ESXi 5.5 U1 on IBM x3650 M4 Server

[kalpeshp]

Hello all,

I am trying to install VMware ESXi 5.5 U1 on my IBM x3650 M4 (MT: 7915-N6A) Server but server could not boot up from 5.5 U1 ISO. I download that ISO from IBM official website only so I thin not any issue about compatibility or anything else and same server could boot with ESXi 5.0 but setup stuck at imgpayld.tgz everytime.

After that I download ISO from VMware website and got same issue. I also tried to boot from CD and USB storage, 5.5 and 5.1 ISO also but not suceed. I checked ESXi and server compatibility on VMware website, It seems together both working good.

Can anyone help me to solve out?

Regards,

Kalpesh Padariya

[rcporto]

I will recommend you update all hardware firmware... to do this, download the IBM ToolsCenter Bootable Media Creator (BOMC) and create a ISO with latest firmware, boot the server from this ISO and upgrade all firmware.

[kalpeshp]

Thank you,

My BOMC is under process.

[kalpeshp]

Hi Richardson,

I have update all firmware of my server, now I can boot up with USB but still esxi setup(5.0, 5.1 and 5.5u1) stuck at imgpayld.tgz everytime.

Do you have any idea regarding same?

[norbande]

I had the same problem and solved it by editing the boot list to look like this:

1. Legacy Only

2. CD-rom

3. Harddrive 0

this was probably some sort of uefi boot problem but I didn't do more research as my workaround worked.

[fva99999]

I can confirm this.

Server x3650 M4 freshly updated with BOMC, thank you Porto.

Originally I changed the boot order to

1. CD

2. Hypervisor key

3. HDD 0

and _then_ I tried to install using the IBM custom image from CD.

No luck, reboot just after loading imgpayld.tgz

Tried vmware image from CD -> works.

Tried IBM custom image from USB -> reboot just after loading imgpayld.tgz.

So after norbande message, I reset boot sequence to

1 Legacy only

2 CD

3 HDD 0

then installed again from CD, IBM custom image.

Works...

And somehow I felt the CD drive sounding different, so I suppose it was engaged as "legacy" not as "CD". Wild guess.

Anyway, thank you norbande for the strange tip!

[fuessi]

had tha same issue, in a little bit another way ...

tried to install ibm customized image 5.5 U1, we had permanent reboots through the installation process.

we changed boot order to :

legacy only

cdrom

hard disk 0

worked fine!

[wellmore]

I have the same issue on my 3650 M4 7915 and I tried changing the Boot Mode from 'UEFI and legacy' to UEFI and no luck. Also tried Legacy Only with no luck. I will check the boot order in the AM....

[wellmore]

I have the same issue with ESXi 5.1 DVD installation on my 3650 M4 (7915) and I tried changing the Boot Mode from 'UEFI and legacy' to 'UEFI' and no luck. Also tried 'Legacy Only' and it still hangs on 'initializing scheduler...' I changed the boot order to legacy only, cdrom, hard-disk0 and still hangs at same point during installation. I tried ESXi 5.5 DVD and it gets past 'initializing scheduler..', but halts with 'cpu panic' error message.

I have two other 3650 M4 (7915) servers that did not have this problem last year....

Anyone have a solution, or workaround?

[vervoortjurgen]

hello

if you have IMM you can try to mount your cd there and boot from it

if not i always use an external DVD so its boots from usb DVD

at this moment there is no ibm 5.5 U2 but try the cd from vmware ESXi 5.5 u2

unless you realy need the customized IBM CD for IBM director then your stuck with it

[wellmore]

Update: With boot-mode Legacy Only and boot order same, the vmware 5.1 DVD hangs at 'initializing scheduler..' still.

When I try the vmware 5.5 DVD, it gets past 'initializing scheduler' and then hangs at 'initializing power management...'

I have a case open with IBM and there are of no help yet. Also, I have a case open with vmware and waiting for a response...

Any other ideas?

[wellmore]

On the phone with IBM on the phone;

I downgraded the host firmware/BIOS from 1.73 to 1.51 (matches my older x3650 M4 7915 host servers) and made sure boot-mode is still set to 'legacy only'. I booted from the VMware 5.5 DVD installer and I was able to get past 'initializing scheduler' and processors. But it halted with a purple screen the resembled a dump which referenced PCPU and stated no where to dump data. I verified the storage controllers were configured and logical drives were online.

I proceeded to then try VMware image 5.1 DVD and it continues to hang at 'initializing scheduler..'

-------

Download 1.51 firmware/bios here: http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/systemx/downloadFixes?parent=System%2Bx3650%2BM4&product=i...

I am SO frustrated at this point...

Any help please?

[samod]

Hi,

I had also faced the same problem with IBM x3650 M4 (7915) Model.

1. Downloaded latest firmware from site.

2. Updated the system.

3. Set the boot order to legacy Only

4. Burnt IBM 5.5.0U1 ISO to CD.

5. Press F12 to select boot Device

6. Select "Legacy Only ", the first option on top with [ ]. Use space bar to select and then press enter to boot.

7. System booted normally showing the virtual drives and NIC's. Gone ahead with CD boot and installed ESXI 5.5U1 successfully. Please check step 6 carefully. otherwise it does not boot.

Thanks

Samod Babu

[wellmore]

IBM is onsite and replaced the system-board….will update ticket by tomorrow.

[wellmore]

After IBM replaced system-board and CPU #2, which if anything ruled out any issues there, they pulled all RAM until it was minimum slot configuration. Turns out there was a mismatch as well with RAM quantities and slot pairing/configuration.

[butlpau1]

Hope this helps someone - we had the same issue with imgpayld.tgz hanging on the installation.

We are using UCS v2.1.3g and trying the installation on a B250M1 blade with Boot from SAN boot policy configured - we originally pointed the KVM to the ISO and the issue occurred on all blades we tested using this method.

The Boot Policy only had the Boot LUN contained in it (primary and secondary paths).

We tried resetting the CIMC and Recovering the BIOS to no avail.

We changed the Boot Policy (created a new Boot Policy and pointed the affected blades to use this) where the CD was the inital source, and the Boot LUN was the secondary and this resloved our issue.

[phanxlee]

This maybe cause by VMware 5.5 requires Memory Mapped I/O (MMIO) space to be configured within the initial 4 GB of the system. Depending on the configuration, certain systems attempt to use memory higher than 4 GB, which can cause a failure.

See http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.lenovo.lxca.doc%2Fvmwar... for details.

Solution:

Restart the system. When Press <F1> Setup is displayed, press F1.

Select System Settings > Devices and I/O Ports.

Change the setting for MM Config from 2 GB to 3 GB.

Make sure that the setting for PCI 64-Bit Resource is set to Disable.

Attempt to install the VMware image again.

Hope this can help you.

wellmore‌ @wellmore

[tcengiz]

Thank you phanxlee.  :smileycheck: