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HP has released new versions for June of  its customised ESXi images and offline bundles which include ESXi 5.0 Update 1 and ESXi 4.1 Update 2.

You can view the contents of all customised HP images here:
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/software/vmware-esxi/driver_version.html

ESXi 5.0 Update 1
https://h20392.www2.hp.com/portal/swdepot/displayProductInfo.do?productNumber=HPVM09

Offline Bundle
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-83016c4f7e82421f82ad5c2fcc

What’s new:

• VMware ESXi 5.0 U1 is supported on new Gen8 servers.
• Updated VMware IOVP Certified Device Drivers added to HP ESXi 5.0 U1 installation images for HP device enablement.
• Supports HP Dynamic Smart Array.
• Updated providers:
• New Gen8 servers and new hardware.
• Additional support for HP Smart Carrier.
• Additional support for AC Lost detection for power supplies.
• Updated Agentless Management Service to:
• Support new hardware.
• Report network and SAS driver information.
• Report performance data.

ESXi 4.1 Update 2
https://h20392.www2.hp.com/portal/swdepot/displayProductInfo.do?productNumber=HPVM06

Offline Bundle
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-8fff2cc8385e4e92a7a209a51b

What’s new:

• VMware ESXi 4.1 U2 is supported on new Gen8 servers.
• Updated VMware IOVP Certified Device Drivers added to HP ESXi 4.1 U2 installation images for HP device enablement.
• Supports HP Dynamic Smart Array.
• Updated providers:
• New Gen8 servers and new hardware.
• Additional support for HP Smart Carrier.
• Additional support for AC Lost detection for power supplies.
• Updated Agentless Management Service to:
• support new hardware.
• report network and SAS driver information.
• report performance data.

Update: 06 June 2012 – These drivers are now supported by HP – HP G7 Blade new Emulex be2net ESX(i) drivers 4.1.334.0 now supported

Update: 11 May 2012 to amend link and try work out HP support. Apologies I had the wrong ESX(i) version link in the original post and hadn’t properly investigated HP support for  Virtual Connect/FlexFabric which is confusing. Sorry, Sloppy me! 🙁

VMware has released a new Emulex be2net driver version 4.1.334.0 for both ESX(i) 4.x and ESXi 5.x for the Emulex OneConnect 10Gb Ethernet Controller which is used in HP G7 Blades. But, before you get too excited, HP has NOT certified these drivers for use with HP Virtual Connect and FlexFabric…I think.

You see in this page from VMware which was updated on 4 April 2012 the advice is to use the 4.0.306.0 driver for ESX(i) 4.x and 4.0.355.1 for ESXi 5.x
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2007397

This page however from VMware says for ESXi 5 driver version 4.0.355.1 isn’t supported for HP ProLiant G7 servers. It requires a new firmware version that is not currently available.
http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=19067&vcl=true

but I think this is old as the HP advisory has been updated to say the 4.0.355.1 driver is supported
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c03005737

But in this document which looks like it has been written by HP, the 4.1.334 drivers for both versions ARE supported (but again with different firmware version numbers that don’t really tally up with what has been supported before)
http://partnerweb.vmware.com/programs/hcl/ESX_Flex_config.pdf

I’m thinking that this document may be a little premature as no other HP information has been updated to reflect support for the 4.1.334 drivers

So, just for your information, the 4.1.334 drivers can be downloaded from the following links when they may be supported:

ESX(i) 4.x:
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=DT-ESX4041-EMULEX-be2net-413340&productId=230

ESXi 5.x:
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details/dt_esxi50_emulex_be2net_413340/dHRAYndld3diZHBqaA==

But, I’m thinking the currently supported drivers are:

ESX(i) 4.x: version 4.0.306.0
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/dt_esxi40_emulex_be2net_403060/ZHcqYnQqaGpiZEBlZA

ESXi 5.x: version 4.0.355.1
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details/dt_esxi50_emulex_be2net_413340/dHRAYndld3diZHBqaA==

I’ve updated my post: HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 & VMware ESX(i) pre-requisites

HP has released two new firmware updates for its blade chassis, 3.50 and 3.55.

These were both released on the same day.

3.50 was released to support Gen 8 blades and is required before you insert any Gen 8 blades into your enclosure (along with having Virtual Connect 3.51). There are also a lot of other fixes. You will also need to update HP SIM to at least 6.3 to be able to discover OAs from 3.30 up.

3.55 was released on the same day as it seems testing missed some issues with authentication and EBIPA (great!) so I’m not sure why 3.50 was released at all. Confusingly the release notes and fixes for 3.55 include all the information from 3.50 so its not immediately obvious what the difference is.

So, no point really even looking at 3.50 but rather going straight for 3.55 which can be downloaded from:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=329290&prodSeriesId=3188465&swItem=MTX-1ee4cda0b03447c6974e4ca184&prodNameId=3188475&swEnvOID=4040&swLang=8&taskId=135&mode=4&idx=3

Enhancements/New Features
Read more…

HP has released a new version of the firmware for G7 blades which use an Emulex be2net Nic rather than the Broadcom bnx2x Nic used in G6 blades.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=329290&prodSeriesId=5033632&swItem=co-103088-1&prodNameId=5033634&swEnvOID=54&swLang=8&taskId=135&mode=3

This is an offline update so will require you to boot from an .ISO to apply the firmware update.

New Features

1. Added support for the following operating systems: – RHEL 6.2

Resolved Issues from Firmware Version 4.0.360.15

1. A file level restore (FLR) request sent to a BE3 device while rebooting an HP UX guest VM image caused a timeout event.
2. When users tried to disable beaconing, they would receive a “Success” status even if beaconing had already been disabled.
3. The CN1100e device using VLAN did not pass traffic using “copy”. This failed only in full power mode. Traffic only passed in auxiliary mode.
4. The NC551 adapter failed to link with the 10Gb Pass-Thru module when using a 1Gb SFP transceiver.
5. The CN1000e device occasionally lost connection to network-attached storage (NAS) volumes when running an FCoE protocol under heavy load.
6. The FCoE port did not register as connected after repeated virtual connect (VC) module failovers.
7. The Flex NIC required changes to the DCC method to keep the link down until the switch explicitly sent link up.
8. A BL460c G7 array with P410i version 5.1x firmware would not boot from iSCSI if a logical drive was connected to it.

Known Issues

There are no known issues for this release.

Have a look at my updated post: HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 & VMware ESX(i) pre-requisites for information on all firmware & driver compatibility.

HP has updated its ESXi 5.0 image to include ESXi 5.0 Update 1.

The HP ESXi Offline Bundle for VMware ESXi 5.0 includes the latest HP Common Information Model (CIM) Providers, HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) driver, HP Compaq ROM Utility (CRU) driver, and the new HP Agentless Management Service (AMS).

https://h20392.www2.hp.com/portal/swdepot/displayProductInfo.do?productNumber=HPVM09

Direct Download:
http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/psi/swdDetails/?sp4ts.oid=4194638&spf_p.tpst=psiSwdMain&spf_p.prp_psiSwdMain=wsrp-navigationalState%3Dlang%253Den%257Ccc%253DUS%257CprodSeriesId%253D4194735%257CprodNameId%253D4194638%257CswEnvOID%253D4115%257CswLang%253D8%257CswItem%253DMTX-c14ba20dc6274cc38e3203c3cb%257Caction%253DdriverDocument&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken

The latest versions are:

• hp-smx-provider 500.02.10.61.43-434156
• char-hpilo 500.9.0.0.9-1OEM.500.0.0.434156
• char-hpcru 5.0.0.8-1OEM.500.0.0.434156
• hp-ams-esx-500.9.0.0-55.434156

Enhancements:

• Added support for:
  • HP ProLiant  BL460c Gen8 server
  • HP ProLiant DL360p Gen8 server
  • HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8 server
  • HP ProLiant ML350p Gen8 server
  • HP ProLiant DL160 Gen8 server
• Added the new HP Agentless Management Service
• Added the following support to the HP CIM Providers:
  • HP iLO4 (Integrated Lights-Out)
  • HP SmartSSD Wear Gauge
  • HP SmartDrive
  • Support for additional Power Supply

One of the challenges with working with HP blades and HP Virtual Connect switches is ensuring all your software and firmware versions are in sync as unfortunately there have been many firmware incompatibility and reliability issues that have plagued the technology over the years and making sure you have firmware that works certainly helps with your sanity!

I’ve been tracking the firmware requirements in my Flex-10 ESX pre-requisites post.

With the release of vSphere 5, things are a little simpler as there is no longer an ESX platform, only ESXi so you don’t have to worry about tracking separate driver requirements for both hypervisor releases.

Read more…

I have the pleasure today of presenting at the first ever UK VMware User Group. This is a combined meeting of the London, Northern and Scottish VMUGs in the cool National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull which is apparently the “finest and largest motorcycle museum in the world”!

My presentation has nothing whatsoever to do with motorcycles unfortunately but is rather about upgrading your virtual infrastructure from vSphere 4 to 5. In hindsight I should have taken some more inspiration from the surroundings and somehow worked a motorcycle angle into my presentation, I should plan more carefully in the future!

Upgrading to vSphere 5 doesn’t actually have to be a particularly complicated procedure if you have all your ducks in a row and understand all the pre-requisites. This is a good thing as it means you can take advantage of all the cool new features without necessarily having to drastically re-architect your vSphere 4 environment but also means some of the old issues like vCenter availability haven’t changed.

Read more…

Andre Leibovici, a fellow vExpert who works for EMC as a Sr. vSpecialist has blogged today about an issue with HP Blades and a power regulation setting where the default on HP Blades can cause performance issues.
http://myvirtualcloud.net/?p=1212

This is one of those great finds as it can be so difficult to troubleshoot “My VM is running slow” and you can go through your virtualisation environment with a fine tooth comb and find nothing as the issue is actually related to hardware settings.

Interestingly the issue manifests itself when the system is not fully utilised and CPU use is not high as Power Regulation only kicks in when it sees there are idle CPU cycles which makes it even more confusing to troubleshoot as you would be getting high CPU READY figures when CPU wasn’t stretched.

HP has a document, Power Regulator for ProLiant servers which explains it all.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00300430/c00300430.pdf

The fix is to either disable Power Regulator on the hardware BIOS by setting it to Static High Performance mode which will disable any power savings or set it to a custom setting, OS Control mode and then configure ESX(i)’s Power Management Policy using the vSphere Client Host Configuration panel to High Performance to disable power management.

Thanks, Andre!

VMware has released a new Broadcom bnx2x Nic Driver for ESX(i) 4.1 which is used in HP blades for the HP NC532 Nics.
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/dt_esxi40_broadcom_bcm_netxtreme/ZHcqYnQlZXBiZGgqag

The new version is 1.64.32.v41.1

I’ve had confirmation from Rotem Agmon, a VMware Technical Consultant at HP that this new driver is not supported by HP.

The currently supported Update Manager driver friendly versions are:
ESX(i) 4.0 – 1.62.11.v40.1
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/dt_esxi40_broadcom_bcm57xxx/ZHcqYnR0d3BiZGVqdA==

ESX(i) 4.1  – 1.62.15.v41.2
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/dt_esx41_broadcom_netxtremeii_032311/ZHcqYnR0anBiZGhwZA==

My Flex-10 ESX(i) pre-requisites post has all the driver and firmware required versions.

I have the privilege today of presenting at the London VMware User Group.

My presentation is split into two parts, first of all looking at why setting standards, creating processes and adding automation is now more important than ever as we work towards building an infrastructure for cloud computing.

I go through how “cloud thinking” is not just about the cloud being used to solve an IT problem but rather the cloud being a busines transformation to increase your business flexibility.

Your ESX(i) host build is the foundation of that cloud.

Then I head into the technical details of how to create a single PowerCLI script to build ESX or ESXi anywhere in your organisation. Using PowerCLI removes the dependency on any Service Console scripting so you can move towards an ESXi only infrastructure as that is the only hypervisor option for vSphere 5.

Having a single global script allows you to set standards and gives you way to reduce complexity & errors.

Read more…