VMware

VMware ESX Server 2.5.4 Upgrade Patch 6 (for 2.5.4 Systems Only)

Released 3/29/07




ESX Server 2.5.4 Upgrade Patch 6 (build 41630) has been completely recalled and is no longer supported. Upgrade to ESX Server 2.5.4 Upgrade Patch 7 (build 44615) is required:

http://www.vmware.com/support/esx25/doc/esx-254-200703-2-patch.html

This document contains the following information:

Recall of ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630) Final Notice - Fix Available

Updated 4/19/07

ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630) has been recalled. The fix is available for immediate download in the form of a new patch ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 7 (build 44615). Follow the instructions on the patch download page.

For systems already running ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630):

If your system is already running ESX Server 2.5.4 patch 6 (Build #41630), download and install the new patch at the ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 7 (build 44615) Download Page:

http://www.vmware.com/support/esx25/doc/esx-254-200703-2-patch.html

For other ESX Server 2.5.4 Systems:

ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630) has been fully recalled and is no longer available on VMware's web site. If you have already downloaded it, skip this patch release when performing patch upgrades.

If you have any questions, please contact support at 877-4-VMWARE.

Recall of ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630) Update

Updated 4/18/07

As an additional side effect of the memory issue found with ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630), some customers may experience a loss of network connectivity for virtual machines after powering-off and then powering-on virtual machines configured with the vmxnet virtual NIC driver.

A possible workaround for this problem is to power off all the virtual machines on the host, rebooting the host and then powering back on all the virtual machines.

Avoid virtual machine power-offs, suspensions and VMotion on servers running ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630) until a new patch is available.

Recall of ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630)

Updated 4/16/07

ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630) has been recalled in the interest of stability for ESX Servers.

In an environment where Windows and Linux virtual machines are configured with vmxnet virtual NIC driver, when the virtual machine is either powered off, suspended or migrated live via VMotion to another host, a small amount of memory is not freed. Hence, multiple virtual machine power-offs, suspensions and VMotions may cause the host to run low on memory.

A replacement patch which fixes this issue will be released soon.

Workarounds:

Minimize virtual machine power-offs, suspensions and VMotion on servers running ESX Server 2.5.4 Patch 6 (build 41630) until a new patch is available.

If this patch has already been applied to the system and the host is running low on memory resulting in the inability to power on virtual machines, possible workarounds include:

  • Cold migrating the virtual machine to another ESX host with sufficient memory.

If the virtual machine must be started on the same ESX host, possible workarounds include:

  • Migrating all the virtual machines to another host using VMotion, rebooting the host, and migrating the virtual machines back to the original host.

  • Powering off/suspending the virtual machines, rebooting the host and powering on/resuming the virtual machines.

Resolved Issues

This patch addresses the following issues:

  • Fixed an issue where ESX Server may fail to operate due to a race condition while powering off virtual machines.

  • This patch includes a kernel enhancement to prevent system hangs on servers with bus numbers greater than or equal to 32.

Applicability

This patch is an ESX Server 2.5.4 patch. Please make sure that ESX Server 2.5.4 build 32233 or later is installed before applying the patch. Run vmware -v to display version and build information for your system.

Note: For IBM X460 server, please follow the instructions in KB article 8949128 to boot the server into maintenance mode before applying the patch.

Installing the Update

Note: VMware recommends backing up your ESX Server installation before installing this patch. Also, a minimum of 350 MB of temporary free space on "/" filesystem is required for installing this patch.

This update requires you to boot your server into Linux mode to perform the upgrade. When you are prompted to reboot at the end of the upgrade, the installer will restart your system to run ESX Server.

  1. Power off all virtual machines.
  2. Restart your system.
  3. At the LILO Boot Menu, select the option appropriate for your system.
    • For a boot-from-SAN installation, select esx-san-safe.
    • For all other installations, select linux-up.
  4. Log in as root into the ESX Server service console, in Linux mode.
  5. Download the tar file into the temporary directory under /root on your ESX Server service console.
  6. Change your working directory to that directory.
  7. Verify the integrity of the package:
    # md5sum esx-2.5.4-44615-upgrade.tar.gz

    The md5 checksum output should match the following:
    0ba76236a1feb5bd0c779268e5517897 esx-2.5.4-44615-upgrade.tar.gz

  8. Extract the compressed tar archive:
    # tar -xvzf esx-2.5.4-44615-upgrade.tar.gz
  9. Change to the newly created directory:
    # cd esx-2.5.4-44615-upgrade
  10. Run the installer:
    # ./upgrade.pl
  11. The system updates have now been installed. A reboot prompt displays:
    Reboot the server now [y/n]?

    12. This update will not be complete until you reboot the ESX Server. If you enter N, to indicate that you will not reboot at this time, ESX Server displays the warning message "Please reboot the server manually. Your virtual machines will not run properly until this is done." If you see this message, you must manually reboot the server to complete the driver update.

  12. At the reboot prompt, enter Y to reboot the server.