We have 3 HP DL185 G5 servers with E200 controllers that have been running ESXi 4.1. Every 3-4 months or so each server will freeze/hang and take all guest VMs down with it. The only way to resolve the issue is to cold boot the server.
When the server freezes/hangs - you are still able to ping the IP address of the server but all guests are inaccessible. From a physical standpoint, the lights on all drives light up like a Christmas tree during the freeze and stay lit. There are no indications of problems at the console. Also - the vSphere client software does not allow you to connect to the host until after the server is rebooted.
Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing those servers to behave this way? I realize that the DL185 G5 server is not on the HCL and that the only way to resolve this for sure is to buy new servers that are fully supported. However - I am hoping that someone may have identified a source for this problem.
Chip Andrews