Error
UEM warning event observed for VMS01 and VMS02 error Smartpqi02: pqisrc_heartbeat_timer_handler:0171: Handler called early at time 2.
Environment
VMware vSphere 7.x
VMware vSphere 8.x
Root Cause
Alert message from smartpqi driver, "Handler called early at time ..., instead of expected time ...", appears in log because controller's heartbeat timer handler is triggered slightly earlier than the expected 10-second interval. This early triggering occurs due to minor timing discrepancies in the system clock or variations in CPU scheduling, causing timer to fire before the full timeout period elapses.
However, this behavior does not impact the controller's functionality or performance.
Workaround/Fix
Treat the alarms as harmless and ignore them as per Broadcom's guidance unless functionality issues are observed.