HP Broadcom-Based Network adapters becomes non-functional

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Unable to detect the network adapter in the ROM-Based Setup Utility (RBSU) or in the operating system.
• The MAC address for the network adapter are changed.
  

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

On certain HP ProLiant servers, the following HP Broadcom-Based Network adapters listed may become non-functional when they are updated with the Comprehensive Configuration Management (CCM) firmware Version 7.8.21 using firmware smart component, HP Smart Update Manager (HP SUM), or the HP Service Pack for ProLiant (HP SPP) 2014.2.0:

• HP NC373T PCIe Multifunction Gig Server Adapter
• HP NC373F PCIe Multifunction Gig Server Adapter
• HP NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC374m PCIe Multifunction Adapter
• HP NC373m Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC324i PCIe Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC326i PCIe Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC326m PCI Express Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC325m PCIe Quad Port Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC320i PCIe Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC320m PCI Express Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC382i DP Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC382T PCIe DP Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter
• HP NC382m DP 1GbE Multifunction BL-c Adapter
• HP NC105i PCIe Gigabit Server Adapter

This affects these HP SPP, firmware, and smart components:

• CP019762.scexe - v1.0.21
• CP021532.scexe - v1.0.21.3
• CP021849.scexe - v1.1.10

Resolution

To resolve this issue, do not use the HPSUM, HP SPP Version 2014.02.0, and smart components to update the HP Broadcom-Based Network adapters, to avoid network adapter becoming non-functional and requiring the hardware replacement to recover.

• When firmware upgrade is required, execute the firmware component directly, do not use HP SUM or HP SPP.
• If you are installing smart component manually, ensure to select n when prompted for CCM update:
  
  Update CCM to 7.8.21 - y/n/q (y): n

Additional Information

Impact/Risks:
Updating Comprehensive Configuration Management firmware version 7.8.21 on certain HP Broadcom-Based Network Adapters may result in the Network becoming non-functional.