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ESX Server 3.0.1, Patch ESX-3199476: vmxnet Shutdown Leads to System Crash

Details

Resolved Issues

This patch fixes an issue where the vmxnet driver may cause a Windows virtual machine to crash. 
 
This patch is mandatory for using Microsoft Clustering Service (MSCS) with Windows 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and R2 guest operating systems. (For more information, view KB 2021.)

Solution

Applicability

This patch is for ESX Server 3.0.1 only.

Installing the Patch

Download Instructions

Download and verify the patch bundle as follows :

  1. Download patch ESX-3199476 from http://kb.vmware.com/kb/3199476.

  2. Log into the ESX Server service console as root.

  3. Create a local depot directory.

    # mkdir /var/updates

    Note: VMware recommends that you use the /var/updates directory.

  4. Change your working directory to /var/updates.

    # cd /var/updates

  5. Download the tar file into the /var/updates directory.

  6. Verify the integrity of the downloaded tar file:

    # md5sum ESX-3199476.tgz

  7. The md5 checksum output should match the following:

    a12c77bd49c65f7a333dd8e70a6ec729 ESX-3199476.tgz

  8. Extract the compressed tar archive:

    # tar -xvzf ESX-3199476.tgz

  9. Change to the newly created directory, /var/updates/ESX-3199476:

    # cd ESX-3199476

Installation Instructions

Note: All virtual machines on the host must be either shut down or migrated using VMotion before applying the patch.  No reboot of the ESX Server Host is required after applying this patch.
 
Once you have downloaded and extracted the archive, and if you are in the directory you created above, install the update using the following command:

# esxupdate update

If you want to run esxupdate from a different directory, you must specify the bundle path in the command:

# esxupdate -r file://<directory>/ESX-3199476 update

For example, if the host is called depot:

# esxupdate –r file:///depot/var/updates/ESX-3199476 update

During the update process, logs appear on the terminal. You can specify the verbosity of esxupdate logs by using the -v option as shown below.

# esxupdate -v 10 -r file://<directory>/ESX-3199476 update

For more information on using esxupdate, please refer to the Patch Management for ESX Server 3 tech note at http://www.vmware.com/pdf/esx3_esxupdate.pdf.

Upgrading VMware Tools

After installing this patch, upgrade the VMware Tools, which upgrades your vmxnet networking driver for some guest operating systems. You need the current vmxnet driver to take advantage of this patch.
 
The procedure for upgrading the VMware Tools is identical to the initial installation procedure for VMware tools, described in the Basic System Administration guide. View http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_admin_guide.pdf.

To verify that the upgrade was successful and the new driver is installed, check the driver version in the Windows Device Manager as follows:

  1. Start the Windows Device Manager by choosing Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Computer Management.

  2. On the Computer Management screen, highlight Device Manager in the left pane.

  3. In the right pane of the Computer Management screen, expand Network adapters.

  4. Choose VMware Accelerated PCNet Adapter > Properties, and select the Driver tab.

  5. The following statistics appear if you have the current version (as of 3/5/07) installed:

    Driver Provider = VMware Inc
    Driver Version = 2.0.0.9

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Actions
  • KB Article: 3199476
  • Updated: Aug 14, 2009
  • Products:
    VMware ESX
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ESX 3.0.x