulex CIM Provider" in the beginning but in the last statement you said "Apparently there is no Emulex hardware present no their hosts". So looks like your problem is just that that the Hardware Status is not showing and it has actually nothing to do with Emulex and all.

As per the KB, you may want to check the below.

To resolve this issue, ensure that TCP port 5989 (incoming and outgoing) is open to allow CIM transaction traffic to pass between the ESX host and vCenter and vice-versa.

Also, I would recommend you to upgrade your vCenter and ESXi hosts to Update 1.

• Discrepancy in hardware status between vCenter and ESXi Managed Object Browsers (MOB) even after invoking RefreshHealthStatusSystem API
  The Refresh or ResetSystemHealthInfo Application Programming Interface (API), which used to give one shot health sensor values is not updating the latest health sensor values in vCenter Server.This issue is resolved in this release.

Thanks,

[PeterLageri]

Hmm the HBAs in vSphere are listed as ISP2532-based 8Gb Fibre Channel to PCI Express HBA

I go to /proc/bus/pci and ls

I see 00 01 0b 1f 24 devices

I type head -4 00 and get head: 00: Input/Output error.

Same for the rest.

[PeterLageri]

OK!

Thank you.

Will do!

Best Regards

Peter

[ScreamingSilenc]

ISP2532 is an Qlogic HBA card now my question is why you need to install Emulex CIM provider when you host don't have Emulex HBA card.

If the issue persist you can uninstall the emulex cim provider and observe whether your hitting the issue again.

[PeterLageri]

I don't.

It must be a leftover from an earlier configuration of that host.

Best Regards

Peter

[PeterLageri]

But shouldn't I replace that CIM with another and which? "If the issue persist you can uninstall the emulex cim provider and observe whether your hitting the issue again.

"

Best Regards

Peter

[ScreamingSilenc]

Not really necessary if you don't have Emulex HBA card you can disable or uninstall it by doing this its not going to affect the VMware in house CIM provider which comes laong with ESXi.