• ESXi 5.5/6.0 host running Emulex FC or FCoE HBAs becomes unresponsive in vCenter Server.
  
  Note: The host still responds to ping and SSH but appears to be stopped at the console.
  
  
• The ESXi 5.5/6.0 host uses the Emulex native driver (lpfc). This issue occurs when you are using lpfc driver version earlier than 10.2.340.18
  
  
• Disconnections during periods of high I/O can cause the Emulex HBA driver to abort I/O.
  
  
• In the /var/log/ vmkernel.log file, you see the entries similar to:
  
  YYYY-MM-DD TIME 793Z cpu15:789970)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_sli4_iocbq_lookup:2678: 1:0372 iotag x563 not on txcmplq - max iotag (xec0)
  
  
• In the lpfc driver, you see entries similar to:
  
  YYYY-MM-DD TIME 512Z cpu3:3472551)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_abort_handler:2945: 1:(0):0748 abort handler timed out waiting for aborting I/O xri x13ea to complete: ret xbad0001, cmd x2a, tgt_id x0, lun_id x0
  
  
• In the /var/log/vmkernel.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  2015-11-24T13:46:11.128Z cpu48:33636)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_mbx_cmpl_read_topology:3158: 0:1305 Link Down Event x2 received Data: x2 x20 x110 x0
  ...
  2015-11-24T13:46:21.131Z cpu55:33636)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_dev_loss_tmo_handler:212: 0:(0):0203 Devloss timeout on WWPN 50:00:09:73:00:23:05:30 NPort x430000 Data: x0 x8 x0
  2015-11-24T13:46:21.131Z cpu55:33636)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_dev_loss_tmo_handler:212: 0:(0):0203 Devloss timeout on WWPN 50:00:09:73:00:23:05:28 NPort x430020 Data: x0 x8 x0
  2015-11-24T13:46:21.131Z cpu55:33636)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_dev_loss_tmo_handler:212: 0:(0):0203 Devloss timeout on WWPN 50:00:09:73:00:2a:01:30 NPort x430080 Data: x0 x8 x0
  2015-11-24T13:46:21.131Z cpu55:33636)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_dev_loss_tmo_handler:212: 0:(0):0203 Devloss timeout on WWPN 50:00:09:73:00:2a:01:28 NPort x4300a0 Data: x0 x8 x0
  2015-11-24T13:46:21.131Z cpu55:33636)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_dev_loss_tmo_handler:212: 0:(0):0203 Devloss timeout on WWPN 50:00:09:73:00:2a:29:30 NPort x430120 Data: x0 x8 x0
  2015-11-24T13:46:21.132Z cpu55:33636)WARNING: lpfc: lpfc_dev_loss_tmo_handler:212: 0:(0):0203 Devloss timeout on WWPN 50:00:09:73:00:2a:29:28 NPort x430140 Data: x0 x8 x0
  
  Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.
  

This is a known issue affecting ESXi 5.5 and ESXi 6.0 hosts.

• The linked Emulex driver version 10.2.340.18 is also compatible with ESXi 6.0.
• To obtain the recommended firmware version to use with lpfc driver 10.2.340.18, contact your server vendor.
  
  Note: The preceding links were correct as of December 22, 2015. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.