Failing to update irdman and icen together before NVM update on Intel E810* family NIC may lead to PSOD (purple screen of death)

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
This happens when  any of the following irdman versions are installed:
Inbox irdman-1.3.1.19.
Async irdman-1.3.1.19, 1.3.3.7, 1.3.4.23.

PSOD (purple screen of death) may occur after attempts to upgrade the icen and then upgrade NVM in the following sequence:

1. Upgrade icen
2. Reboot
3. Upgrade NVM
4. Reboot

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.3
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.2

Cause

A faulty handling of PF-reset in older driver versions of irdman.

Resolution

irdman driver version number needs  equal or larger than 1.3.6.0 (upgraded with icen to the latest).


Workaround:
Follow the below sequence:

1. Upgrade icen and irdman
2. Reboot
3. Unload irdman
4. Upgrade the NVM
5. Reboot