VMware vSphere 6.5.x on Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers Release Notes December 2020 Rev.
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. © 2016 - 2020 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contents Chapter 1: Release summary..........................................................................................................6 Version................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Release date........................................................................................................................................................................
Scratch partition stops working after hardware or software iSCSI is enabled on ESXi with elxiscsi Emulex driver.................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Virtual machines fail to power on, when system BIOS has MMIO set to 56 TB with supported GPU configured as pass-through device.............................................................................................................
Unsafe shutdowns counter of a NVMe device is incremented for both soft and abrupt shutdowns.......... 27 Dell EMC PowerEdge servers running specific versions of ESXi 6.0 U3 fails to upgrade to ESXi 6.5.x or ESXi 6.7...................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 4: Resources and support...............................................................................................
1 Release summary VMware vSphere 6.5.x includes the ESXi 6.5.x hypervisor and is managed by vCenter Server 6.5.x. The current release of VMware vSphere incorporates feature upgrades, new hardware, feature support, and bug fixes that enhance the virtualization experience in VMware environments. NOTE: The issues that are listed in this document are applicable to Dell EMC servers with VMware vSphere 6.5.x installed.
2 Compatibility Topics: • System configuration requirements System configuration requirements Memory The following table lists the system memory requirements for VMware vSphere 6.5.x on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. Table 1. Memory requirements for VMware vSphere 6.5.x Memory Size Minimum recommended system memory 1.
3 Known issues Topics: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8 The UID information for the Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller H310 is displayed incorrectly The health status of the SD cards are not updated under the Hardware Health tab Network connectivity is lost when virtual machines configured with Virtual Guest Tagging (VGT) are migrated to another ESXi host The Hardware Health tab of the vCenter Web Client does not display any information when a drive is remo
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • VMkernel logs may display a warning message related to jumpstart plugin SAS address of the Dell EMC PERC controller is displayed incorrectly SATA SSD disks may report disk protocol incorrectly Some Emulex controller models are displayed incorrectly Host platform fails due to unsupported sector sizes on the NVMe devices Intel Ethernet 10G 2P X520 adapter controller is displayed incorrectly vmnic enumeration for the Mellanox controller may display as
Workaround: The iDRAC page displays the status of the IDSDM SD cards correctly. Systems affected: All Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. Tracking number: 101450 Network connectivity is lost when virtual machines configured with Virtual Guest Tagging (VGT) are migrated to another ESXi host Description: When virtual machines that are configured with 802.1q VLAN tagging are migrated to another ESXi host, the network connectivity is lost.
Status of the NVMe devices configured as a host cache device is not updated after surprise removal Description: When surprise removal is performed on NVMe devices, the status of the drives that are configured as a host cache device is not updated and listed as Available when the following esxcli or localcli commands are queried: esxcli storage core device list esxcli storage nmp path list Applies to: ESXi 6.5.
The specific NVMe storage device model name is not displayed Description: On PowerEdge systems with ESXi 6.5.x, the hot-swappable NVMe device model name is displayed as Non-Volatile memory controller instead of the actual model name, after the hot-inseration of the drive. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.
PSOD is not seen in the host when the NMI option is selected in the iDRAC UI Description: In the iDRAC UI of Dell EMC PowerEdge servers with AMD EPYC processors, below the Configuration tab, select the Power Control option, and then select NMI(Non-Masing Interrupt). On selecting the option NMI on the idrac page, the server crashes the PSOD. However, the PSOD is not seen in the yx5x PowerEdge servers with AMD EPYC processors due to a bug in AMD IOMMU. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.
iDRAC web interface shows incorrect status with ESXi inbox native driver Description: If the ESXi inbox native driver is installed, iDRAC web interface displays incorrect status for network card details such as OS Driver State and Family Driver version. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Workaround: This issue can be ignored because there is no functionality loss. For more information about the port link status, use vCenter Server or the esxcli command: esxcfg-nics l.
qedf driver data integrity may fail at 256 KB block size Description: On the Dell EMC PowerEdge systems running ESXi 6.5.x with QLogic FCoE driver (qedf), the I/O workload executed from a Linux VM data integrity may fail at 256 KB block size. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: Update to Dell EMC customized VMware ESXi 6.5 U1 A11 image. ESXi 6.5 U1 does not display the complete description of USB controller Description: On Dell EMC's 14 th generation of PowerEdge servers with AMD EPYC and ESXi 6.
Solution: This issue can be ignored because there is no functionality loss. Uninstallation of Dell EMC OpenManage VIB fails to delete certain files Description: Specific Dell EMC OpenManage files and directories are not deleted after uninstalling the Dell OpenManage VIB. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: This issue can be ignored because there is no functionality loss. Reboot the system for complete cleanup.
Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: Perform any one of the following tasks that is appropriate: ● Install Dell Customized 6.5 U1 image that has the async qlnativefc driver for QLE8262. or ● If the ESXi image is downloaded from the VMware download page, use the latest async driver from VMware HCL. snmpd failure message is displayed in the vRealize log insight with snmp enabled Description: With snmp enabled on ESXi 6.5 U1 OS, the following snmpd failure message is displayed in the vRealize log insight.
By default, VMFS datastore is disabled on Dell EMC 14th generation PowerEdge Servers with factoryinstalled VMware ESXi on BOSS-S1 Description: The Dell EMC 14 th generation servers installed with ESXi on the BOSS-S1 device do not have VMFS datastore enabled by default. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x and later, 14 th generation PowerEdge Servers, and BOSS-S1 Workaround: Dell EMC recommends using the BOSS-S1 device as a boot device only for VMware ESXi.
In ESXi host client, physical NICs reports duplicate entries of the speed supported Description: When you try to edit settings for physical NICs, you will find multiple duplicated entries of the network speed supported which is displayed multiple times. For example, 10,000 Mbps, full duplex. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: This issue can be ignored because there is no functionality loss.
Hardware Health status reports the raw reading instead of the computed reading of IPMI Sensors Description: In ESXi vCenter Server or Webclient, the Host Hardware status information reports the raw reading of the sensors rather than the computed reading. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x and 14 th generation PowerEdge servers Solution: Use Open Manage Server Administrator or iDRAC to monitor system health status.
NUMA related warning message is reported in VMkernel logs when Dell Fault Resilient Memory is enabled Description: When accessing the console of the ESX/ESXi host or VMkernel logs, a warning message is displayed similar to: Significant imbalance between NUMA nodes detected. This issue occurs when the Dell Fault Resilient feature is enabled in the System BIOS. Applies to: ESXi Workaround: There is no functionality impact and can be safely ignored. For more information, see VMware KB 1018754.
SAS address of the Dell EMC PERC controller is displayed incorrectly Description: In ESXi 6.5, the SAS address of the Dell EMC PERC controller is displayed as WWNN under the Storage Adapter section, in vSphere Webclient. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: This issue can be ignored because there is no functionality loss. SATA SSD disks may report disk protocol incorrectly Description: In ESXi 6.5, vSphere WebClient may report the SATA SSD disks as SAS protocol. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.
vmnic enumeration for the Mellanox controller may display as vmnic 1000202 Description: On the Dell EMC PowerEdge servers with ESXi 6.5, vmnic Enumeration for the Mellanox controllers may display values such as vmnic 1000202. The enumeration occurs as the VMware ESXi device naming mechanism is based on the PCIe Index and Mellanox has single function for both ports. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Workaround: This issue can be ignored because there is no functionality loss.
NOTE: Do not replace any hardware components while performing these steps. 1. All the VMs configured memory must be reserved. If each VM has 2 GB of memory allocated, you should reserve all 2 GB. To do this by using the vSphere Client, select the Reserve all guest memory option from the Memory drop-down menu under the Resources tab in a Virtual Machine’s Settings window. For more information, see the VMware Knowledge Base article 1010789. 2.
Dell EMC PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD device is not detected during hot-plug Description: When the Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD namespace is set as Offline and hot-plug operation is performed in the same slot, the SSD does not initialize and is not detected. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: Perform one of the following: ● Reconnect the drive to a different drive slot, if available. ● Restart the sfcbd-watchdog service, and reinsert the drive.
Status of some of the PCI devices is listed as Unknown on vCenter server Description: On vCenter Server some of the entries status in the PCI device section of the Hardware Status tab on the ESXi host are listed as Unknown. Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: This issue can be ignored because there is no functionality loss.
Applies to: ESXi 6.5.x Solution: The maximum number of VMs that Windows can support is 31. You can manually set the MSI-X vectors to 31. For more information, see the VMware Knowledge Base article 2032981. VMware ESXi host periodically disconnect and reconnect from vCenter Server during heavy load on storage subsystem Description: ESXi host gets disconnected periodically from vCenter Server during heavy load on storage subsystem. However, the host gets reconnected automatically after some time.
Applies to: 6.5.x. Workaround: This is a known issue and does not cause data loss or corruption. Dell EMC PowerEdge servers running specific versions of ESXi 6.0 U3 fails to upgrade to ESXi 6.5.x or ESXi 6.7 Description: When an upgrade is attempted to either ESXi 6.0 U3 v A11 or ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.5 U1, ESXi 6.5 U2, or ESXi 6.7, on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers running ESXi 6.
4 Resources and support Not applicable. Topics: • • • • • Related information for virtualization solutions Documentation resources Identifying the series of your Dell EMC PowerEdge servers Download drivers and firmware Documentation feedback Related information for virtualization solutions Table 2. Related information for virtualization solutions If you need information about See Dell EMC VMware documentation www.dell.com/virtualizationsolutions OpenManage documentation www.dell.
Discussion forums ● ● ● ● Communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn Dell Virtualization Wikis, Forums, Blogs, and Videos Dell Community Knowledge base ● kb.vmware.com/kb NOTE: For more information that is related to the VMware ESXi installation on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, go to Dell Virtualization. Virtualization videos for Dell EMC PowerEdge servers All the supported virtualization videos for Dell EMC PowerEdge servers are available in the Supported Operating Systems for Dell PowerEdge servers playlist.
Table 4. Additional documentation resources for your server (continued) Task Document Location For information about turning on www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals the server and the technical specifications of your server, see the Getting Started Guide that is shipped with your server. Configuring your server Managing your server For information about the iDRAC www.dell.
Table 4. Additional documentation resources for your server (continued) Task Document Location Enterprise Systems Management documents. For information about viewing inventory, performing configuration, and monitoring tasks, remotely turning on or off servers, and enabling alerts for events on servers and components using the Dell EMC Chassis Management Controller (CMC), see the Chassis Management Controller User's Guide . www.dell.
● The first digit (denoted by X) denotes the value stream or class of the server. ○ 1-5—iDRAC basic ○ 6-9—iDRAC Express ● The second digit denotes the series of the server. It is retained in the server naming convention and not replaced by the letter X. ○ 0—series 10 ○ 1—series 11 ○ 2—series 12 ○ 3—series 13 ○ 4—series 14 ○ 5—series 15 ● The third digit (denoted by X) denotes the number of processor sockets a series of server supports. This is applicable only from series 14 of PowerEdge servers.
5 Contacting Dell EMC Dell EMC provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country, region, and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell EMC for sales, technical assistance, or customer service issues, see www.dell.com/contactdell. If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or the product catalog.
