Error: Bootbank cannot be found at path '/bootbank' on ESXi host
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Error: Bootbank cannot be found at path '/bootbank' on ESXi host

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Article ID: 388495

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Introduction:

  • ESXi Host reports "Bootbank cannot be found at path '/bootbank'" alerts in /var/run/log/vmkernel.log and the same can be seen as a warning on vSphere Client:

  • Host reports no connection with the local storage, and unable to access the logs via SSH

  • The logs may be accessible, but the SSH would be very slow.

  • ESXi Host is marked as "Not Responding" on vSphere Client.

  • Virtual Machines on the host may continue to run with no issues.

  • /var/run/log/hostd.log of the ESXi host reports that the bootbank is not found:

    Hostd: --> Bootbank cannot be found at path '/bootbank'

  • /var/run/log/syslog.log of the ESXi syslog reports boot device hardware failure:

    Wa(12) smartd[2104025]: t10.NVMe__HPE_NS204i2Dp_Gen102B_Boot_Controller___0100000432435000: REALLOCATED SECTOR CT below threshold (0 < 90)

  • In /var/run/log/vmkernel.log SCSI errors for write failures and also NO_CONNECT (H:0x1) can be seen:

    vmkernel: cpu57:2097355)ScsiDeviceIO: 4154:Cmd(0x45bd4a129908) 0x2a, cmdId.initiator=0x430ac151f040 CmdSN 0x10e9755 from world 2097806 to dev t10.####____########_#####_____###### failed H:0x5 D:0x0 P:0x0
    In(182) vmkernel: cpu38:####### HPP: HppScsiThrottleLogForDevice:523: Error status H:0x1 D:0x0 P:0x0 Invalid sense data: 0x0 0x0 0x0 from device t10.####_____######_####______________________################## repeated 20 times, hppA$

  • Run below command from SSH or Shell prompt to check the status of the boot disk

    vmkfstools -Ph -v10 bootbank


    Could not open bootbank
    Error: Unable to access device, please check your connection to the device.

    OBJLIB-LIB: ObjLib cleanup done.
    WORKER: asyncOps=0 maxActiveOps=0 maxPending=0 maxCompleted=0

Environment

  • vSphere ESXi

Cause


A loss of connectivity occurs between the ESXi hypervisor and the physical boot device (SD Card, USB, or local HBA). This is often due to hardware degradation or firmware issues on controllers such as the Cisco UCS M7 series or the HPE NS204i.

Resolution

Fixed in ESXi 8.0 Update 3 and higher. See Download Broadcom products and software for steps to download the latest release.

Follow these steps to restore management and investigate the hardware:

  1. Back up the ESXi configuration immediately using vicfg-cfgbackup or PowerCLI. A reboot may result in total boot failure if the device has failed permanently.
  2. Coordinate a maintenance window and evacuate all VMs from the host.
  3. Perform a graceful reboot of the host.
  4. Once the host is back online, collect a VM-support log bundle.
  5. Engage the hardware vendor (e.g., Cisco or HPE) to inspect the boot media or HBA for hardware failures or required BIOS/firmware updates.
  6. If the issue persists, replace the faulty boot media.

For defects and enhancements, subscribe to this article (see https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/275360) to receive updates on fix status.

If further assistance is required, see Contact Support. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on your respective region.

 

Additional Information

  • If the logs are missing during the time of issue, check whether the scratch partition and bootbank is configured on the same device.
  • If configured on same device and do not see any log records for the duration, configure scratch partition on separate device:

Creating a persistent scratch location for ESXi 8.x/7.x/6.x

Japanese KB: Bootbank がパス '/bootbank' に見つかりません

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