Clean install of ESX 3.5u2 doesn't see all installed RAM

[tecvmware]

Hi all,

I have an annoying problem -

Hardware IBM 3650 dual proc dual core w/ 48Gb RAM - under 12 months old.

It was running ESX 3.02 in standalone mode for several months without problems.

I cleared the old VM's off it and installed ESX 3.5u2 - installed AOK.

I was able to p2v a couple of old boxes and they came up fine on the server.

It was then that I noticed it was only seeing 8Gb of the 48Gb of RAM installed.

So - a couple of questions

• Could it be a licensing issue - if so how do I tell ? I went to the VMWare Account site and issued a new one for this box in case it didn't like the old one.

• Is there a hardware test I can run to check the RAM (it was all purchased with the server so its kosher IBM stuff) ?

• Would a firmware update make a difference ? How picky is ESX 3.5u2 over 3.02 or 3.5/u1 ?

I'm now wary of upgrading our cluster to 3.5u2 as they're all running the exact same hardware configs (although some are quad rather than dual core).

Thanks in advance,

Raj.

[weinstein5]

There have been some issues with u2 - I would look at loading u3 which was just released that fixed issues like this memory problem -

[Rumple]

Try this thread...

http://communities.vmware.com/thread/156706

[tecvmware]

u3 ? I can't see it on the download site.

Whats the url ?

Cheers,

Raj.

[TomHowarth]

So - a couple of questions

• Could it be a licensing issue - if so how do I tell ? I went to the VMWare Account site and issued a new one for this box in case it didn't like the old one.

• Is there a hardware test I can run to check the RAM (it was all purchased with the server so its kosher IBM stuff) ?

Can your Machine see the extra RAM (see POST test), have you done a Memtest on the RAM? ESX 3.5 can see upto 256 GB of RAM. so I can only think that there is an issue with the RAM itself of the Host machine needing a BIOS frimware update. IBM machine are notorious for that especially if the DIMM density has increased (ie going from 4GB dimm sticks to 8GB dimm sticks, also IBMs tend to want their machines upgraded in banks of 4 not 2 as per HP. make user that they are in the correct slots.

sorry if this sounds like teaching granny to suck eggs, but I have been there and feel your pain.

• Would a firmware update make a difference ? How picky is ESX 3.5u2 over 3.02 or 3.5/u1 ?

when you upgraded the host to 3.5 U2 did you update your VC and VIC clients as well. this is what I think weinstien was getting at when he mentioned U3 as ESX 3.5 U3 has not yet been released, however there were a lot of VC bugs in VC 2.5 U3. It may be worth a punt, just to get rid if the HA issue in 2 node clusters.

I'm now wary of upgrading our cluster to 3.5u2 as they're all running the exact same hardware configs (although some are quad rather than dual core).

Thanks in advance,

Raj.

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Tom Howarth

VMware Communities User Moderator