Where do I get the latest fnic driver for ESXi 6.0?

[bmcdonald74]

I'm needing the fnic driver version 1.6.0.17a for our B200 M3 blades that are running ESXi 6.0.  They current have version 1.5.0.45-3vmw installed on them.  The links that have found for the newer version are all for ESXi 5.5.  VMware Update Manager will not install this driver as it is incompatible since it is for ESXi 5.5. 

[Walter Dey]

Downloads Home

Products

Servers - Unified Computing

UCS B-Series Blade Server Software

Unified Computing System (UCS) Drivers-2.2(5b)

ISO image of UCS-related drivers  ucs-bxxx-drivers.2.2.5b.iso

07-AUG-2015

1927.74 MB

[bmcdonald74]

That's ISO just has a README.html listed under the VMware\Storage\CISCO\VIC\ESXi_6.0 directory that links you back to the VMware webpage to download the ESXi 5.5 version of the driver.

[Walter Dey]

This is a bug ! which Cisco should fix asap.

The interop tool at http://www.cisco.com/web/techdoc/ucs/interoperability/matrix/matrix.html

clearly shows

For vSphere V6

Adapter Driver   = 1.6.0.17a (FNIC) / 2.1.2.71 (ENIC)
Adapter Firmware = 4.0(5)

and for vSphere 5.5 U2

Adapter Driver   = 1.6.0.17a (FNIC) / 2.1.2.71 (ENIC)
Adapter Firmware = 4.0(5)
Boot Code / BIOS =

Therefore you just download fnic driver for 5.5 U2, it's the same !

[bmcdonald74]

Is there a way to get this file to update via VMware's Update Manager?  It sees it as a 5.x update file and won't install on a 6.x server.

[Justin Welch]

Hello,

This might be a better conversation to have with VMware. From the looking around I did though it does not appear it is possible to remove digital signature checking from VUM:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/discussion/11684486/ucs-vic1240-vsphere-51-drivers-vmware-update-manager

https://communities.vmware.com/thread/466863

To leave you with some kind of upgrade path please use the below for manual driver updates:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/servers-unified-computing/ucs-manager/116349-technote-product-00.html

Thanks,

Justin

[Justin Greeves]

I have this issue.  It is not a digital signature issue as you can manually install without the need for the nosig command.  The issue is the driver package specifies that it is for version 5.x of esx and not 6.x and Update manager will not allow you to install it on a 6.x host.  In contrast to the 1000v vibs done through Update manager which specify they are for a 6.x install.  this is something that I would expect cisco have to address by placing the vendor-index.xml in the driver to reflect being for 6.x

<metaList>
  <metadata>
    <productId>embeddedEsx</productId>
    <version>5.*</version>
    <locale></locale>
    <url>metadata.zip</url>
    <channelName>default</channelName>
  </metadata>
</metaList>

[Justin Welch]

Hello,

Per VMware KB all 5.5 drivers are 6.0 compatible you just don't get the 6.0 features:

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2111492

Thanks,

Justin

[Justin Greeves]

I understand this and is why I manually installed said drivers but the driver package provided by cisco states which product it is for the same as you do for the correct vem for the 1000v the package states which product it can be installed on.  VUM cannot decide what falls into the category of it's for 5.5 so it's ok for 6 because there are packages that are only for 6 and marked as such ie your version 6 nexus vem that is distributed by vum you wouldn't want the 5.5 vem installed on 6.  I hope that new drivers in the future will be packaged that they are marked for both versions.

[bmoran]

A way to get the drivers into vum is to download the 5.5 drivers, update the xml files, import them into vum, and attach to a baseline. Below is example of the edits for the fnic_driver_1.6.0.17a driver.

1) Make sure you have 7zip and setup an editor within 7zip, I used notepad++
2) Open the offline_bundle-*.zip file
3) Edit the vendor-index.xml file
replace the 5.* with 6.*
4) Open up the metadata.zip file
5) Edit the vendor-index.xml file again
replace the 5.* with 6.*
6) Edit the vmware.xml file
<softwarePlatform locale="" version="5.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/> to
<softwarePlatform locale="" version="6.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/>
<swPlatform locale="" version="5.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/> to
<swPlatform locale="" version="6.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/>
<id>fnic_driver_1.6.0.17a_ESX55</id> to
<id>fnic_driver_1.6.0.17a_ESX60</id>

[Justin Welch]

Hello,

Note: If the drivers require a signature verification, run this command with the --no-sig-check switch. Ensure that you use the full path to the file. 

This should get you around the issue.

Thanks,

Justin

[Justin Welch]

Hello,

Latest ESXi 6 drivers are located in the 2.2(5b) driver ISO:

https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=283853163&flowid=25821&softwareid=283853158&release=2.2%285b%29&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest

Hope this helps,

Justin

[bmoran]

A way to get the drivers into vum is to download the 5.5 drivers, update the xml files, import them into vum, and attach to a baseline. Below is example of the edits for the fnic_driver_1.6.0.17a driver.

1) Make sure you have 7zip and setup an editor within 7zip, I used notepad++
2) Open the offline_bundle-*.zip file
3) Edit the vendor-index.xml file
replace the 5.* with 6.*
4) Open up the metadata.zip file
5) Edit the vendor-index.xml file again
replace the 5.* with 6.*
6) Edit the vmware.xml file
<softwarePlatform locale="" version="5.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/> to
<softwarePlatform locale="" version="6.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/>
<swPlatform locale="" version="5.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/> to
<swPlatform locale="" version="6.*" productLineID="embeddedEsx"/>
<id>fnic_driver_1.6.0.17a_ESX55</id> to
<id>fnic_driver_1.6.0.17a_ESX60</id>