ESXI Host Experiences PSOD due to qlnativefc driver.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Issue/Introduction

PF Exception 14 in world 2098686:t:qlnativef IP 0xxxxxxxxxxx | "qlnativefcTimer" "VmkTimerQueueWorldFunc"

Environment

ESXi 7.0 or 8.0 environment using qlnativefc driver with VMID feature.

Cause

The issue is related to the vmhba's qlnativefc driver, there's a specific module called "VMID" that is enabled by qlnativefc version 5.3.81.2 driver by default.

Resolution

This issue has been fixed in qlnativefc driver 5.4.84.0 version and above. 

Note: Before updating the qlnativefc driver to 5.4.84.0, verify the ESXi version as the driver is compatible with ESXi version that is 8.0 U3 and above. 

 

Workaround:

Before executing the workaround, read the following documentation to determine if the VMID feature can be disabled in the environment.

• https://www.marvell.com/content/dam/marvell/en/public-collateral/fibre-channel/marvell-fibre-channel-cna-adapters-qlogic-series-vmware-user-guide.pdf  

• https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/374795/vmid-enablement-for-fibre-channel-fc-sto.html  

 

1. Put the host into maintenance mode.

2. SSH to the ESXi host and run the following command to get current module status:

esxcfg-module -g qlnativefc

 

Expected output:

qlnativefc enabled = 1 options = ''

3. Run the following command to disable VMID on the adapter:

esxcfg-module -s "ql2xvmidsupport=0" qlnativefc

4. Run the following command to see if the changes have been made

esxcfg-module -g qlnativefc

 

Expected output:

qlnativefc enabled = 1 options = 'ql2xvmidsupport=0'

5. Reboot the ESXi host.

6. Run the command again to ensure that the module has been disabled:

esxcfg-module -g qlnativefc