Knowledge Base

Some modules cannot be removed during an upgrade because they are required during the runtime of ESX Server hosts. The files reside in a subdirectory of /lib/modules. The subdirectories have names in the format <kernel version>vmnix. If all that is contained in the subdirectory are files in the format modules.<module name> and no other files or directories, these files and the subdirectory are not being used by the current version of ESX Server. These leftover files are text, not binaries, taking up about 110kb and have no effect on the ESX Server host.

 

If the subdirectory contains other directories or files not of the format modules.<module name>, the directory is possibly being used by the current version of the ESX Server software and should not be modified or removed.

 

For example, after the upgrade of the ESX Server installation, a directory listing of the /lib/modules directory might result in the following output:

This directory structure is the normal result of an upgrade and neither these directories or the files within them should be removed.