vmware-vsphere
vSphere 5.5 Update 3 was released earlier today and there are a bunch of bug fixes and feature improvements in this update release for both vCenter and ESXi. For most Service Providers updating to vSphere 6.0 is still a while away so it’s good to have continued support and improvement for the 5.5 platform. I’ve scanned through the release notes and picked out what I consider some of the more important bug fixes and resolved issues as they pertain to my deployments of vSphere.

Note: Still appears that there is no resolution to the vMotion errors I reported on earlier in the year or the bugs around the mClock Scheduler and IOPS Limiter on NFS.

ESXi 5.5 Update 3:

  • Status of some disks might be displayed as UNCONFIGURED GOOD instead of ONLINEStatus of some disks on an ESXi 5.5 host might be displayed as UNCONFIGURED GOOD instead of ONLINE. This issue occurs for LSI controller using the LSI CIM provider.
  • Cloning CBT-enabled virtual machine templates from ESXi hosts might failAttempt to clone CBT-enabled virtual machines templates simultaneously from two different ESXi 5.5 hosts might fail. An error message similar to the following is displayed:Failed to open VM_template.vmdk': Could not open/create change tracking file (2108).
  • ESXi hosts with the virtual machines having e1000 or e1000e vNIC driver might fail with a purple screenESXi hosts with the virtual machines having e1000 or e1000e vNIC driver might fail with a purple screen when you enable TCP segmentation Offload (TSO). Error messages similar to the following might be written to the log files:cpu7:nnnnnn)Code start: 0xnnnnnnnnnnnn VMK uptime: 9:21:12:17.991 cpu7:nnnnnn)0xnnnnnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnnnnnn]E1000TxTSOSend@vmkernel#nover+0x65b stack: 0xnnnnnnnnnn cpu7:nnnnnn)0xnnnnnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnnnnnn]E1000PollTxRing@vmkernel#nover+0x18ab stack: 0xnnnnnnnnnnnn cpu7:nnnnnn)0xnnnnnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnnnnnn]E1000DevAsyncTx@vmkernel#nover+0xa2 stack: 0xnnnnnnnnnnnn cpu7:nnnnnn)0xnnnnnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnnnnnn]NetWorldletPerVMCB@vmkernel#nover+0xae stack: 0xnnnnnnnnnnnn cpu7:nnnnnn)0xnnnnnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnnnnnn]WorldletProcessQueue@vmkernel#nover+0x488 stack: 0xnnnnnnnnnnnn cpu7:nnnnnn)0xnnnnnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnnnnnn]WorldletBHHandler@vmkernel#nover+0x60 stack: 0xnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn cpu7:nnnnnn)0xnnnnnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnnnnnn]BH_Check@vmkernel#nover+0x185 stack: 0xnnnnnnnnnnnn
  • Attempts to reboot Windows 8 and Windows 2012 server on ESXi host virtual machines might failAfter you reboot, the Windows 8 and Windows 2012 Server virtual machines might become unresponsive when the Microsoft Windows boot splash screen appears. For more information refer, Knowledge Base article 2092807.
  • Attempts to install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Solaris 10 Update 3 virtual machine might fail
    Attempts to install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Solaris 10 Update 3 virtual machine might fail with the following error message:Detected X version 6.9
    Could not read /usr/lib/vmware-tools/configurator/XOrg/7.0/vmwlegacy_drv.so Execution aborted.This issue occurs if the vmware-config-tools.pl script copies the vmwlegacy_drv.so file, which should not be used in Xorg 6.9.

In going through the remaining Known Issues you come across a lot of Flash Read Cache related problems…maybe VMware should call it a day with this feature…not sure if anyone has the balls to actually use it in production…be interested to hear? There are also a lot of VSAN issues still being reported as known with workarounds in place…all the more reason to start a VSAN journey with vSphere 6.0.

For a look at what’s new and for the release notes in full…click on the links below:

VMware ESXi™ 5.5 Update 3 | 16 SEP 2015 | Build 3029944

vCenter Server 5.5 Update 3 | 16 SEP 2015 | Build 3000241