Unable to configure NPIV on nfnic driver

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

When attempting to enable NPIV on a virtual machine to map storage volumes directly, the configuration appears successful on the VMware side:

• WWNs are correctly generated.

• WWNs are visible in the VM configuration (.vmx file).
  
  viv.moid = "########-####-####-####-############:vm-[MASKED MOID]:s1uGcPDGZTHoTiLiySIsGRukJhKj60xFrVmHPF15/Vk="
uuid. location = "## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##"
ethernet0. networkName = "VM Network"
wwn. enabled = "TRUE"
wwn. type = "vc"
wwn.node = "280f000#########"
wwn.port = "280f000#########"
scsi0: 1.deviceType = "scsi-hardDisk"
scsi0 : 1. fileName = "VM_name. vmdk"

• VMkernel logs report paths for NPIV.
  
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.MS+HH:MM In (182) vmkernel: cpu100: 47409984) ScsiNpiv: 1715: Physical Path : adapter=vmhba7, channel=0, target=4, lun=3
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.MS+HH:MM In (182) vmkernel: cpu100 : 47409984) ScsiNpiv: 1715: Physical Path : adapter=vmhba7, channel=0, target=5, lun=3
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.MS+HH:MM In (182) vmkernel: cpu100:47409984) ScsiNpiv: 1862: Vport Create status for world: 47409986 num wwpn=1, num vports=0, paths=4, errors=0

However, despite these logs, the virtual WWNs are not registered or visible on the connected Fibre Channel (FC) switch.

Environment

VMware ESXi 8.x

Adapter: Cisco VIC 15420

Cause

The nfnic driver currently in use does not support NPIV functionality. This is a driver-level limitation.

Resolution

1. Verify the driver in use on the host using the esxcli network nic get -n <adapter_name> command or via the vSphere Client.

2. If the adapter is utilizing the nfnic driver, NPIV functionality cannot be enabled.

3. Coordinate with Cisco support or consult the official Cisco hardware/driver compatibility matrix to confirm if future driver releases include NPIV support or to discuss supported alternative connectivity methods for your storage requirements.