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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

new install of 5.5 does not have drivers installed for emulex lpe1150

I installed a 5.5 and to my surprise the driver for the emulex lpe1150 FC didnt get installed. or at least the LUNs arent appearing. went ahead and tried to install the drive through VUP. it says its installed in VUP however I dont see the card under "storage adapters". I also tried to install it manually via ssh. the driver is "VMW-ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-1523280". I followed the install directions in the but to no avail. I am not sure where to turn as I am not an expert in this area. I just install ESX and configure VC.

here is also the results of the esxcli

esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/Emulex_bootbank_lpfc_10.0.727.44-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820.vib

Installation Result

   Message: Host is not changed.

   Reboot Required: false

   VIBs Installed:

   VIBs Removed:

   VIBs Skipped: Emulex_bootbank_lpfc_10.0.727.44-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820

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rameuniver
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

It is always better to contact Emulex Support Team for best drivers for ESXi 5.5.  Try the following procdedure

1) Download the Driver from

https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=DT-ESXI55-EMULEX-LPFC-10072744&productId=353

2) Place the Emulex driver in the /tmp directory.

3) esxcli software vib install –no-sig-check –maintenance-mode -d

For Example

#esxcli software vib install –no-sig-check –maintenance-mode –d VMW-ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-1523280.zip

4) Reboot the host to activate the new or updated driver

5) If you want old driver (in case failed installation still exists), execute the following esxcli command: # esxcli software vib remove –n –f

You can also very easily upload the offline bundle into vCenter Update Manager

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

Thank you for reply

this is what I did and got this error

esxcli software vib install –no-sig-check –maintenance-mode –d /tmp/VMW-ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-1523280.zip

Error: Unknown command or namespace software vib install –no-sig-check –maintenance-mode –d /tmp/VMW-ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-1523280.zip

I tried using VUP and says it's installed

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

i also just noticed that this driver does not mention the card I have which is lpe1150. in 5.1 it works absolutely fine. i dont get why this support has been removed. may just have to go back to 5.1

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

Hey tricktune

We have the emulex card in some of our gen8 blades and have no issue with 5.5

Try this esxcli software vib list | grep emulex

See what it returns.  Also make sure your firmware is up to date on the emulex.

Try this to install the vib

Esxcli software vib install -d /tmp/zipname.zip

See if removing the no sign resolves it for you

Last resort download the HP customer iso of 5.5 off VMware website and try a reinstall

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

Hi JPM300

this is an a Dell r710 that has an OEM card. can I use an HP util?

ran command

esxcli software vib install -d /tmp/VMW-ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-offline_bundle-1523280.zip

Installation Result

   Message: Host is not changed.

   Reboot Required: false

   VIBs Installed:

   VIBs Removed:

   VIBs Skipped: Emulex_bootbank_lpfc_10.0.727.44-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820

with no-sig

/tmp # esxcli software vib install –maintenance-mode –d /tmp/VMW-ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-offline_bundle-1523280.zip

Error: Unknown command or namespace software vib install –maintenance-mode –d /tmp/VMW-ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-offline_bundle-1523280.zip

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

I did a little search I can run the command now. the command was off

/tmp # esxcli software vib install --no-sig-check --maintenance-mode -d /tmp/VMW -ESX-5.5.0-lpfc-10.0.727.44-offline_bundle-1523280.zip

Installation Result

   Message: Host is not changed.

   Reboot Required: false

   VIBs Installed:

   VIBs Removed:

   VIBs Skipped: Emulex_bootbank_lpfc_10.0.727.44-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

Oh my bad, I was just under the assumption if it was emulex it was in a HP :smileysilly:

VMware's download section under Custome ISO's has DELL as well.  You can download that and try installing with the customer DELL build which should put in any drivers the DELL Models can use.

Now that you have the command working the fact that it skips it tells me it thinks it is installed already.  Is your emulex up to the latest firmware?

Also if you do a esxcli software vib list and look do you see the emulex driver listed?  You can probably shorten your search by using esxcli software vib list | grep exmulex or grep lpfc

Let me know,

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

No worries, actually its a card that I installed after the fact, so i dont think the Dell ISO will work

Emulex firmware is out of date for sure.

this driver though even if its installed I dont think it supports this card. even with a firmware update dont think this will do anything to get around that

so a driver appears installed

/tmp # esxcli software vib list | grep lpfc

lpfc                           10.0.727.44-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820       Emulex           VMwareCertified   2014-07-05

scsi-lpfc820                   8.2.3.1-129vmw.550.0.0.1331820         VMware           VMwareCertified   2014-07-05

Thanks for your help

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

Do you have the exact model number of emulex card so we can check it against VMwares HCL

I know VMware can support the emulex card so it probably is just a matter of finding the right driver / firmware level.  I would definitely update the firmware level of the card first as I have seen this before where drivers will not work properly or register the card properly until the firmware is at the right level.

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

It looks like the LPe 1150 is supported by 5.5update1

depending on your model of that version

emulex.PNG

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

I'll need to reboot the server to get that from post. be back with that in 10

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

I think I found the silver bullet for you:

https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/details?downloadGroup=DT-ESXI55-EMULEX-LPFC-10072744&productId=35...

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=203081...

These two posts link you to the combination of firmware / driver you need for it to work in esxi 5.5

http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=514

http://vibsdepot.hp.com/hpq/recipes/HP-VMware-Recipe.pdf

emulex2.PNG

Now this is from the HP documentation but I'm sure if you do the same digging on the Dell site you will probably find something similar.  So it would appear you need a certain firmware level / driver for it to run properly.

This is assuming you have a Emulex LPe 1150

Hopefully this gets it going for you.

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

LPe1150-E Version 1.70.a3

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

IT seems you have 10.0.727 and the driver they reccoemend for firmware level 2.82 is 10.0.725 however if you get your firmware to the latest version it will probably work with the latest driver.  Give it a go and see how it works, or get it to firmware 2.82 and rip out the 10.0.727 driver vib and put in 10.0.725, either way will probably work for ya.

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

Yikes looks like i'm way off on firmware.

many thanks now I have to figure out how to update this firmware. hopefully its no too painfull doing this on ESX. ill check back in as soon as I get the firmware updated

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks again for your help. I'll post back shortly.

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

Sounds good!

Firmware and Boot Code

Here is the link for the Firmeware, it seems 2.82 is the newest version Smiley Happy

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JPM300
Commander
Commander

Here is the link to the firmware update instructions, they barried them in the boot code manual:

http://www-dl.emulex.com/support/elx/rt99/b15.1/docs/other/fc_bootcode_manual_elx.pdf

page 73.

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tricktune
Contributor
Contributor

Oh god thanks cuz i'm already having issues try to install CIM and all the other crap to get the FW updated. But I dont see hows its going to work in ESX if the host doesnt see the card to begin with. but ill give it a shot. this is my first attempt at doing this at in any capacity with VIBs, so i have little exposure

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