Updating the firmware and driver on an HBA on ESXi 5.0

When updating firmware on an HBA, it will update the driver at the same time as both parts are included in the installation VIB file.

First step is to verify the type of HBA in your ESXi host:

Run the following command:

# esxcfg-scsidevs -a

Or see this KB article for more info

In the example below, the HBA is a Qlogic ISP2532 PCI-Express

However, this name will not always be used to (at least not in the case of HP) in the documentation when you're looking for a specific model.

Another way to get info on the HBA type can be combined with locating the firware version (see next step)

Next step is to identify the current firmware level of the HBA:

For a Qlogic HBA, use the following command:

# more /proc/scsi/qla2xxx/0

(The '0' can also be a '1' or a '2')

For other types of HBAs, see this KB article

In the screendump above, you can see firmware and driver version and also another name for the HBA, QMH2562.

Now that we know the model and firmware version, we can look for the latest recommended version.

Go to this KB article to find the latest version.

For HP, it takes you to the following site: http://vibsdepot.hp.com/hpq/recipes/ where you should choose the PDF called: "HP-VMware-Recipe.pdf" which is the latest one.

In the PDF, you can search for you model, in this case QMH2562:

Find your model and follow the link. It will let you download a zip file. In this example the file is called:

qla2xxx-934.5.6.0-887798.zip

Unpack the zip file and locate the .vib file which will be used for the update.

In this case the .vib file is called:

scsi-qla2xxx-934.5.6.0-1OEM.500.0.0.472560.x86_64.vib

Now, transfer the .vib file to the following folder on the ESXi host:

/var/log/vmware

Run the following command:

# esxcli software vib update -v scsi-qla2xxx-934.5.6.0-1OEM.500.0.0.472560.x86_64.vib

Reboot to finish updating.

And then verify that the update has properly installed by re-running:

# more /proc/scsi/qla2xxx/0

You can also get detailed VIB package info by running:

# esxcli software vib list | grep scsi
# esxcli software vib get -n scsi-qla2xxx

Locate WWN from console on ESXi 5.x

Sometimes for urgent cases it can be necessary to obtain the HBA's WWN's to get the storage zoned before the network configurations are done and the hosts are online. On Blade servers, this info can be found on the enclosure OA but for rack mounted servers you can only get it from the console.

From the console (press Alt-F1 at the console, remember to enable shell access first under troubleshooting) login as root and run the following command:

# esxcfg-scsidevs -a

look for the lines starting with vmhba1 and vmhba2 (vmhba0 is typically the scsi controller) and the fc.XXX:XXX. The last numbers after the ":" is the WWN (see screen dump below)

View HBA firmware version from service console

To view HBA firmware version from service console (ESX classic) go to /proc/scsi/qla or lpfc820.
Here you will typically find to text files, e.g. '2' and '3'. Run a 'cat' or 'more' on the files (see screendump below). See this post for more info

For ESXi v5.x, see this link.

Identifying your WWN id's via ILO

For the storage department to be able to zone up one or more LUNs to a given ESX host, they need three pieces of information:

• ESX host name (FQDN)
• WWN id's of the HBA's
• If new LUN, then the size of the LUN. If you're zoning existing LUNs, then they need to know the storage group that the host should be added to (this can be done by providing hostname of one or two existing hosts that already have that zoning).

The WWN id can be identified both from the VI client (Configuration -> Storage Adapters) and from the service console. But this can only be done after ESX has been installed.

Sometimes, it can be useful to be able to fetch WWN info before the host has been installed. This way, the storage department can begin zoning right away.

To identify WWN id's from ILO

• Log into ILO either directly or via the blade enclosure
• Go to the Information tab of your server
• WWN id can be found under the info box for your HBA (see screendump below)

Howto: Check if SAN cables are connected in ESX

When installing an ESX host and you have someone other than yourself taking care of the cabling of the host, it is very handy to be able to check wheather this has been done properly. You want to be able to verify that the HBA's have been physically connected to the fabric switches with fibre cables.

Ssh to the ESX host

ls to the /proc/scsi/qla2300 folder (if it's a Qlogic HBA...)

In this folder there are a number of text files named with the numbers 1-x corresponding to the number of HBA ports in your ESX.

Cat the files one at a time:

#cat 1

or

#cat /proc/scsi/qla2300/1

look for the following line in the files:

Host adapter:loop state=READY, flags= 0x8430403

If it says READY, the HBA has been physically connected to the fibre switch. If it says DEAD, then it is not.