NUC11TNKv5 Powers back on again after shutting down VMware ESXi 7

[Steviestainz]

Hi there,

I have 3 x Intel NUC11TNKv5 NUCs configured with 64GB RAM, 16GB USB3 boot disk, Samsung EVO 960 NVMe cache and Crucial 500GB capacity SSDs running VMware ESXi 7.0.1d. My NUCs have the mezzanine module configured to provide a total of 2 x onboard Intel 2.5Gbit/s NICs which requires the Community Networking Driver Fling from VMware in order to recognise the adapters successfully. They are being used in my VMware vSAN lab environment and everything is working normally from the perspective of the day to day functionality. Actually the above could be considered a working spec in case others want to achieve a similar configuration.

However, when I shut down ESXi using the GUI/command line the operating system shuts down, the power light goes off and then after about 1 second it turns itself back on again. The OS then boots up again as normal. This behaviour appeared to me initially as if the NUC thinks a power failure has occurred, and attempts to power itself back on again, so I set the power failure entry in the BIOS to remain powered off but this doesn’t help.

All three NUCs behave the same way, but an identical configuration based upon Intel NUC7i5BNH devices does not exhibit this behaviour. I have set the power management to Balanced, but disabled WiFi, audio, Bluetooth etc. as I won’t be using those features.

Can anyone suggest if this is a known problem or if there’s anything which I can do to troubleshoot further? I’m running the latest BIOS and am now thinking about trying a different OS on a USB drive to see if the power down behaviour is the same. 

[LeonWaksman]

Such phenomena I saw in NUC FN after updating BIOS to new version. After resetting BIOS to default settings, the shutdown was OK again.

[Steviestainz]

Thanks @LeonWaksman - Sorry it took a while to give your advice a try, but I found a newer release of the BIOS (21/5/21) and applied it to all three NUCs today. Then used F9 to load optimised defaults on the main menu but alas no improvement. I also made sure that Wake from Thunderbolt was turned off and Deep S5 was enabled too, again same behaviour.

I’ve never come across a device that powers back on again after OS shutdown, it seems really peculiar. Almost like ESXi is doing a reboot instead of power off. However the key observation is that the power light does switch off for around 1 seconds before it powers back on again.

Anyone else able to reproduce this?

[LeonWaksman]

Hi @Steviestainz 

1. Please ensure in BIOS settings  Power > Secondary Power Settings that After Power Failure is set to Stay Off

2. Just to be sure - after setting to default setting (F9), did you click on F10 to save the default settings?

Leon

[gregu-]

Hello,

 i have the same situation, i have 3 nucs NUC11TNHv50L and they all can't get shutdown when i use ESXi 7.0.2 on it, i had different versions of esxi and same behaviour. Any chance you solved it ?

Firmware is the latest as of today. I flashed them today,

[ClariceStarling]

"All three NUCs behave the same way,"

Do they all use the same keyboard and mouse ... or each has its own?

[lubatools]

Hello,

Just received my new NUC 11 core i5.

I have updated BIOS and running ESXI 8 and have exactly the same problem. It appears I can’t shut down the system…. it always restarts…

Is there any solution for this or should I return it?

Thank you.,

[gregu-]

I still havent found any solution for it. Ever 2-3 months I am replacing firmware to the newest and still nothing. The only thing i have noticed is that now I can shut them down at least using the Intel kvm manager tool. It still does.not shutdown with esxi. Is there an official way where you caN ask for support from intel, or just this forum?

[lubatools]

Hi,

What do you with Intel kvm manager tool? You mean on top of esxi or as a different system? Is there anyway to shutdown esxi?

[gregu-]

Intel mess Commander, for those nucs that have intel amt in ithem. If you have ones without amt, ten i guess only option is to remove power cord...

[gregu-]

Typo, intel mesh commander

[x15user]

Considering that the overheating / freezing problems, which have plagued the X15 since their inception, haven't been solved, without a word from Intel, I highly doubt they'll care about making shutdown work.

If you find a responsive channel, though, please let us know.

[n_scott_pearson]

There are multiple products that might be your "NUC 11 core i5". Provide a proper model number.

While you are at it, what BIOS version do you have installed?

...S

[lubatools]

Hello,

NUC Model: BNUC11TNHi50002
BIOS version: TNTGL357.0069 (last one as of today).
What’s the Intel kvm manager tool? I’ll investigate this, if at least I could shutdown somehow….

[FedSpad]

Hello,

I've the same problem, I think it's depend from ESXi and NUC 11; with NUC7 and NIC10 and the same vSphere version I don't have any problem.

I need to leave settings "After power Failure" with value "Power On".

My Environment:

2x NUC Model: BNUC11TNHi50000
BIOS version: TNTGL357.0070 (last one as of today)

1x NUC Model: NUC10TNHi7

1x NUC Model: NUC7TNHi3

I will investigate.

Regards