6.5.1

Table Of Contents
Cause
This behavior might be caused by cached SCSI INQUIRY data that interferes with specific guest
operating systems and applications.
When the ESXi host first connects to a target storage device on a SAN, it issues the SCSI INQUIRY
command to obtain basic identification data from the device. By default, ESXi caches the received SCSI
INQUIRY data (Standard, page 80, and page 83) and the data remains unchanged afterwards.
Solution
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Configure the virtual machine with RDM to ignore the SCSI INQUIRY cache by adding the following
parameter to the .vmx file.
scsix:y.ignoreDeviceInquiryCache = "true"
where x is the SCSI controller number and y is the SCSI target number of the RDM.
Enable this parameter only when your storage vendor recommends that you do so. This parameter is
required for just a limited number of storage arrays and only for specific guest operating systems.
Software iSCSI Adapter Is Enabled When Not Needed
When your host uses a network adapter with iBFT, the software iSCSI adapter is always enabled by
default.
Problem
After your ESXi host's first boot, the software iSCSI adapter is enabled and appears in the
vSphere Web Client on the list of storage adapters.
Cause
The iBFT-enabled network adapter on your host causes the software iSCSI to be always present. This
condition occurs even when you do not use iBFT for the iSCSI boot.
Solution
If you do not use the iBFT-enabled network adapter for the iSCSI boot and do not want the software
iSCSI adapter to be enabled, remove the iBFT configuration from the network adapter. Because this
process is vendor-specific, consult your vendor documentation for details.
Failure to Mount NFS Datastores
Attempts to mount NFS datastores with names in international languages result in failures.
Problem
The use of non-ASCII characters for directory and filenames on NFS storage might cause unpredictable
behavior. For example, you might fail to mount an NFS datastore or not be able to power on a virtual
machine.
vSphere Troubleshooting
VMware, Inc. 69