What is eNIC/ fNIC?
Applies to
- Flexpod
- Cisco eNIC
- Cisco fNIC
- Ethernet driver for Cisco VIC
- FCoE driver for Cisco VIC
Answer
What is eNIC, fNIC?
Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card (VIC) drivers facilitate communication between supported operating systems and Cisco UCS VICs.
Cisco UCS VIC driver ISO bundles include an eNIC driver and an fNIC driver, where eNIC is the driver for the Cisco UCS VIC Ethernet NIC and fNIC is the driver for the Cisco UCS VIC Fibre Channel over Ethernet HBA. Fiber Channel NIC, also referred to as fNIC, is used by the ESX or Linux flavor of operating systems to communicate with the physical HBA card installed on the server. It is used to connect FC or iSCSI storage LUNs to hosts. The fNIC driver enables FCoE support for the Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card family of products.
Flexpod configuration should have the following minimum version of drivers:
Cisco eNIC | 2.1.2.38 | Ethernet driver for Cisco VIC |
Cisco fNIC | 1.5.0.20 | FCoE driver for Cisco VIC |
How to find the NIC driver version?
- For ESX systems, run the following command:
#vmkload_mod -s fnic
for FCoE Cards
vmkload_mod module information
input file: /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/fnic
Version: Version 1.5.0.8, Build: 472560
#vmkload_mod -s enic
for Ethenet cards
- For Linux systems, run the following command:
[root@linux-host]# dmesg | grep -i fnic
$fnic: Cisco FCoE HBA Driver, ver 1.5.0.1
[root@linux-host]# dmesg | grep -i enic
You can also run cat /sys/module/enic/version
for eNIC and cat /sys/module/fnic/version
for fNIC
- For Windows:
- Under Control Panel, go to Device Manager and right-click Cisco VIC Ethernet Interface
- Select Properties, click the Driver tab, and check the Driver Version.
How to validate supportability of the ENIC/FNIC driver version?
- For latest ENIC/FNIC driver versions, see NetApp Interoperability Matrix
-
They can be found under the 'Storage Solution': 'FlexPod SAN' and 'Storage Area Network (SAN)' for 'Host HBA'
-
Example:
Cisco UCS M81KR Virtual Interface Card CNA
Driver = 1.5.0.1 (Inbox),
Firmware = 2.0(2),
Protocol = FCoE,
Spec = Dual-port 10gE PCI-Express CNA, Cisco UCS System Firmware 2.0(2)
How to update the driver?
Related Links:
What are connectivity and best practices for NetApp storage?
Related Links:
- Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Storage Connectivity Options and Best Practices with NetApp Storage
- For more information on checking firmware versions against the VMware HCL, see VMware KB 1027206
Additional Information
N/A