Who should install this driver disk?

Customers running the XenServer 8.4 release who use Emulex's lpfc driver and wish to use the latest version of the following:

Required firmware versions

The lpfc version 14.4.393.31 driver is supported with firmware that has the following versions:

• 14.4.x
• 14.2.x

Issues resolved in this driver disk

This driver disk resolves the following issues:

• In some XenServer 8.4 environments, disk throughput on an Emulex HBA doesn't exceed 30 MiB/s.

This driver disk also includes general enhancements and bug fixes.

Installing the driver disk

You can install this driver disk through one of the following methods:

• By using XenCenter (recommended)
• During a clean XenServer installation
• By using the xe CLI

After the driver has been installed, the server must be restarted for the new version of the driver to take effect. As with any software update, we advise customers to back up their data before installing this driver disk.

Please note that the attachment to this article is a zip file. It contains both the driver disk ISO mentioned below, and the source code for the driver. The source code file is not necessary for driver disk installation. It is provided to fulfill licensing obligations.

Installing the driver disk by using XenCenter

Perform the following steps to install the driver disk by using XenCenter:

1. Download the driver disk to a known location on a computer that has XenCenter installed.

   You are not required to extract the contents of the zip file. XenCenter can install the driver from driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.zip or driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.iso.

2. In XenCenter, go to Tools > Install Updates. The Install Update dialog opens.
3. On the Select update tab, choose Select an update or supplemental pack from disk and browse to the location of driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.zip or driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.iso. Click Next.
4. Complete the steps in the dialog to select your servers and install the driver disk.
5. To complete the installation, XenCenter can restart the server now. Alternatively, you can choose to restart manually at a time that is convenient for you.

   Note: The driver does not take effect until after the host is restarted.

Installing as part of a clean XenServer installation

Perform the following steps to install the driver disk during installation:

1. For installation over HTTP or FTP, unpack the contents of the driver disk ISO image (driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.iso) to a network location that can be accessed during the XenServer installation process.

   Ensure that you use the driver ISO (driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.iso) and not the ISO that contains the source files (driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31-sources.iso).

2. Start a XenServer installation as usual.
3. After you have selected your keyboard layout at the first installer prompt, you are presented with a welcome screen. At this point, press F9 on your keyboard and provide the location of the driver files.

   The installer proceeds to attempt to load the driver.

4. Continue with the installation as normal until prompted to insert the driver disk.
5. Near the end of the installation, you are prompted to re-insert the driver disk (otherwise known as a XenServer supplemental pack) so that the driver can be installed onto disk. You must re-supply the driver disk at this point. Failure to do so means that the installation does not contain the new drivers. After this step, no further action is required.

For more information about installing XenServer, see the product documentation.

Troubleshooting

If the installer fails to load the new driver from the driver disk, it is likely to be because an earlier version of the driver has already been loaded. In general, this is because a hardware component is present that is supported by the version of the driver that ships as part of XenServer (even if another component is present that requires a newer version of the driver).

To avoid the existing driver being loaded, use the following procedure:

Note: The following procedure is to be used only in the case when installing a driver as part of a fresh XenServer installation fails. Do not run the rmmod command on your live production systems.

1. Reboot the host, leaving the XenServer installation media mounted.
2. At the boot: prompt, type:

   shell

3. You are presented with a command prompt. Type the following:
   

   rmmod lpfc

   If this succeeds (that is, there are no error messages printed), the installer's versions of the drivers have been unloaded. If error messages are presented, it is likely that other drivers depend on one or more of the drivers you are attempting to unload. If this is the case, please contact Citrix Support.
4. Type

   exit

   or press Ctrl+D on your keyboard, to return to the installer.
5. Use the procedure described above to provide the driver disk to the installer, which now loads correctly.

Installing the driver disk by using the xe CLI

Perform the following steps to install the driver disk remotely using the xe CLI:

1. Download the driver disk to a known location on a computer that has the remote xe CLI installed.

   For more information about the remote xe CLI, see the product documentation.

2. Extract the contents of driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.zip.

   For the next step, ensure that you use the driver ISO (driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.iso) and not the ISO that contains the source files (driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31-sources.iso).

3. Upload the driver disk:
   

   xe [connection_parameters] update-upload file-name=driver-emulex-lpfc-14.4.393.31.iso

   Note: The UUID of the driver disk is returned when the upload completes.

4. Apply the driver disk:
   

   xe [connection_parameters] update-apply uuid=315ec5ff-64de-4c89-a565-72049ffc2305

5. To complete the installation, restart the host.

   Note: The driver does not take effect until after the host is restarted.

Files

RPMs Provided

More Information

For a list of the driver versions and the latest driver disk updates available, see Driver versions for XenServer and Citrix Hypervisor.

If you experience any difficulties, contact Citrix Support.

For information on how to build driver disks, refer to Supplemental Packs and the DDK Guide .

A driver disk for customers running the XenServer 8.4 release who use Emulex's lpfc driver.