VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 1 host fails with a purple diagnostic screen and reports the error: PANIC bora/vmkernel/main/dlmalloc.c:4923 - Usage error in dlmalloc
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VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 1 host fails with a purple diagnostic screen and reports the error: PANIC bora/vmkernel/main/dlmalloc.c:4923 - Usage error in dlmalloc

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Article ID: 318451

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
  • VMware ESXi 6.x host fails with a purple diagnostic screen.
  • Netflow function is enabled on the ESXi host.
  • The purple diagnostic screen contains entries similar to:

    @BlueScreen: PANIC bora/vmkernel/main/dlmalloc.c:4923 - Usage error in dlmalloc
    PTEs:0xnnnnnnnn;0xnnnnnnnn;0x0;
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]PanicvPanicInt@vmkernel#nover+0x37e
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]Panic_NoSave@vmkernel#nover+0x4d
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]DLM_free@vmkernel#nover+0x676
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]Heap_Free@vmkernel#nover+0xb9
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]PktMemFree@vmkernel#nover+0x2c
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]Pkt_DropOrComplete@vmkernel#nover+0x188
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]Port_IOCompleteList@vmkernel#nover+0x12f
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]PktListIOCompleteInt@vmkernel#nover+0x158
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]EtherswitchPortDispatch@<None>#<None>+0x800
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]Port_InputResume@vmkernel#nover+0x17b
    0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]Net_AcceptRxList@vmkernel#nover+0x115


Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0

Cause

This issue occurs when attempting to free the packet header cache stored in the pkt handle memory.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 2, available at VMware Downloads. For more information, see the VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 2 Release Notes.

If you are unable to upgrade at this time, follow the workaround.

To work around the issue, disable NetFlow monitoring on all the dvSwitches and Portgroups in vCenter Server.
 
To disable NetFlow monitoring:
  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Inventory > Networking.
  2. For every dvSwitch:
     
    1. Click dvPortGroup and dvUplinksGroup.
    2. Click Edit Settings > Monitoring.
    3. Change the NetFlow status setting to Disabled.

If you are using VMware NSX for vSphere 6.x:

  1. From vCenter Server using the vSphere Web Client, navigate to Networking & Security > Flow Monitoring.
  2. Click the Configuration Tab.
  3. Under Global Flow Collection Status, click Disable.


Additional Information

To be alerted when this document is updated, click the Subscribe to Article link in the Actions box.
 
Also see KB 2149909 VMware ESXi 5.5 & 6.0 may fail with PSOD when IPFIX is disabled
VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 1 ホストが失敗し、紫色の診断画面が表示され、次のエラーが報告される： PANIC bora/vmkernel/main/dlmalloc.c:4923 - Usage error in dlmalloc
VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 1 主机失败并显示紫色诊断屏幕，其中报告以下错误：PANIC bora/vmkernel/main/dlmalloc.c:4923 - Usage error in dlmalloc
VMware ESXi 5.5 & 6.0 fail with PSOD when IPFIX is disabled

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