Testing upgrade from ESXi 4.0u1 to 4.1 - fails

[cougar694u]

I have an environment with several hosts ONLY connected through a CNA, no LOM. The problem with this is the CNA drivers are not included in ESXi 4.0, so a fresh install yields an isolated host with zero connectivity. I have a host in my lab running the same version as my production boxes, also containing the CNA, except it's also connected to the LOM. I wanted to test the upgrade to see if the drivers persist, but it fails.

Here's my output:

D:\vihostupdate.pl --server cadapl0011101 --username root -q

Enter password:

-

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Bulletin ID--

---

-

---

Installed- -

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Summary--

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qlgc-qlge-100.17 2010-02-12T15:46:22 qlge: net driver for VMware ESX

qlg.831.k1.23vmw 2010-02-12T15:47:44 qla2xxx: scsi driver for VMware ESX

ESXi400-200911203-UG 2010-02-12T16:05:51 VI Client update for 4.0 U1 release

ESXi400-Update01 2010-02-12T16:05:51 VMware ESXi 4.0 Update 1

ESXi400-200912401-BG 2010-02-12T16:07:10 Updates Firmware

ESXi400-200912402-BG 2010-02-12T16:07:10 Updates VMware Tools

VEM400-200912016-BG 2010-02-12T21:51:06 Cisco Nexus 1000V VEM

D:\vihostupdate.pl --server cadapl0011101 --username root -i -b upgrade-from-ESXi4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip

Enter password:

Please wait patch installation is in progress ...

Failed to download offline bundle .zip.Remote file /tmp/updatecache/upgrade-from-ESXi4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip does not exist.

I checked the scratch directory and it's set up properly. I also used the Tech Support Mode to cd to the /tmp/updatecache symlink and create a directory, which I could see when browsing the datastore.

I also decided to rename the file to simply update.zip and tried again:

D:\vihostupdate.pl --server cadapl0011101 --username root -i -b upgrade.zip

Enter password:

Please wait patch installation is in progress ...

Failed to download offline bundle .zip.Remote file /tmp/updatecache/upgrade.zip does not exist.

I've rebooted three times, and it still doesn't work :smileysilly:

Anyone have any ideas?

~Luke

[ScottBentley]

Hi

Have you tried to put the full path in to the upgrade file eg D:\upgrade.zip?

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[a_p_]

As Scott mentioned you should specify the full path to the upgrade zip.

From what you mentioned I assume you are familiar with the upgrade procedure. However for anyone else reading this post the following links may be helpful.

VMware's vSphere Upgrade Guide page 63 "Upgrade an ESXi Host with the vihostupdate Utility"

A walktrough at http://technodrone.blogspot.com/2010/07/updating-your-vmware-hypervisor-server.html

André

[cougar694u]

I tried with the full path, which is simply D:\upgrade-from-ESXi4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip, but got the same error.

I tried with the bulletin, without the bulletin, no matter what I got the same error:

"Failed to download offline bundle .zip.Remote file /tmp/updatecache/upgrade-from-ESXi4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip does not exist."

~Luke

[jpdicicco]

Do you have sufficient space on your /tmp slice to copy this file? The error would seem to indicate that copying the file to the ESXi host is failing...

Happy virtualizing!

JP

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[cougar694u]

When I checked via Tech Support Mode, /tmp/updatecache was symlinked to the scratch directory, which has roughly 348GB of free space. Tested on another host and it worked fine, although the other lab host didn't have any other drivers installed.

~Luke

[cougar694u]

Got it working. Even though I was able to use tech support mode to create folders on the scratch dir, and see the symlink for /tmp/updatecache, I decided to use the Reset System Configuration option on the dcui, reboot, and reconfigure everything.

What I didn't expect was this: The CNA drivers persisted after the reset config; however, the adapters didn't show up in the network or storage adapters. I had to reconfigure iscsi, then scratch dir, reboot, then after that, the upgrade went fine.

This is all that shows up:

D:\>vihostupdate.pl --server cadapl0011101 --username root -q

Enter password:

-

---

Bulletin ID--

---

-

---

Installed- -

---

Summary--

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ESXi410-GA 2010-08-12T14:53:33 ESXi upgrade Bulletin

But a quick glance showed the FCoE portion of the CNAs in the storage adapters section.

Another oddity is the hosts keep disconnecting from VC. Any thoughts regarding that?

~Luke

[jpdicicco]

If you have firewalls (including Windows firewall) between the vCenter server and your hosts, then review the port requirements for vCenter communication. I think they're on page 16 of the esxi setup guide and 17 of the esx install guide.

Other than that, I would check your host networking.

Happy virtualizing!

JP

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Message was edited by: jpdicicco (incorrect page 19 changed to 17)

[cougar694u]

I can remove the hosts from VC, re-add them and it works fine. As soon as I click the configuration tab, they drop to a disconnected state. Windows firewall is off, one of the hosts lives in the same room (dev DC) as VC with no firewalls in between. The other host is in a different DC with 2x10g pipes between them (approx 17miles).

Everything's been working fine, the hosts have never disconnected, until after the 4.1 upgrade.

~Luke

[cougar694u]

I ended up doing a system config reset and upgrade went fine after that. Something was awry with this host, as it worked fine on other hosts without resetting the config.