vSAN Health Service - Hardware Compatibility Health - Controller firmware is VMware certified
Article ID: 326630
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
This article explains the Hardware Compatibility Health - Controller firmware is VMware certified check in the vSAN Health Service and provides details about why it might report an error.
Adherence to the VMware Compatibility Guide (VCG) / Hardware Compatibility Guide (HCL) is critically important to the stability of vSAN environments.Experience has shown that failing to observe the VCG often leads to production outages over time. It is therefore very important to monitor the health checks in the HCL checker category. For more information, see the link related to Broadcom Compatibility Guide.
Environment
VMware vSAN (All Versions)
Resolution
Q: What does the Hardware Compatibility Health - Controller firmware is VMware certified test do?
This health check verifies whether the storage I/O controller firmware is compatible with the controller on the ESXi host and the version of ESXi.
If the controller is on the vSAN VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide (Broadcom Compatibility Guide) and passes appropriate controller checks, the Controller firmware Check verifies that the firmware version in use is on the list of supported firmware.
Q: What does it mean when it is in an error state?
If the controller's firmware version is not listed in the vSAN VCG for this device and the ESXi version, the vSAN environment might be at risk.
This check might fail for the following reasons:
- If vSAN cannot fetch the firmware version, which can occur when the appropriate vendor tool is not installed. In this case, the status for the controller is Unknown.
- If the Skyline Health is also reporting alerts in regard to failed checks in relation to Controller.
- If after an ESXi upgrade using LCM, the newly installed firmware is not compatible with the ESXi version.
- Conflicting entries in the vSAN HCL DB.
- If the controller firmware version does not match with the Broadcom Compatibility Guide.
Note: VMware discontinued the requirement for installation of PERCCLI and STORCLI, starting from ESXi 7.0, an 'Unknown' will be displayed in the firmware version field even if those tools are installed. The display of 'Unknown' will NOT trigger any Health Check warnings.
Q: How does one troubleshoot and fix the error state?
To troubleshoot and fix this issue:
- Manual HCL Database Update: Updating the vSAN HCL database manually. It is possible that the hardware or its firmware was recently added to the vSAN VCG.
- Vendor Tool Verification: Check if the appropriate vendor tool is installed, and verify that vSAN can fetch the firmware version.To query the make, model, and version of your storage I/O controller, run the following command:
esxcli vsan debug controller list
- Firmware Version Correction: Correct the firmware version by installing the supported version listed in the Broadcom Compatibility Guide.
Take help from the hardware vendor if needed to update the correct firmware version. After rebooting, the alert should not show up anymore. - Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager: The firmware of your I/O controller can be upgraded via vSphere Lifecycle Manager. Refer Firmware Updates with vSphere Lifecycle Manager
- Contact Broadcom Support: If you cannot determine storage I/O controller information, contact Broadcom Support.
Additional Information
Feedback
