"Retry VLAN discovery" in the vmkernel log file of ESXi

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• FCoE partitions are not enabled on the network cards.
• In the /var/log/vmkernel.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  hostXX: fip: fcoe_ctlr_vlan_request() is done
  hostXX: fip: host11: FIP VLAN ID unavail. Retry VLAN discovery.
  
  Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0

Cause

This issue occurs if the FCoE driver is not getting a VLAN ID.

If you are not using FCoE, this issue occurs due to the startup script installed by the broadcom/qlogic driver.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in ESXi 5.5, Patch Release ESXi550-201608001. For more information, see VMware ESXi 5.5, Patch Release ESXi550-201608001 (2144359).

Note: This issue can still exist if the bnx2x driver is lower than 2.713.20.
 

To work around this issue, remove the VIB driver:

Note: This workaround is only applicable if you are not using FCoE.

1. Log in to the ESXi host
2. Remove the VIB driver by running this command:
   
   esxcli software vib remove -n scsi-bnx2fc
    
3. Go to /etc/rc.local.d/ path by running this command:
   
   cd /etc/rc.local.d/
    
4. Remove the 99bnx2fc.sh file by running this command:
   
   rm 99bnx2fc.sh
    
5. Disable vmnicx by running this command:
   
   esxcli fcoe nic disable -n=vmnicx
    
   Note: x varies depending on the ESXi host.
    
6. Reboot the host.

For more information, see Dell community.

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Additional Information

VMware ESXi 5.5, Patch Release ESXi550-201608001
ESXi の vmkernel ログ ファイルに記録される「Retry VLAN discovery」