Installation, Esxi 5.5 overview – Dell Emulex Family of Adapters User Manual

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Emulex Drivers Version 10.2 for VMware ESXi User Manual

P010087-01A Rev. A

2. Installation

ESXi 5.5 Overview

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2. Installation

ESXi 5.5 Overview

With the release of ESXi 5.5 and vSphere 5.5, VMware has introduced a new driver

model called native mode. Emulex has endorsed the native mode driver model for ESXi

5.5 with the following drivers:



For FC and FCoE functionality, the out-of-box driver is the native mode “lpfc”

driver for OneConnect OCe10100-series, OCe11100-series, OCe14000-series,

LPe16202/OCe15100, LPe16000-series, LPe12000-series, and LPe11000-series

adapters.



For Ethernet (NIC) functionality, the out-of-box driver for OCe10100-series,

OCe11100-series, OCe14000-series, and LPe16202/OCe15100 adapters is the

native mode “elxnet” driver.

Note: For iSCSI functionality on OCe10100, OCe11100, and OCe14000-series

adapters, the out-of-box driver continues to be the vmklinux-based

“be2iscsi” driver.

ESXi 5.5 also requires changes to the installation process and tools. These changes

include:



Driver parameters migration – When you upgrade to ESXi 5.5, you must

document the existing driver parameter values for the initial ram disk for the

server being upgraded. After the upgrade, you must then manually reprogram



Command line tool transition – For the ESXi 5.5 release and all subsequent

operating system releases, VMware is starting the transition from esxcfg

commands to esxcli commands. Both sets of commands are supported in the

additional information.



Native mode driver management support – With the introduction of the new

native mode driver, ethtool is no longer supported. Instead, you may use either

the esxcli commands or the VmkMgmtKeyVal interface to provide