Posts tagged "hp-2"

82 posts

Flex-10 ESX design with simplicity and scalability: Part 2

Feb 17, 2011

This post continues from ( where the Flex-10 configuration was done. So now we have all the Flex-10 networking configured, its time to see how this works in ESX. All VLANs are now being passed down all the uplinks, through the Flex-10 switches and onto the _vm\_trunk\_1a_ and _vm\_trunk\_2a_ Ethernet Networks. What we need to do now is install ESX or ESXi and get them connected to the networks....

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Getting Nic firmware versions with PowerCLI

Jan 27, 2011

Sometimes you need to delve into the innards of ESX to get information out that just isn't available through the VMware SDK and so not directly available to PowerCLI. If you've been doing any work recently with HP Flex-10 and its firmware requirements, you may need to find out the network card firmware version which is only available from within the ESX console by typing ethtool -i vmnic0 So, P...

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I've been served on vSoup!

Jan 25, 2011

I was honoured to be invited as the first guest on ( joining ( (( Ed Czerwin (( and ( (( talking about virtualisation We spoke about managing virtual desktops, VDI, HP Flex-10 switches and firmware issues, storage and plently of other things! You can download the podcast from ( or even better subscribe through (

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ESX 4.1 Broadcom 1.60 driver DOES support DCC/SmartLink

Jan 20, 2011

I've had confirmation from HP that the ESX 4.1 updated Broadcom 1.60 driver DOES support DCC/SmartLink. I had queried this in my previous post ( So, looks like the 1.60 driver is the one to go for on ESX 4.1 as long as you have the Flex-10 firmware prerequisites and update the Heap Memory allocated by the Broadcom bnx2x driver as listed here: ( Unfortunately this driver isn't available through...

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HP Flex-10, ESX and Broadcom fun continues...

Jan 17, 2011

I've been updating my HP Flex-10 firmware information to reflect what's been happening with ESX 4.1 and it looks like the fun is still ongoing. My ( post has also been updated with the latest information. ESX 4.1 was released with an inbox Broadcom bnx2x driver 1.54.1.v41.1-1vmw This driver was found to cause Network connectivity issues and PSODs which I ( and at that stage recommended not depl...

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Updating Broadcom bnx2x Nic Drivers with PowerCLI

Nov 15, 2010

Now that a new bnx2x driver has been released as detailed in my ( you will obviously need to deploy it and add it as part of your hopefully scripted build. I wish VMware Update Manager would be able to apply these driver updates so we can have a single depoyment mechanism but this doesn't seem to be the case yet. We live in hope! So, without Update Manager, I always prefer PowerCLI rather than...

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New Broadcom bnx2x Nic Driver 1.60 is out

Nov 12, 2010

My ( raised the issue of ESX 4.1 and Broadcom Nic drivers and advised you to stick with 4.0 until it is sorted out. There were two issues. Losing support for the SmartLink / DDC functionality used by Flex-10. The workaround is to use Beacon Probing which was at least a solution even though a massive step backwards. Far more serious was a PSOD issue caused by IP checksumming. The workaround w...

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Don't use ESX 4.1 if you have Broadcom Nics!

Oct 29, 2010

Thanks VMware! My ( referenced VMware's KB article about the inbox Broadcom driver with ESX 4.1 which can cause a PSOD. The workaround was to use the vsish console utility to disable IP Checksum support. You can't even make this change with PowerCLI as it uses private APIs according to guru ( On further reading and far more serious is that this change doesn't persist across reboots! Really,...

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HP Virtual Connect for the Cisco Network Administrator

Oct 19, 2010

I've managed to find a good ( on HP's site which may help Cisco people understand more about Virtual Connect and Flex-10. There's good information to explain what often freaks out Cisco people about Virtual Connect, no requirement for spanning tree. Also included is the explanation of Flex-Nics, switch stacking and how best to configure the Cisco side of the connection. The blub according to H...

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ESX 4.1 bnx2x driver 1.54 can cause a PSOD

Oct 14, 2010

VMware has just released an advisory for the Broadcom bnx2x Inbox drivers in ESX 4.1 which will affect HP Servers including blades. ESX/ESXi 4.1 with Broadcom bnx2x Inbox driver version 1.54.1.v41.1-1vmw experiences a loss of network connectivity and a purple diagnostic screen The resolution (which is only a workaround) says it manifests itself when using the IP Checksum feature which is on by...

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