Release Notes

Emulex® Drivers for VMware ESXi

Release ESXi 6.5 12.0.257.5
ESXi 6.7 12.0.257.5

Purpose and Contact Information

These release notes describe the new features, resolved issues, known issues, and technical tips associated with these
Emulex® drivers for VMware releases.

For the latest product documentation, go to www.broadcom.com. If you have questions or require additional information,
contact an authorized Broadcom® Technical Support representative at ecd-tech.support@broadcom.com.

New Features
1. Discontinued support for VMware ESXi 5.5 operating system.
2. Discontinued support for the VMware ESXi 6.0 operating system.
3. Added support for ESXi 6.7 operating system.
4. Added support for LPe35000-series adapters.

Resolved Issues
There are no resolved issues in this release.

Known Issues
All Versions, Known Issues
1. Known issues related to software migration.
Beginning with software release 11.2, FC HBAs and OneConnect® adapters have independent software kits. Before
updating earlier drivers and applications to the software in release 12.0.2, refer to the Emulex Software Kit Migration User
Guide for special instructions and considerations for using the 11.2 and later software kits for FC HBAs and OneConnect
adapters.

Broadcom DRVVM-LPe-RN1202-100-2CS
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Emulex Drivers for VMware ESXi Release Notes

2. The adapter model name and description do not match the vendor brand name field.
The VMware vSphere client only shows adapter family model names with a single port.
For example:
LPe32002 adapter is shown as the Emulex LightPulse LPe32000 PCIe Fibre Channel Adapter.
LPe35002 adapter is shown as the Emulex LightPulse LPe36000 Fibre Channel Adapter.
This issue occurs with the native tool lspci as well. The vSphere client gets the adapter model name and description
from the XML package files installed with the operating system or with an out-of-box kit, rather than from the adapter vital
product data (VPD). Other native tools work in a similar manner.
Workaround
To show all available KV instances, use the following command:
/usr/lib/vmware/vmkmgmt_keyval/vmkmgmt_keyval -d
For storage adapters, look for vmhbaX/Emulex.
3. Concurrent firmware upgrades performed on the same ESXi host might not be fully copied.
If a firmware upgrade is attempted using the HTTP protocol, the firmware file is copied to the /filesystem of the ESXi
system. This file is deleted after the firmware upgrade is complete. Therefore, if concurrent firmware upgrades are
performed on the same ESXi host, due to space constraints, the firmware file might not be copied fully, and the firmware
upgrades might fail with an error.
Workaround
None.
4. Certain inbox drivers do not support LPe35000-series adapters, as described in the following table.

Table 1: Operating System and Support for LPe35000-Series Adapters

Operating System Support for LPe35000-Series Adapters

ESXi 6.5 No; use the latest IOVP certified driver.
ESXi 6.7 No; use the latest IOVP certified driver.

Workaround
Follow the guidelines in Table 1.
5. When the Virtual Machine Identifier (VMID) feature is used in an ESXi environment with ESXi mobility (vMotion), the
VMID strings might not be available from the operating system on the backup server (the server to which vMotion moved)
for 10–20 minutes. During this time, the VMID strings are not available for registration on the fabric switch.
Workaround
After the vMotion action, wait until the operating system settles and the VMID strings are available.
6. With VMID enabled, warning messages are generated even if no issue is present.
Workaround
No workaround is available for the currently released ESXi versions. However, VMware is planning the following new
operating system releases, which might address this issue. (Check with VMware to be sure this issue was addressed
before upgrading the operating system.)
– ESXi 6.5 U1 (and Emulex RT 11.4 driver)
– ESXi 6.7

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Emulex Drivers for VMware ESXi Release Notes

7. The FOIT AFCT-57F3TMZ-ELX (16GFC longwave optic transceiver) does not support D_Port (also called ClearLink) for
Brocade® switches and MDS Diagnostic for Cisco switches.
Workaround
None.

ESXi 6.5 Known Issues

There are no known issues.

ESXi 6.7 Known Issues

There are no known issues.

Technical Tips
1. Safe method of changing firmware in flash memory.
For operations, such as firmware download, Emulex recommends the server be brought into ESXi maintenance mode
prior to flashing the firmware.
2. Install an offline bundle locally on an ESXi server using the esxcli command.
Install an offline bundle on a VMware ESXi server locally using the esxcli command.
[root@testmachine ~]# esxcli software vib install --maintenance-mode -d <offline-bundle.zip>
Where <offline-bundle.zip> is the file name of the offline bundle to be installed.
3. The default VMware driver settings might not be appropriate for optimal performance in all scenarios.
If performance appears to be lower than expected, several driver and system settings can be modified to improve
performance. Refer to the server documentation to determine the correct system settings and the optimal memory and
processor configuration.
Along with proper hardware configuration, you can modify some driver settings to improve performance. The following
are some recommended settings to examine while tuning for better performance. Refer to the Emulex Drivers for
VMware ESXi for LightPulse Adapters User Guide for an explanation of the available settings.
– Use the vmxnet3 adapter type for all guest operating system interfaces.
– Install VMware Tools for all guest operating systems.
4. ESXi servers can appear to have the same VMID Application ID. The VMID is the combination of the Application ID
appended to the end of the N_Port ID, which provides uniqueness within the fabric.
5. To see VMID information on all VMs in a multipathing configuration, set the path policy to Round Robin.

Broadcom DRVVM-LPe-RN1202-100-2CS
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