LLDP information for the Broadcom NetXtreme E-Series vmnic adapters flaps between missing and repopulating.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• The ESXi hosts are using the Broadcom NetXtreme E-Series vmnic adapters.
• LLDP on the vDS is set to "Both" (i.e. Listen and Advertise). For more details, please refer to Enable Link Layer Discovery Protocol on a vSphere Distributed Switch.
• LLDP information intermittently disappears or varies across adapters (e.g., displaying for vmnic0 but missing for vmnic1).
• Uplink packet captures on adapters with visible LLDP information show the correct destination MAC address for LLDP_Multicast.
  
  
• Uplink packet captures on adapters with missing LLDP information show an incorrect destination MAC address for LLDP_Multicast.
  
  

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

The vmnic BIOS settings of "LLDP nearest bridge" and "LLDP nearest non-TPMR bridge" are the cause of this issue.
Additional details regarding the "LLDP nearest bridge" and "LLDP nearest non-TPMR bridge" options are available in the NetXtreme-E User Guide for Dell Platforms. Refer NetXtreme-E User Guide for Dell Platforms

Resolution

Disable the "LLDP nearest bridge" and "LLDP nearest non-TPMR bridge" options in the Broadcom NetXtreme adapter BIOS settings (see example screenshot).

Refer to the server hardware manual or contact the hardware vendor for specific navigation steps within the BIOS settings.