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PowerPath/VE 5.7 does not load on VMware vSphere version 5.1 (2034796)

Details

PowerPath/VE 5.7 does not load on VMware vSphere 5.1
If you perform an upgrade from vSphere 5.0 to vSphere 5.1 with PowerPath/VE 5.7 or PowerPath/VE 5.7 P01 already present, you may experience these symptoms:
- Persistent settings, such as load balancing policy or feature enable/disable, are not preserved across reboots.
- ESXi may fail with a purple diagnostics screen similar to:
  
  cpu7:75363)@BlueScreen: #PF Exception 14 in world 75363:sfcb-CIMXML- IP 0x41802b0c8f7d addr 0x0
  cpu7:75363)Code start: 0x41802ac00000 VMK uptime: 1:00:39:33.568
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbd60:[0x41802b0c8f7d]UserVmfs_FcntlLock@<None>#<None>+0x6c stack: 0x0
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbdc0:[0x41802b07c429]UserObj_FDClose@<None>#<None>+0x158 stack: 0x0
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbde0:[0x41802b07c522]UserObj_EarlyCartelCleanup@<None>#<None>+0x39 stack: 0x4122198dbe20
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbe30:[0x41802b07321b]UserModuleTableRun@<None>#<None>+0x8a stack: 0x4122198dbe60
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbe80:[0x41802b075371]User_ExitDeadThread@<None>#<None>+0x138 stack: 0x4100198c0ff0
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbeb0:[0x41802b0753f6]UserKernelExit@<None>#<None>+0x7d stack: 0x41802adb7d19
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbef0:[0x41802b07592f]User_LinuxSyscallHandler@<None>#<None>+0x31a stack: 0x0
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbf10:[0x41802aca81fe]User_LinuxSyscallHandler@vmkernel#nover+0x19 stack: 0xff8e1308
  cpu7:75363)0x4122198dbf20:[0x41802ad10064]gate_entry@vmkernel#nover+0x63 stack: 0x0
  cpu7:75363)base fs=0x0 gs=0x418041c00000 Kgs=0x

Solution

Cause

PowerPath/VE 5.7 and PowerPath/VE 5.7 P01 have not been qualified with vSphere 5.1. Upgrading to vSphere 5.1 may result in unpredictable behaviour.

Resolution

For customers using PowerPath/VE, VMware recommends that you do not upgrade to vSphere 5.1 until you perform the steps in this article.

To resolve this issue and upgrade PowerPath/VE 5.7 with vSphere 5.1, you need to download either:

An updated ESXi 5.1 ISO image from the vSphere Download Center.
ESXi510-201210001 from the Patch Download Center. For more information about the patch, see VMware ESXi 5.1, Patch Release ESXi510-201210001 (2034548).

This table outlines the scenarios and provides complete steps to resolve the issue:

Scenario Steps to resolve

You have deployed vSphere 5.0 and are planning to upgrade to vSphere 5.1.

Upgrade PowerPath/VE 5.7 or PowerPath/VE 5.7 P01 to PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 on vSphere 5.0.
Navigate to the vSphere Download Center.
Click View Download for the VMware ESXi 5.1.0 Installable for your version of ESXi.
On the Product Downloads tab, download VMware-VMvisor-Installer-201210001-838463.x86_64.iso and perform the upgrade.

You have already upgraded vSphere 5.1 with PowerPath/VE 5.7 or PowerPath/VE 5.7 P01 installed.

Download ESXi510-201210001 from the Patch Download Center. You can search for the patch by the release date (October 24, 2012).

Install ESXi510-201210001.

Download PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 from EMC PowerLink and install it.

Notes:

You may need to reconfigure PowerPath/VE options.

PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 is a full package release. It can be installed on a fresh ESXi host (that is, a host with no previous version of PowerPath installed) or as an upgrade.

You are already on vSphere 5.1 with PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 installed.

Download ESXi510-201210001 from the Patch Download Center. You can search for the patch by the release date (October 24, 2012).

Install ESXi510-201210001.

Notes:

You may need to reconfigure PowerPath/VE options.

PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 is a full package release. It can be installed on a fresh ESXi host (that is, a host with no previous version of PowerPath installed) or as an upgrade.

Additional Information

For related information from EMC, see EMC KB emc302625.

For information on contacting VMware Support, see Filing a Support Request in My VMware (2006985).

Update History

10/25/2012 - Updated patch information

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Scenario	Steps to resolve
You have deployed vSphere 5.0 and are planning to upgrade to vSphere 5.1.	Upgrade PowerPath/VE 5.7 or PowerPath/VE 5.7 P01 to PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 on vSphere 5.0. Navigate to the vSphere Download Center. Click View Download for the VMware ESXi 5.1.0 Installable for your version of ESXi. On the Product Downloads tab, download VMware-VMvisor-Installer-201210001-838463.x86_64.iso and perform the upgrade.
You have already upgraded vSphere 5.1 with PowerPath/VE 5.7 or PowerPath/VE 5.7 P01 installed.	Download ESXi510-201210001 from the Patch Download Center. You can search for the patch by the release date (October 24, 2012). Install ESXi510-201210001. Download PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 from EMC PowerLink and install it. Notes: You may need to reconfigure PowerPath/VE options. PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 is a full package release. It can be installed on a fresh ESXi host (that is, a host with no previous version of PowerPath installed) or as an upgrade.
You are already on vSphere 5.1 with PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 installed.	Download ESXi510-201210001 from the Patch Download Center. You can search for the patch by the release date (October 24, 2012). Install ESXi510-201210001. Notes: You may need to reconfigure PowerPath/VE options. PowerPath/VE 5.7 P02 is a full package release. It can be installed on a fresh ESXi host (that is, a host with no previous version of PowerPath installed) or as an upgrade.

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