How to check network driver and NIC firmware. This X557 driver family first arrived in the ESXi 6.0 GA. Web view of my Netgear XS708T ProSAFE 8-Port 10.

• Esxi Add Network Adapter

I had several folks ask me about an updated USB 3.0 Ethernet Driver for ESXi 6.5, similiar to what I had created for ESXi 5.5 and 6.0. There were some changes that came with ESXi 6.5 and thanks to Songtao, I was able to build a new driver. For those of you who are not familiar with this particular driver, I highly recommend you give this article here a read before proceeding any further. If you are interested in Realtek driver for ESXi 6.5, be sure to check out Jose's blog here for more info.

UPDATE (02/12/19) - A new VMware Native Driver for USB-based NICs has just been released for ESXi 6.5/6.7, please use this driver going forward. If you are still on ESXi 5.5/6.0, you can continue using the existing driver but please note there will be no additional development in the existing vmklinux-based driver.

UPDATE (04/23/18) - For folks who plan to upgrade or install ESXi 6.7, you can continue using the 6.5 driver. I've had several folks reach out and share there have not been any issues and upgrades will preserver the USB NIC driver or you can perform a fresh install and follow the steps below.

To to use this new driver for ESXi 6.5, there are some additional steps that is required. Below are the instructions on how to install this on an ESXi 6.5 host.

Step 0 - Download the ESXi 6.5 USB Ethernet Adapter Driver VIBor ESXi 6.5 USB Ethernet Adapter Driver Offline Bundleandupload it to your ESXi host.

Step 1 - If you are upgrading from an existing ESXi 5.5 or 6.0 environment, the first thing you will want to do is uninstall the old driver by running the following command (specify the correct name of the driver):

esxcli software vib remove -n vghetto-ax88179-esxi60u2

Step 2 - Install the VIB by running the following ESXCLI command to install:

esxcli software vib install -v /vghetto-ax88179-esxi65.vib -f

Step 3 - Next, you will need to disable the USB native driver to be able to use this driver. To do so, run the following command:

esxcli system module set -m=vmkusb -e=FALSE

Step 4 - Lastly, for the changes to go into effect, you will need to reboot your ESXi host. Once your system has rebooted, it should now automatically load the USB Ethernet driver and you should see your USB Ethernet Adapter as shown in the screenshot below.

Step 5 - ESXi does not natively support USB NIC and upon a reboot, the USB NICs are not picked up until much later in the boot process which prevents them from being associated with VSS/VDS and their respective portgroups. To ensure things are connected properly after a reboot, you will need to add something like the following in /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh which re-links the USB NIC along with the individual portgroups as shown in the example below.

Esxi Add Network Adapter

You will also need to run /sbin/auto-backup.sh to ensure the configuration changes are saved and then you can issue a reboot to verify that everything is working as expected.

This post is also available in:Italian

As written in the previous post, one common issue with recent servers of new generations is that maybe the NIC drivers are not included in the standard ESXi ISO.

An if you use the vendor (or a personal) customized ISO, could be possible that during a patch update or a version upgrade you loose the drivers and the system is no working anymore. In those cases you may have an ESXi that complete his bootstrap, but without any network connectivity is not usable and could be hard to fix the missing drivers because VUM and other remote tools tools could not work and, of course, also upload the right drivers could be hard. Detergent soap making formula pdf.

One simple solution could be try to boot with the alternative bank and make a rollback. For more information about the two banks layout see this old post. Another solution is run the customized CD and follow the upgrade procedure, in this way you probably will fix the drivers.

Or you can try to fix the active bank, by adding the right drivers using a USB key as described in KB 1036340 (Cannot mount a USB key or disk device media to an ESX/ESXi host) that works fine also with ESXi 5.1. Note that the USB key must be not bigger than 2 GB and formatted with FAT16 (on Windows you have to use the FAT option during the format).

To mount a USB key on your ESXi enable and enter in the console and follow those steps:

• Put the host in maintenance mode (needed later for the driver installation):vimsh -n -e /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter
• Run this command to stop the usbarbitrator service:/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop
• Disconnect and reconnect the USB key or disk device media.The device is automatically mounted under /vmfs/volumes/NO NAME/
• Then you can fix your drivers as usual using this command:esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/NO NAME/offline-bundle.zip (note that you must use an absolute path)
• Now you can reboot your host

Virtualization, Cloud and Storage Architect. Tech Field delegate.VMUG IT Co-Founder and board member. VMware VMTN Moderator and vExpert 2010-18. Dell TechCenter Rockstar 2014-15. Microsoft MVP 2014-16. Veeam Vanguard 2015-18. Nutanix NTC 2014-18. PernixPro 2014-16.Several certifications including: VCDX-DCV, VCP-DCV/DT/Cloud, VCAP-DCA/DCD/CIA/CID/DTA/DTD, MCSA, MCSE, MCITP, CCA, NPP.