Running ESXi 5.5 with HP FlexFabric 10Gb 533FLR-T results in network adapter flapping

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

When running ESXi 5.5 host with HP FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 533FLR-T (Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM57810) network adapters connected to Avaya Virtual Services Platform 7024XLS physical network switch, you experience these symptoms:

• You experience NIC flapping.
• Physical switch reports NIC up/down events seconds apart.
• The vSphere Client shows a red cross beside the vmnic.
• In the vmkernel log, you see the errors similar to:
  
  bnx2x 0000:03:00.1: vmnic1: NIC Link is Up, 10000 Mbps full duplex, Flow control: ON - receive & transmit
  bnx2x 0000:03:00.1: vmnic1: NIC Link is Down
  bnx2x 0000:03:00.1: vmnic1: NIC Link is Up, 10000 Mbps full duplex, Flow control: ON - receive & transmit
  bnx2x 0000:03:00.1: vmnic1: NIC Link is Down

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5

Cause

The issue occurs due to a Broadcom driver problem.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, upgrade the bnx2x driver to version 1.78.80.v55.4 or later.

For more information, see Installing async drivers on VMware ESXi 5.0, 5.1, and 5.5 (2005205).

Additional Information

In ESXi, the HP branded NICs are listed as Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM57810 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

The third-party name of the NIC is HP FlexFabric 10Gb 2-port 533FLR-T Adapter.

How to download and install async drivers in ESXi 5.x/6.x