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5.5

USB 3.0 devices detected as USB 2 in ESXi 6.0 and 5.5

In my latest post USB Devices as VMFS Datastore in vSphere ESXi 6.0 I had a problem with USB 3.0 devices that are detected as USB 2 in ESXi. I know that USB 3.0, also known as eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI), is supported in ESXi 6.0 and ESXi 5.5 Build 2143827 or later. Unfortunately all of my devices are detected as USB 2.1, despite the USB 3 hub was visible. This problem applies to both, USB devices in path-through mode, and USB devices mounted from the command line with usbarbitrator disabled. The solution was quite simple and not related to an ESXi, but to a UEFI configuration.
xhci-smart-auto

Read More »USB 3.0 devices detected as USB 2 in ESXi 6.0 and 5.5

ESXi Network Troubleshooting with tcpdump-uw and pktcap-uw

This post explains how you can troubleshoot network problems by capturing network traces of ESXi host by using the tcpdump-uw and pktcap-uw utility. The pktcap-uw tool is an enhanced packet capture and analysis tool that can be used in place of the legacy tcpdump-uw tool. The pktcap-uw tool is included by default in ESXi 5.5 and later. This post explains the main differences of both tools and how to use them.

tcpdump-uw vs. pktcap-uw - It's not the same!

tcpdump-uw-vs-pktcap-uw

Capabilities of tcpdump-uw and pktcap-uw

The tcpdump-uw utility captures traffic from VMkernel adapters. The pktcap-uw utility, introduced in ESXi 5.5 can capture traffic that flows through physical network adapters, VMkernel adapters, and virtual machines adapters.

But it's more complex...

Read More »ESXi Network Troubleshooting with tcpdump-uw and pktcap-uw

ESXi 5.5 October 2015 "Snapshot Bug" Patch (Build 3116895)

VMware has published a patch for ESXi 5.5

Product: VMware ESXi 5.5
Release date: October 6, 2015
Patch: ESXi550-201510001
Build: 3116895
Links: KB2133824 | Download

The patch resolves the Snapshot Bug in 5.5 Update 3 that has been documented by VMware in KB: KB2133118

The ESXi Installable has also been replaced with ESXi 5.5 Update 3a (ESXi 5.5 Update 3 is gone):

Read More »ESXi 5.5 October 2015 "Snapshot Bug" Patch (Build 3116895)

VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 3 Snapshot Bug

[UPDATE 6. Oct] The Snapshot Bug has been fixed!
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VMware has a major bug in their latest ESXi 5.5 Patch, released on September 16, 2015.

Affected Product:
VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 3 (build number: 3029944)

VMware KB: KB2133118

After upgrading to VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 3 an unexpected virtual machine failure might occur after snapshot consolidation. This issues occurs due to a segmentation fault when changing the snapshot tree data-structure.Read More »VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 3 Snapshot Bug

VMware vSphere 5.5 Update 3 Released

VMware has just released vSphere 5.5 Update 3. Together with the Updates, the following products were released today:

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Read More »VMware vSphere 5.5 Update 3 Released