0x1a commands fail on IDSDM device (e.g. SD card)

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• 0x1a commands fail on IDSDM device (e.g. SD card)
• you may see similar entries in var/log/vmkernel.log:

2020-08-27T01:20:17.400Z cpu12:2097207)NMP: nmp_ThrottleLogForDevice:3856: Cmd 0x1a (0x45bae47b12c0, 0) to dev "mpx.vmhba32:C0:T0:L0" on path "vmhba32:C0:T0:L0" Failed:
2020-08-27T01:20:17.400Z cpu12:2097207)NMP: nmp_ThrottleLogForDevice:3865: H:0x7 D:0x0 P:0x0 Invalid sense data: 0x0 0x0 0x0. Act:EVAL. cmdId.initiator=0x451aaae1a6b8 CmdSN 0x1c6399
2020-08-27T01:20:17.400Z cpu12:2097207)ScsiDeviceIO: 4062: Cmd(0x45bae47b12c0) 0x1a, CmdSN 0x1c6399 from world 0 to dev "mpx.vmhba32:C0:T0:L0" failed H:0x7 D:0x0 P:0x0 Invalid sense data: 0x87 0xf 0x43.
2020-08-27T01:20:24.432Z cpu14:2097209)NMP: nmp_ThrottleLogForDevice:3865: H:0x7 D:0x0 P:0x0 Invalid sense data: 0x0 0x0 0x0. Act:EVAL. cmdId.initiator=0x451a87f1baf8 CmdSN 0x1c63e1
2020-08-27T01:20:24.432Z cpu14:2097209)WARNING: NMP: nmp_DeviceRequestFastDeviceProbe:237: NMP device "mpx.vmhba32:C0:T0:L0" state in doubt; requested fast path state update...
2020-08-27T01:20:24.432Z cpu14:2097209)ScsiDeviceIO: 4062: Cmd(0x459b14882b00) 0x1a, CmdSN 0x1c63e1 from world 0 to dev "mpx.vmhba32:C0:T0:L0" failed H:0x7 D:0x0 P:0x0 Invalid sense data: 0x0 0x0 0x0.

Note:The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date,time and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Cause

The SD Controller does not support the SCSI Command 0x1a (MODE SENSE(6)).

Resolution

This issue is resolved in VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0 U1c and vSphere ESXi 6.7 Patch ESXi670-202011002.
To download ESXi 7.0 U1c go to Customer Connect Downloads .
To download ESXi 6.7 Patch ESXi670-202011002  go to Customer Connect Patch Downloads

Workaround:
To workaround this issue increase log rotation and log size as shown in VMware documentation - Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts

Additional Information

T10 states (https://www.t10.org/ftp/t10/document.08/08-309r1.pdf):
The MODE SENSE(6) command (see table 96) provides a means for a device server to report parameters to an application client. [...] If an application client issues a MODE SENSE command with a page code or subpage code value not implemented by the logical unit, the command shall be terminated with CHECK CONDITION status, with the sense key set to ILLEGAL REQUEST, and the additional sense code set to INVALID FIELD IN CDB.

This is not returned in this scenario.

Impact/Risks:
Does not affect the functionality.