R350 stuck on Initializing Interfaces

We have VMware ESXi 8 running on the R350s, and both servers connected via HBA355e mini-SAS to the Powervault ME5012. The ESXi installations were done with a Custom Built Image from Dell, including the correct drivers. We downloaded the Dell Custom Built Image via the VMware's Customer Site. We started the R350s servers independently, and it doesn't complete the boot sequence. The boot process shows"Initialising Interfaces" but doesn't continue the complete run. If we subsequently unplug the mini-SAS cables, the boot sequence does continue. If I reattach the SAS cables, I can see the Volumes I created in vCenter. That works fine, except that one server is rebooting, and we are back at the same stage as written above. Preferably, we don't want to enter the data centre and disconnecting physically the solution, but if there is no other way. So what seems to be the issue? Do we need to enter the BIOS and physically alter the configuration of the ports? Or do we need to upgrade the BIOS?