QLogic QLE2700/QLE2800 HBAs Appear Offline After Upgrading to ESXi 8.x or Patching ESXi 7.x
Article ID: 406082
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
After upgrading VMware ESXi from version 7.x to 8.x, or applying patches to ESXi 7.x, the QLogic Corporation QLE2700/QLE2800 series Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) may appear as offline. This issue can result in the loss of storage connectivity to remote datastores, potentially disrupting access to critical data and affecting virtual machine operations.
This behavior is typically observed during the host boot process and may prevent the HBAs from functioning correctly in Fibre Channel environments.
Environment
ESXi 8.x
ESXi 7.x
QLogic Corp QLE2700/QLE2800 HBA
Cause
The QLogic QLE2700/QLE2800 series HBAs enter maintenance mode during boot-up due to a failure in initializing the firmware on the card. This is triggered by errors in reading Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) data and executing mailbox commands, leading to an overall failure in adapter initialization.
2025-07-29T16:35:51.909Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcMailboxCommand:438: qlnativefcMailboxCommand(1): **** FAILED
mb[0]=4005 mb[1]=22 cmd=31 ****2025-07-29T16:35:51.909Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcReadSfpMbx:4422: (1): failed=102 (4005)
2025-07-29T16:35:51.909Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcReadSfpMbx:4425: qlnativefcReadSfpMbx: sfp is not there
ESC[7m2025-07-29T16:35:51.909Z cpu44:2097959)WARNING: qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcReadSfp:4464:failed to send read sfp mailboxESC[0m
2025-07-29T16:35:51.909Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcReadSfpDev:4601: Unable to read SFP data (102/a0/0).
2025-07-29T16:35:51.909Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlanativefcDetectSfp:1356: SFP detect: Short-Range SFP (nvr=0 ll=0 lr=0 lrd=0).
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:734: qlnativefcGetFwVersion: Firmware supports SCM 0xf626
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:743: qlnativefcGetFwVersion: Firmware supports FC-NVMe
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:747: qlnativefcGetFwVersion: Firmware supports FC-NVMe First Burst
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:753: qlnativefcGetFwVersion: Firmware supports FC-NVMe2 0xf626
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:758: qlnativefcGetFwVersion: Firmware supports FC-NVMe2 SLER 0xf626
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:765: qlnativefcGetFwVersion: Firmware supports enhanced Abort IOCB options 0xf626
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:806: Secure Flash Update in FW: Supported
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:826: SCM in FW: Supported
2025-07-29T16:35:51.919Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcGetFwVersion:828: SCM RDF/EDC control: Driver controls
2025-07-29T16:35:51.949Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcAllocFwDump:869: Allocated (64 KB) for EFT...
2025-07-29T16:35:51.960Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcAllocFwDump:941: -> allocating ISP FW Dump buffer (5007 KB)
2025-07-29T16:35:51.980Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qla24xxConfigRings:1658: MSIX Handshake Disable Mode turned on
2025-07-29T16:35:51.990Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qla83xxUpdateFwOptions:5923: Enabling PUREX.
2025-07-29T16:35:51.990Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qla83xxUpdateFwOptions:5948: Set insecure for PLOGI Acc.
2025-07-29T16:35:52.000Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcInitRings:1760: DPORT feature : disabled.
2025-07-29T16:35:52.000Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcInitRings:1762: FAWWN feature : disabled.
2025-07-29T16:35:52.010Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcMailboxCommand:438: qlnativefcMailboxCommand(1): **** FAILED
mb[0]=4006 mb[1]=2 mb[2]=bc88 cmd=48 ****2025-07-29T16:35:52.010Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcInitRings:1768: Init firmware **** FAILED ****.
2025-07-29T16:35:52.010Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcInitializeAdapter:303: Failing initialize FW - getting FW dump and going into maintenance mode
2025-07-29T16:35:52.010Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qla27xxFwdump:1243: Attempting to take firmware dump
2025-07-29T16:35:52.028Z cpu44:2097959)qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qla27xxFwdump:1280: -> Firmware dump saved to buffer, instance 0
ESC[7m2025-07-29T16:35:52.028Z cpu44:2097959)WARNING: qlnativefc: (8b:0.0): qlnativefcAttachDevice:5098:scsi(1): Failed to initialize adapter - Adapter flags 2.ESC[0m
Resolution
This is a known issue with the QLogic QLE2700/QLE2800 HBAs and is resolved by updating the firmware to version 17.05.10. In some cases, customers have reported the need to first downgrade the firmware to version 15.30.10 before applying the upgrade to 17.05.10 to ensure compatibility and successful initialization.
To resolve:
- Verify Current Firmware Version: Check the current HBA firmware version using tools like the QLogic management utility or ESXi commands (e.g.,
esxcli storage san fc list). - Downgrade if Necessary: If the current firmware is incompatible, downgrade to version 15.30.10. Download the firmware from the hardware vendor's support site (e.g., for Dell systems: Firmware 15.30.10).
- Upgrade to Resolved Firmware: Apply QLogic firmware version 17.05.10. Download from the hardware vendor's support site (e.g., for Dell systems: Firmware 17.05.10).
- Reboot and Validate: After updating the firmware, reboot the ESXi host and confirm the HBAs are online using ESXi commands (e.g.,
esxcli storage core adapter list) and monitor for storage connectivity restoration. - Engage Hardware Vendor: Contact your hardware vendor for detailed guidance and compatibility confirmation.
Additional Information
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