10GB Nics Do Not Appear After ESXi 6.0 U1b Update (Emulex HP NC550SFP)

If after ESXi upgrade the host does not see network card. You need to check the compatibility of drivers which came with a new ESXi version with your network card firmware. This example is for Emulex HP NC550SFP (Part Number  581201-B21) and ESXi 6.0 U1b HP custom image.

  1. Check the current BIOS version for Emulex 10GB card (version 4.9.416.2)
BIOS_Emulex_HP_NC550SFP

BIOS_Emulex_HP_NC550SFP

2. Check VMware Compatability Guide for the specific network card (i.e. HP NC550SFP http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=17123)

VMware Compatability Guide HP NC550SFP

3. SSH to host and check the firmware version installed: esxcli software vib list | grep elxnet

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_01

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_01

VMware ESXi 6.0 U1b comes with 10.5.121.7-OEM.600.0.0.2159203 driver for elxnet. This driver does not support the NC550SFP card’s firmware version. Need to downgrade the drivers.

4. Download the driver version required (10.2.298.5)

5. Remove the elxnet vib: esxcli software vib remove -n elxnet

6. Install the required driver version: esxcli software vib install -d “/vmfs/volumes/datastore/tmp/VMW-ESX-5.5.0-elxnet-10.2.298.5-offline_bundle-2263089.zip”

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_02

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_02

7. Reboot the host: esxcli system shutdown reboot -r ‘Downgrade Emulex HP NC550SFP driver (elxnet) to 10.2.298.5’

 

References:

VMware kb2008939: Installing patches on an ESXi 5.x/6.x host from the command line (2008939) 




VMware HP ESXi 5.5 U2 Upgrade Error (Unequal Payload Attributes Mellanox_bootbank_net-mst)

Summary
The upgrade stalls on Scanning system…. Gathering additional system information. This may take a few moments.
On the background screen: ValueError: Cannot merge VIBs Mellanox_bootbank_net-mst_2.0.0.0-1OEM.550.0.0.472560, Mellanox_bootbank_net-mst_2.0.0.0-1OEM.550.0.0.472560 with unequal payloads attributes ([net-mst: 8.250 KB], [net-mst: 8.242 KB])

Upgrade_HPESXi5.5U2

Upgrade_HPESXi5.5U2

To Fix:
1. Login to ESXi via SSH
2. Check All VIBs:
~# esxcli software vib list

Check All VIBs with net in name
~# esxcli software vib list | grep net

List Network Uplinks Installed on Server (Check that Mellanox is not used by any of uplinks)
~# esxcli network nic list

Remove net-mst VIB/offline bundle driver
~# esxcli software vib remove -n net-mst
You should receive the following confirmation after you run the above command:
Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.
VIBs Removed: Mellanox_bootbank_net-mst_2.0.0.0-1OEM.550.0.0.472560

3. Restart host
4. Boot to HP Custom ESXi Installation Image/CD
The Installation should not give error now

Users cannot update OAB (error 0x80190194)

When users click on Send/Receive button in Outlook they receive 0x80190194:

Outlook Send/Receive Error 0x80190194

Outlook Send/Receive Error 0x80190194

 In the Exchange powershell if you try to update the OAB (update-OfflineAddressBook) you receive the following error:

EventViewer EventID:17004

EventViewer EventID:17004

To resolve this issue:

  • Open ADSIEdit on the Exchange Server
  • Choose Connect to
  • In the connection settings in the Select a well know Naming Context choose Configuration
  • Navigate to CN=Address-Templates,CN=Addressing,CN=Organisation,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=domain,DC=local
  • Check if there are any strings with “\0ACNF:<GUID>”
ADSIEdit strings with “\0ACNF:<GUID>”
ADSIEdit strings with “\0ACNF:”
  • Delete strings identified in previous step
  • Open Exchange Power Shell and type: Update-OfflineAddressBook –Identity <Identity>
  • Check Send/Receive finish successfully on client machine

Manage Permissions result in 500 Unexpected Error (Public Folders Exchange 2013)

Although you can manage permissions in Exchange Management Shell, in ecp when you click on Manage Permissions on specific folder the following page is shown:

500 Unexpected Error

500 Unexpected Error

To resolve this issue:

1. Use PowerShell to check Public Folder Client Permissions:
PS > Get-PublicFolderClientPermission \FolderName |Format-List

2. Check if any user has a SID instead of a username

3. Remove users with SID if any:
PS > Remove-PublicFolderClientPermission -Identity \FolderName -User NT:S-1-1-11-11111111-1111111111111-1111

4. Check if you can manage Public Folder permissions via ecp

Mobile Phones do not sync with a newly deployed Exchange 2013

The most probable reason is Security settings on user account in Active Directory.

Check Application Section in the Event Viewer of a new Exchange Server.

Event Viewer EventID 1008

Event Viewer EventID 1008

Search for warnings with the following details:

Source: MSExchange ActiveSync
Event ID: 1008
Description: An exception occurred and was handled by Exchange ActiveSync. This may have been caused by an outdated or corrupted Exchange ActiveSync device partnership. This can occur if a user tries to modify the same item from multiple computers. If this is the case, Exchange ActiveSync will re-create the partnership with the device. Items will be updated at the next synchronization.

Although Microsoft suggests to wait for the partnership to be updated automatically (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff981815(v=exchg.141).aspx). You can proceed to next steps to see if the problem is in security configuration of the user account.

  1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers. Find the affected user account and open Properties of the user.
  2. In the User Properties window, navigate to Security tab and click on Advanced (To view Security tab you need to enable Advanced Features in Active Directory: View >>> check Advanced Features)
User Account Properties

User Account Properties

3. In the Advanced Security Settings window click on Enable Inheritance. If it is already enabled (when there is only Disable Inheritance button), click on Restore Defaults.

Advanced Security Settings

Advanced Security Settings

Check if Inheritance is enabled in the Security settings for other users.