o;?EmulexB. FC Driver for ESXi 6.5 
Release	ESXi 6.5	12.8.317.0
	

Purpose and Contact Information
These release notes describe the new feature components, supported adapters, change history, resolved issues, known issues/limitations with the current release, supported upgrade versions, and related KB-articles associated with the EmulexB. FC drivers for the ESXi 6.5 operating system.
For the latest product documentation, go to www.broadcom.com. If you have questions or require additional information, contact an authorized BroadcomB. Technical Support representative at ecd-tech.support@broadcom.com.

New Features Components
There are no new feature components in this release.

Supported Adapters
The following HBAs are supported by the ESXi FC driver:
- LPe12000-series adapters
- LPe16000-series adapters
- LPe31000-series adapters
- LPe32000-series adapters
- LPe35000-series adapters

Change History
Changes to the FC driver in this release are as follows:
- Changed the default settings for LUN queue depth from 30 to 64.
- Added support for loop topology on LPe35000-series adapters. 
- Deprecated esxcli elxmgmt commands that do not comply with VMware CLI formatting. 
- Added the following esxcli elxmgmt commands for WWN management and diagnostics: 
* wwn change
* wwn getcap
* wwn read
* wwn restore
* hbaport pcidata
*  hbaport vpd get

Resolved Issues
1. The trunking speed is no longer incorrectly displayed as 0 when you execute the esxcli storage san fc list command. 
2. Issuing an authconfig lst esxcli elxmgmt command no longer incorrectly displays the entity list even after running the authconfig delete command. 
3. Issuing an initiateauth command no longer incorrectly returns an error message when DH-CHAP is disabled on the switch. 

Known Issues/Limitations with the Current Release
1. Known issue related to software migration.
Beginning with software release 11.2, FC HBAs and OneConnectB. adapters have independent software kits. Before updating earlier drivers and applications to the software in release 12.8.x, refer to the Emulex Software Kit Migration User Guide for special instructions and considerations for using the 11.2 and later software kits for FC HBAs and OneConnect adapters.
2. The adapter model name and description do not match the vendor brand name field. 
The VMware vSphere client shows only the adapter family model names with a single port. 
For example:
An LPe31000-series and LPe32000-series adapter is shown as the Emulex LightPulse LPe32000 PCIe Fibre Channel Adapter.
An LPe35000-series adapter is shown as the Emulex LightPulse LPe36000 Fibre Channel Adapter.
This issue occurs with the lspci native tool as well. The vSphere client gets the adapter model name and description from the XML package files installed with the operating system or with an out-of-box kit, rather than from the adapter vital product data (VPD). Other native tools work in a similar manner.
Workaround
To show all available Key Value (KV) instances, use the following command:
/usr/lib/vmware/vmkmgmt_keyval/vmkmgmt_keyval -d
For storage adapters, look for vmhbaX/Emulex.
3. Some inbox drivers do not support LPe35000-series adapters, as described in the following table.
Table 1:  Operating System and Support for LPe35000-Series Adapters
Operating System	Support for LPe35000-Series Adapters
ESXi 6.5	        No; use the latest I/O Vendor Partner (IOVP) certified driver.
Workaround
Follow the guidelines in Table 1.
4. BrocadeB. switches that use Fabric OSB. version 8.2.1B and earlier might encounter the following issues with DH-CHAP authentication:
b  You might not be able to configure the secret pair between the switch and the HBA.
b  When authentication is enabled on the switch, and authentication is disabled on the HBA, the switch disables the port, but it does not issue the expected status messages. 
b  The Brocade switch authenticates the HBA port when authentication is disabled on the switch or when a frame is dropped.
Workaround
None.
5. Dependency errors might occur when you use the esxcli command to upgrade from the release 12.2 elxmgmt VIB to the release 12.6 or later elxmgmt VIB. 
Workaround
Remove the existing release 12.2 VIB, and install the release 12.6 or later VIB. 
6. A delay in processing ELS commands might be observed if the enable_mds_diags module parameter is enabled. 
Workaround
Disable enable_mds_diags. This parameter must be enabled only when attempting a Cisco MDS diagnostic test. 
7. Issuing an authconfig remove esxcli elxmgmt command with option -e all to delete the entire authentication configuration, might interrupt elxmgmt performance. 
Workaround
Individually remove authentication configuration for each entity pair.

Supported Upgrade Versions
There are no specific upgrade restrictions for moving from inbox to out-of-box.

Related KB-Articles
There are no related KB-articles in this release.



