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VMware ESX 4.0, Patch ESX400-201105216-UG: Updates the VMware ESX 4.0 bnx2x device driver (1031124)

Details

Release date: May 05, 2011

Patch Classification
 Critical
Build Information
For build information, see KB 1031732.
Also see KB 1012514.
Host Reboot Required
Yes
Virtual Machine Migration or Shutdown Required
Yes
PRs Fixed
615891
Affected Hardware
N/A
Affected Software
N/A
VIBs Included
 vmware-esx-drivers-net-bnx2x
Related CVE numbers
N/A

 
 
 

Solution

Summaries and Symptoms

This patch resolves the following issue:

An ESX host with Broadcom bnx2x driver might exhibit the following symptoms:
  • The ESX host might frequently disconnect from the network.
  • The ESX host might stop responding with a purple diagnostic screen that displays messages similar to the following:

    [0x41802834f9c0]bnx2x_rx_int@esx:nover: 0x184f stack: 0x580067b28, 0x417f80067b97, 0x
    [0x418028361880]bnx2x_poll@esx:nover: 0x1cf stack: 0x417f80067c64, 0x4100bc410628, 0x
    [0x41802825013a]napi_poll@esx:nover: 0x10d stack: 0x417fe8686478, 0x41000eac2b90, 0x4
  • The ESX host might stop responding with a purple diagnostic screen that displays messages similar to the following:

    0:18:56:51.183 cu10:4106)0x417f80057838:[0x4180016e7793]PktContainerGetPkt@vmkernel:nover+0xde stack: 0x1
    0:18:56:51.184 pu10:4106)0x417f80057868:[0x4180016e78d2]Pkt_SlabAlloc@vmkernel:nover+0x81 stack: 0x417f800578d8
    0:18:56:51.184 cpu10:4106)0x417f80057888:[0x4180016e7acc]Pkt_AllocWithUseSizeNFlags@vmkernel:nover+0x17 stack: 0x417f800578b8
    0:18:56:51.185 cpu10:4106)0x417f800578b8:[0x41800175aa9d]vmk_PktAllocWithFlags@vmkernel:nover+0x6c stack: 0x1
    0:18:56:51.185 cpu10:4106)0x417f800578f8:[0x418001a63e45]vmklnx_dev_alloc_skb@esx:nover+0x9c stack: 0x4100aea1e988
    0:18:56:51.185 cpu10:4106)0x417f80057918:[0x418001a423da]__netdev_alloc_skb@esx:nover+0x1d stack: 0x417f800579a8
    0:18:56:51.186 cpu10:4106)0x417f80057b08:[0x418001b6c0cf]bnx2x_rx_int@esx:nover+0xf5e stack: 0x0 0:18:56:51.186 cpu10:4106)0x417f80057b48:[0x418001b7e880]bnx2x_poll@esx:nover+0x1cf stack: 0x417f80057c64 0:18:56:51.187 cpu10:4106)0x417f80057bc8:[0x418001a6513a]napi_poll@esx:nover+0x10d stack: 0x417fc1f0d078
  • The bnx2x driver or firmware sends panic messages and writes a backtrace with messages similar to the following in the /var/log/vmkernel log file:

    vmkernel: 0:00:34:23.762 cpu8:4401)<3>[bnx2x_attn_int_deasserted3:3379(vmnic0)]MC assert!
    vmkernel: 0:00:34:23.762 cpu8:4401)<3>[bnx2x_attn_int_deasserted3:3384(vmnic0)]driver assert
    vmkernel: 0:00:34:23.762 cpu8:4401)<3>[bnx2x_panic_dump:634(vmnic0)]begin crash dump

Deployment Considerations

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

Patch Download and Installation

See the VMware vCenter Update Manager Administration Guide for instructions on using Update Manager to download and install patches to automatically update ESX 4.0 hosts.

To update ESX 4.0 hosts when not using Update Manager, download the patch zip file from http://support.vmware.com/selfsupport/download/ and install the bulletin using esxupdate from the command line of the host. For more information, see the ESX 4 Patch Management Guide.

Request a Product Feature

To request a new product feature or to provide feedback on a VMware product, please visit the Request a Product Feature page.

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