ESXi 5.5 host with IPv6 support enabled fails with a purple diagnostic screen with reference to find_pfxlist_reachable_router

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• ESXi 5.5 host fails with a purple diagnostic screen
• IPv6 support is enable on the ESXi host
• The purple diagnostic screen contains entries similar to:

@BlueScreen: #PF Exception 14 in world wwww:WorldName IP 0xnnnnnnnn addr 0x0

 

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]find_pfxlist_reachable_router@<None>#<None>+0x46 stack: 0xnnnnnnnn

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]pfxlist_onlink_check@<None>#<None>+0x19b stack: 0xnnnnnnnn

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]nd6_ra_input@<None>#<None>+0x16c5 stack: 0xnnnnnnnn

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]icmp6_input@<None>#<None>+0xcb8 stack: 0x0

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]ip6_input@<None>#<None>+0xc79 stack: 0xnnnnnnnn

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]netisr_dispatch@<None>#<None>+0x1b stack: 0x0

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]ether_demux@<None>#<None>+0x20d stack: 0xnnnnnnnn

0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]ether_input@<None>#<None>+0x183 stack: 0x30

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5

Cause

This is a known issue affecting VMware ESXi 5.5.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in ESXi 5.5 Patch 4.

To work around this issue, disable IPv6 support on the ESXi host.

Note: In ESXi 5.1 and later, IPv6 is enabled by default.

To disable IPv6 Support with the vSphere Web Client:

1. In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the ESXi host.
2. In the Manage tab, click Networking and select Advanced.
3. Click Edit.
4. From the IPv6 support drop-down menu, disable IPv6 support.
5. Click OK.
6. Restart the ESXi host.

To disable IPv6 Support with the vSphere Client:

1. From the vSphere Client Home page, click Hosts and Clusters.
2. Select the host and click the Configuration tab.
3. Under Hardware, click Networking.
4. In the vSphere Standard Switch view, click Properties.
5. Un-check Enable IPv6 support on this host system and click OK.
6. Restart the ESXi host.

Additional Information