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ESX or ESXi appears as Not Responding in vCenter Server due to CD/DVD-ROM drive firmware issues

Symptoms

An ESX hosts status is Not Responding or Disconnected in vCenter Server.
The host stops accepting connections from the vSphere Client.
The /var/log/vmkernel log file contains errors similar to:

Feb 22 19:01:30 vm10 vmkernel: 142:04:13:17.468 cpu7:4212)ata_scsi_abort: ap 0x41000b870e88, cmd 0x41000e03b4c0, FAILED
Feb 22 19:01:30 vm10 vmkernel: 142:04:13:17.468 cpu7:4212)WARNING: SCSILinuxAbortCommands Failed, Driver ata_piix, for vmhba3
Feb 22 19:01:30 vm10 vmkernel: 142:04:13:17.468 cpu7:4212)WARNING: ScsiPath: 4969: Set retry timeout for failed TaskMgmt abort for CmdSN 0x0, status Failure, path vmhba3:C0:T0:L0
Feb 22 19:01:32 vm10 vmkernel: 142:04:13:19.468 cpu7:4212)ata_scsi_abort: ap 0x41000b870e88, qc 0x41000b871958, cmd 0x41000e03b4c0, tag 0, flags 1, waiting for completion

Or

Jul 28 21:24:05 vmkernel: 1:23:46:13.014 cpu18:4698)<6>ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100
Jul 28 21:24:05 vmkernel: 1:23:46:13.014 cpu18:4698)<6>ata1: EH complete
Jul 28 21:24:05 vmkernel: 1:23:46:13.023 cpu18:4698)<3>ata1.00: exception Emask 0x40 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x800 action 0x2
Jul 28 21:24:05 vmkernel: 1:23:46:13.024 cpu18:4698)<3>ata1.00: (irq_stat 0x40000001)
Jul 28 21:24:05 vmkernel: 1:23:46:13.024 cpu18:4698)<3>ata1.00: tag 0 cmd 0xa0 Emask 0x40 stat 0x51 err 0x24 (internal error)
Jul 28 21:24:05 vmkernel: 1:23:46:13.343 cpu20:4698)<6>ata1: soft resetting port
Jul 28 21:24:05 vmkernel: 1:23:46:13.549 cpu20:4698)<6>ata1: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300)
The /var/log/vmware/hostd log file contains errors similar to:

[2009-12-22 11:18:47.096 F66956D0 info 'HostsvcPlugin'] Plugin initialized
[2009-12-22 11:18:47.096 F66956D0 info 'App'] Trying httpnfcsvc
[2009-12-22 11:18:47.096 F66956D0 verbose 'App'] Plugin 4 statically linked
[2009-12-22 11:18:47.096 F66956D0 verbose 'App'] [DiskLibWrapperLoader_Init] Trying to load disk lib: diskLibWrapper.so,
[2009-12-22 11:18:47.110 F66956D0 verbose 'App'] [DiskLibWrapperLoader_Init] Successfully loaded disk lib.
[2009-12-22 11:18:47.129 F66956D0 panic 'HttpNfcSvc'] Another process is listening on port 12001.
[2009-12-22 11:18:47.129 F66956D0 panic 'HttpNfcSvc'] Please make sure other instances of hostd are not running.
[2009-12-22 11:18:47.129 F66956D0 panic 'HttpNfcSvc'] Failed to initialize http nfc service.
If you execute the command esxcfg-scsidevs -l , depending on your CD/DVD-ROM drive's model or revision, you see output similar to:

mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0
   Device Type: CD-ROM
   Size: 0 MB
   Display Name: Local TEAC CD-ROM (mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0)
   Plugin: NMP
   Console Device: /dev/sr0
   Devfs Path: /vmfs/devices/genscsi/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0
   Vendor: TEAC      Model: DV-28E-V          Revis: C.AB
   SCSI Level: 5 Is Pseudo: false Status: on
   Is RDM Capable: false Is Removable: true
   Is Local: true
   Other Names:
      vml.0005000000766d686261313a303a30

Resolution

In ESX/ESX 4.x, this issue can occasionally occur if the ESX host is physically connected to a TEAC DV-28 series CD/DVD-ROM drive. For more information, see Known Issues in the VMware ESX or ESXi 4.0 Release Notes.

To work around this issue, perform one of these options:

Upgrade the DVD drive firmware to the latest version available
Replace the CD/DVD-ROM drive with a different model

Additional Information

Note: If the above two workarounds are not successful, place a CD / DVD media in the device, and verify if the log spew and host disconnection issue are addressed.

Update History

07/30/2010 - Initial Version for ESX 4.0 03/10/2011 - Updated as issue may occasionally occur on ESX 4.x.

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