XC Core: Nutanix Life-Cycle Manager Fails to Update Mellanox CX4-Lx Firmware 14.22.xx.xx (and earlier) or Mellanox CX5 Firmware 16.22.xx.xx (and earlier)

Summary: XC nodes that are equipped with Mellanox CX4-Lx or Mellanox CX5 network devices fail to complete Nutanix Life Cycle Manager (LCM) updates due to out-of-date firmware that requires an intermediate firmware update to be applied first. ...

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Symptoms

XC nodes that are equipped with Mellanox CX4-Lx or Mellanox CX5 network devices fail to complete Nutanix Life Cycle Manager (LCM) updates due to out-of-date Mellanox firmware versions:
  • Mellanox CX4-Lx FW 14.22.xx (or earlier)
  • Mellanox CX5 FW 16.22.xx.xx (or earlier)
The Dell Lifecycle Logs show an error code SUP0517 indicating that the Mellanox firmware could not be updated as it is in a locked state or is not present, as seen in the following example:
 
 Event Code  Message
SUP0517 Unable to update the Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx Dual Port 25 GbE DA/SFP rNDC firmware to version 14.31.20.06 because the operation is not supported or the device is in a locked state or the device is not present in the target system.
 
NOTE: Although the Mellanox network devices fail to update using Nutanix LCM, other updates may still successfully complete.  

Cause

Mellanox introduced a change requiring Mellanox CX4-Lx Firmware 14.26.xx.xx (or later) and Mellanox CX5 Firmware 16.26.xx.xx (or later) to be updated to an intermediary firmware version first.

Nutanix LCM does not support automatic installation of any intermediary Mellanox firmware update for Mellanox CX4-Lx FW 14.22.xx (and earlier) or Mellanox CX5 FW 16.22.xx.xx (and earlier).

Resolution

This is resolved without hardware replacement.
 

CAUTION: Data loss or unavailability may result if XC nodes are not first placed into maintenance mode following Nutanix KB Article 000004639.


If XC nodes are running Mellanox CX4-Lx FW 14.22.xx.xx (or older) or Mellanox CX5 FW 16.22.xx.xx (or older), the following firmware versions must be applied sequentially on each XC node while in maintenance mode, one at a time, using the iDRAC Web UI before attempting LCM updates:
  • For Mellanox CX4-Lx network devices, first apply firmware version 14.24.80.00 available from the Dell Support site here.
  • For Mellanox CX5 network devices, first apply firmware version 16.24.10.00 available from the Dell Support site here.
 
 NOTE: A manual update of the Mellanox firmware can take up to and potentially longer than 45 minutes per system depending upon number of Mellanox devices, ports, and other configurations.

To place the XC node in maintenance mode, follow Nutanix KB Article 000004639. Once an XC node's Mellanox network device has been updated manually, place the XC node back into production before moving to the next XC node in the cluster that requires this manual update.

After the intermediate firmware releases have been applied to the Mellanox network devices in all XC nodes in the cluster, Nutanix LCM can be run to automatically apply remaining firmware and software updates.

Affected Products

XC Core Systems, XC Series Appliances, Dell EMC XC Core XCXR2, Dell EMC XC Core XC450, Dell EMC XC Core XC650, Dell EMC XC Core XC6520, Dell EMC XC Core XC740xd2, Dell EMC XC Core XC750, Dell EMC XC Core XC750xa, Dell XC430 Hyper-converged Appliance , Dell XC430 Xpress Hyper-converged Appliance, Dell XC630 Hyper-converged Appliance, Dell XC6320 Hyper-converged Appliance, Dell EMC XC Series XC640 Appliance, Dell EMC XC Core XC640 System, Dell EMC XC Series XC6420 Appliance, Dell EMC XC Core 6420 System, Dell XC730 Hyper-converged Appliance, Dell XC730XD Hyper-converged Appliance, Dell EMC XC Series XC740xd Appliance, Dell EMC XC Core XC740xd System, Dell EMC XC Series XC940 Appliance, Dell EMC XC Core XC940 System, Dell EMC XC Core XC7525 ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000198051
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 13 May 2026
Version:  3
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