Error observed while checking ring buffer size via esxcli on ESXi hosts with ENS enabled

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides the resolution for the following error encountered when attempting to query or set ring buffer parameters using standard esxcli commands on ESXi hosts: 

[root@esxi:~] esxcli network nic ring current get -n vmnicX
Unable to complete Sysinfo operation.  Please see the VMkernel log file for more details.: Not supported: VSI node (234:VSI_NODE_net_pNics_firmware_ringParams)

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

VMware NSX

Cause

The Enhanced Network Stack (ENS) provides a high-performance path for packet processing that bypasses the standard ESXi networking stack (vmkernel). Because the ENS driver assumes exclusive control over the physical NIC hardware, standard esxcli commands used to query or set ring buffer parameters are rejected.

Resolution

When ENS is active, use the nsxdp-cli commands provided below to manage your NIC parameters:

1. Check configured ring size: nsxdp-cli ens uplink ring get -n vmnicX

2. Set receive packets ring buffer: nsxdp-cli ens uplink ring set -r 8192 -n vmnicX net-dvs --persist

3. Set transmit packets ring buffer: nsxdp-cli ens uplink ring set -t 8192 -n vmnicX net-dvs --persist