A Cisco Nexus 1000v VEM installed on an ESX or ESXi host fails to respond with the error: Failed to get card domain - returned error 1

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• A Cisco Nexus 1000v Virtual Ethernet Module (VEM) installed on an ESX host is not responding.
• Virtual machine loses network connectivity.
• The vem status command fails.
• The /etc/init.d/vem-v1xx-vssnet-dpa status | restart | stop | start command fails.
• You may see these errors:
  
  • Failed to get card domain - returned error 2
  • Failed to get card domain - returned error 1

Environment

VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Resolution

This error may occur if the service console lacks memory space.

To check if there is a lack of memory in the service console on ESX 4.x:

1. Run this command to see if your service console memory is already swapping:
   
   top
   
   
2. Run this command to see the internal memory consumption of the VEM:
   
   vemcmd show mempool

If there is a lack of memory in the service console:

1. Increase the RAM assigned to the ESX service console. For more information, see Increasing the amount of RAM assigned to the ESX Server service console (1003501).
2. Right-click on the host and click Enter Maintenance Mode, then reboot the host.
3. Run this command to see if the VEM appears in the VSM:
   
   vem restart
   
   show module
   
   
4. If the VEM does not appear in the VSM and if you cannot start the /etc/init.d/vem-v1xx-vssnet-load and /etc/init.d/vem-v1xx-vssnet-dpa services, you must perform these steps:
   
   
   1. Run this command to get a list of installed RPMs:
      
      rpm -qa | grep vem
      
      
   2. Run this command to uninstall the VEM packages:
      
      rpm -e package_name
      
      
   3. Reboot the ESX host.
   4. Run this command to reinstall the VEM:
      
      esxupdate --bundle cisco-vem-v1version_number.zip update
      
      
   5. Run this command a few minutes after the VEM services start:
      
      vem status

To remove and re-add a VIB/VEM on ESXi/ESX:


In ESXi/ESX 4.x:

1. Run this command to list the installed VIBs:
   
   esxupdate query
   
   Note: This command returns a Bulletin_ID.
   
   
2. Run this command to remove the VIB:
   
   esxupdate remove -b Bulletin_ID
   
   
3. Reboot the ESXi/ESX host.
   
4. Run this command to reinstall the VIB:
   
   esxupdate -b /tmp/VIB_FILE update

In ESXi 5.x:

1. Run this command to list the installed VIBs:
   
   esxcli software vib list
   
   
2. Run this command to remove the VIB:
   
   esxcli software vib remove package_name
   
   In ESXi 5.1, you must use the -n switch to remove the VIB. For example:
   
   esxcli software vib remove -n package_name
   
   
3. Reboot the ESXi host.
4. Run this command to reinstall and copy the offline bundles to /tmp:
   
   esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/VIB_FILE

Additional Information

For related information on Cisco VEM installation, see Installing Cisco Virtual Ethernet Module (VEM) on an ESX/ESXi host using the command line (1013551).Increasing the amount of RAM assigned to the ESX Server service console
Installing Cisco Virtual Ethernet Module (VEM) on an ESX/ESXi host using the command line
ESX または ESXi ホストにインストールされた Cisco Nexus 1000v VEM が次のエラーで応答に失敗する：カード ドメインの取得に失敗しました - エラー 1 が返されました
ESX 或 ESXi 主机上安装的 Cisco Nexus 1000v VEM 无法响应，并出现错误：无法获取卡域 - 已返回错误 1