diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_main.c
index 27b31d5a95dd..537ed5ad7800 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_main.c
@@ -2414,15 +2414,19 @@ static int enic_adjust_resources(struct enic *enic)
 		enic->intr_count = enic->intr_avail;
 		break;
 	case VNIC_DEV_INTR_MODE_MSIX: {
-		/* Reserve one MSI-X slot for the admin channel interrupt
-		 * when V2 SR-IOV admin channel resources are present.
-		 */
-		unsigned int admin_reserve =
-			enic->has_admin_channel ? 1 : 0;
-
 		/* Adjust the number of wqs/rqs/cqs/interrupts that will be
-		 * used based on which resource is the most constrained
+		 * used based on which resource is the most constrained.
+		 * Reserve one extra MSI-X slot for the admin channel INTR
+		 * when has_admin_channel is set so that
+		 * enic_admin_setup_intr() can allocate at intr_count
+		 * within the intr_avail bounds even when the data queue
+		 * count is maxed out.  intr_count counts only the data-path
+		 * IRQs (registered by enic_request_intr()); the admin INTR
+		 * lives at msix index intr_count and is set up later by
+		 * enic_admin_setup_intr().
 		 */
+		unsigned int admin_reserve = enic->has_admin_channel ? 1 : 0;
+
 		wq_avail = min(enic->wq_avail, ENIC_WQ_MAX);
 		rq_default = max(netif_get_num_default_rss_queues(),
 				 ENIC_RQ_MIN_DEFAULT);
@@ -3128,6 +3132,42 @@ static int enic_probe(struct pci_dev *pdev, const struct pci_device_id *ent)
 		goto err_out_dev_close;
 	}
 
+	/* Initialise link_notify_work before the V2-VF admin-open block below:
+	 * its error path (err_out_admin_close -> enic_admin_channel_close() ->
+	 * cancel_work_sync()) would otherwise act on an uninitialised work.
+	 */
+	INIT_WORK(&enic->link_notify_work, enic_link_notify_work_handler);
+
+	/* V2 VF: open admin channel and register with PF.
+	 * Must happen before register_netdev so the VF is fully
+	 * initialized before the interface is visible to userspace.
+	 *
+	 * enic_mbox_init() installs the receive handler and resets the
+	 * sequence number; it must run before enic_admin_channel_open()
+	 * unmasks the admin interrupt so an early completion is not dropped.
+	 */
+	if (enic_is_sriov_vf_v2(enic)) {
+		enic_mbox_init(enic);
+		err = enic_admin_channel_open(enic);
+		if (err) {
+			dev_err(dev,
+				"Failed to open admin channel: %d\n", err);
+			goto err_out_dev_deinit;
+		}
+		err = enic_mbox_vf_capability_check(enic);
+		if (err) {
+			dev_err(dev,
+				"MBOX capability check failed: %d\n", err);
+			goto err_out_admin_close;
+		}
+		err = enic_mbox_vf_register(enic);
+		if (err) {
+			dev_err(dev,
+				"MBOX VF registration failed: %d\n", err);
+			goto err_out_admin_close;
+		}
+	}
+
 	netif_set_real_num_tx_queues(netdev, enic->wq_count);
 	netif_set_real_num_rx_queues(netdev, enic->rq_count);
 
@@ -3140,7 +3180,6 @@ static int enic_probe(struct pci_dev *pdev, const struct pci_device_id *ent)
 	INIT_WORK(&enic->reset, enic_reset);
 	INIT_WORK(&enic->tx_hang_reset, enic_tx_hang_reset);
 	INIT_WORK(&enic->change_mtu_work, enic_change_mtu_work);
-	INIT_WORK(&enic->link_notify_work, enic_link_notify_work_handler);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < enic->wq_count; i++)
 		spin_lock_init(&enic->wq[i].lock);
@@ -3153,7 +3192,7 @@ static int enic_probe(struct pci_dev *pdev, const struct pci_device_id *ent)
 	err = enic_set_mac_addr(netdev, enic->mac_addr);
 	if (err) {
 		dev_err(dev, "Invalid MAC address, aborting\n");
-		goto err_out_dev_deinit;
+		goto err_out_admin_close;
 	}
 
 	enic->tx_coalesce_usecs = enic->config.intr_timer_usec;
@@ -3251,11 +3290,23 @@ static int enic_probe(struct pci_dev *pdev, const struct pci_device_id *ent)
 	err = register_netdev(netdev);
 	if (err) {
 		dev_err(dev, "Cannot register net device, aborting\n");
-		goto err_out_dev_deinit;
+		goto err_out_admin_close;
 	}
 
 	return 0;
 
+err_out_admin_close:
+	if (enic_is_sriov_vf_v2(enic)) {
+		if (enic->vf_registered) {
+			int unreg_err = enic_mbox_vf_unregister(enic);
+
+			if (unreg_err)
+				netdev_warn(netdev,
+					    "Failed to unregister from PF: %d\n",
+					    unreg_err);
+		}
+		enic_admin_channel_close(enic);
+	}
 err_out_dev_deinit:
 	enic_dev_deinit(enic);
 err_out_dev_close:
@@ -3293,7 +3344,30 @@ static void enic_remove(struct pci_dev *pdev)
 		disable_work_sync(&enic->reset);
 		disable_work_sync(&enic->tx_hang_reset);
 		disable_work_sync(&enic->change_mtu_work);
+
+		/* Close the admin channel and unregister from the PF before
+		 * unregister_netdev() to prevent a late PF notification from
+		 * touching a netdev that is being torn down.
+		 */
+		if (enic_is_sriov_vf_v2(enic)) {
+			if (enic->vf_registered) {
+				int unreg_err = enic_mbox_vf_unregister(enic);
+
+				if (unreg_err)
+					netdev_warn(netdev,
+						    "Failed to unregister from PF: %d\n",
+						    unreg_err);
+			}
+			enic_admin_channel_close(enic);
+		}
+
 		unregister_netdev(netdev);
+		/* unregister_netdev() -> enic_stop() stops the notify timer, so
+		 * no new link_notify_work can be queued past this point.  Cancel
+		 * unconditionally to cover the narrow window where
+		 * enic_link_check() scheduled it just as SR-IOV was disabled.
+		 */
+		cancel_work_sync(&enic->link_notify_work);
 #ifdef CONFIG_PCI_IOV
 		if (enic_sriov_enabled(enic)) {
 			if (enic->vf_type == ENIC_VF_TYPE_V2)
diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_res.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_res.c
index 436326ace049..74cd2ee3af5c 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_res.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/cisco/enic/enic_res.c
@@ -211,7 +211,8 @@ void enic_get_res_counts(struct enic *enic)
 		vnic_dev_get_res_count(enic->vdev, RES_TYPE_ADMIN_RQ) >= 1 &&
 		vnic_dev_get_res_count(enic->vdev, RES_TYPE_ADMIN_CQ) >=
 			ARRAY_SIZE(enic->admin_cq) &&
-		vnic_dev_get_res_count(enic->vdev, RES_TYPE_SRIOV_INTR) >= 1;
+		(enic_is_sriov_vf_v2(enic) ||
+		 vnic_dev_get_res_count(enic->vdev, RES_TYPE_SRIOV_INTR) >= 1);
 
 	dev_info(enic_get_dev(enic),
 		"vNIC resources avail: wq %d rq %d cq %d intr %d admin %s\n",