BIOS manufacturer displays as "--" in the vSphere Client

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

If the user encounters the issue, they should enable 

a) Utf8Filter is added in ESXi 7.0 P05(7.0U3f)

b) EsxHostAdvSettings.Config.HostAgent.plugins.vimsvc.enableUtf8Filter advanced option (it will turned off by default)  and then restart hostd service.

Below are the steps to enable the advanced option:

1. Run the command to create a temporary JSON file:
/bin/configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k hostd -outfile tmp.json

2. Run the command to edit the file:
/bin/vi tmp.json

Under plugins/vimsvc add a pair
"enable_utf8_filter": true

It will look like:
"vimsvc": {
"requires": "hostsvc solo",
"enable_utf8_filter": true
},

3. Run the command to apply the file to the Database:
/bin/configstorecli config current set -c esx -g services -k hostd -infile tmp.json

4. Restart hostd:
/etc/init.d/hostd restart

After this, the user should monitor the hostd logs for messages like:
"Invalid UTF8 string encountered in response to call target= '<the-target-object-whose-method-is-being-invoked>'  method='<the-method-that-is-being-invoked>'."
When this happens user should collect support bundle and share it with GSS, VMware for further investigation.


Symptoms:
In the vSphere Client, when user selects an ESXi host and navigates to Configure > Hardware > Firmware, you >see "--" instead of the BIOS manufacturer name.

Environment

VMware vSphere 7.0.x

Resolution

No resolution available.

Workaround:
This issue can be resolved by enabling the advanced option enableUtf8Filter.