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VMware ESX Server 3.0.3, ESX303-200809405-BG: Fix for kernel oops During VMware Tools Installation on 2.4.2 or 2.4.9 Linux Kernels

Details

Release Date: 09/30/08

Document Last Updated: 09/30/08

Download Size:

52 MB
Download Filename:
ESX303-200809405-BG.zip
md5sum:

588ab659b5e0f5bc9aebf15fdc9f1acf

Product Versions	ESX Server 3.0.3
Patch Classification	General
Supersedes	ESX303-200808405-BG
Requires	ESX303-200808403-SG, ESX303-200808404-SG
Virtual Machine Migration or Reboot Required	No
ESX Server Host Reboot Required	No
PRs Fixed	277520
Affected Hardware	N/A
Affected Software	Linux VMware Tools
RPMs Included	VMware-esx-tools
Related CVE numbers	N/A

Solution

Summaries and Symptoms

In Linux kernels 2.4.2 and 2.4.9, removing of pcnet32 module and adding vmxnet module during Linux VMware Tools installation leaves the kernel in an unpredictable state, and might result in a kernel oops . This issue is resolved by retaining pcnet32 module after VMware Tools installation on these kernels, inserting vmxnet module, and waiting for the next reboot for the vmxnet module to take over the guest network.

Symptom: Adding the vmxnet module during VMware Tools installation on Linux kernels 2.4.2 or 2.4.9 leaves the kernels in an unpredictable state and might result in a kernel oops.

Deployment Considerations

None beyond the required patch bundles and reboot information listed in the table, above.

Patch Download and Installation

See the VMware Update Manager Administration Guide for instructions on using VMware Update Manager to download and install patches to automatically update ESX Server 3.0.3 hosts.

To update ESX Server 3.0.3 hosts when not using VMware Update Manager, download the most recent patch bundle from http://support.vmware.com/selfsupport/download/ and install the bundle using esxupdate from the command line of the host. For more information, see the ESX Server 3 Patch Management Guide .

Keywords

esxpatch;esx303

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