ESXi

Hello,

I'm thoroughly confused.

I bought this NIC for use with ESXi 4 u1 thinking that it would work out-of-the-box:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121

There is even comment there from a user saying that this works in ESXi 4. Every HCL I've come across lists the Intel Pro/1000 GT as being compatible with ESXi, but I've come to find out that this isn't true. I've been having the same problem as the guy who started this thread:

http://communities.vmware.com/message/1297009

However, I'm unable to install the driver posted to this thread without network access. I've tried all sorts of things. Rather than continue messing around to get this to work, perhaps using another NIC temporarily and having to go through all of this again the next time I need to reinstall ESXi, I'd rather just get a NIC that will work out-of-the-box. I'm still able to return/replace my card through NewEgg.

Can somebody kindly point me at a similar card on NewEgg that for sure, without question works in ESXi? I'm still baffled as to why reports about this card vary so much, so I'm sort of paranoid about returning this and randomly trying something else.

Thanks in advance for entertaining my frustration and paranoia, and helping offer me some assurances :smileyhappy:

The HCL lists the Pro/1000 GT Server Adapter not what you purchased, the Desktop adapter. There are multiple versions of the server adapter as well. You may be able to make the card work. I would use some references on the http://vm-help.com website about modifying the simple.map file.

The HCL lists the Pro/1000 GT Server Adapter not what you purchased, the Desktop adapter. There are multiple versions of the server adapter as well. You may be able to make the card work. I would use some references on the http://vm-help.com website about modifying the simple.map file.

Ahhh.. That explains it!

My understanding of simple.map is that it helps detect certain hardware? My Desktop adapter is being detected just fine, it just doesn't work. Since I don't see any server adapters on NewEgg anywhere close to the price I paid for the Desktop adapter (which is not surprising, I just figured that an Intel Pro/1000 GT was an Intel Pro/1000 GT), I guess my best hope is to try to install that driver that is reported to make my NIC work.

Any suggestions how I can go about that without being able to get a network going? I was toying around with VMWare Server, but unfortunately Server 2 doesn't support booting off of physical USB devices, so I'd have to somehow clone my vmdk file back to my USB drive I'm booting from for evaulation purposes.

simple.map can also tell ESXi to use a particular driver for a given device. Have a look at the ESXi 4 (not U1) download page for some Intel driver downloads. Instructions are included for installing. You will need to look on one of the tabs for the downloads.

simple.map can also tell ESXi to use a particular driver for a given device. Have a look at the ESXi 4 (not U1) download page for some Intel driver downloads. Instructions are included for installing. You will need to look on one of the tabs for the downloads.

Tabs on the VMWare site? If so, like I said, I found the driver. The link to it is in the thread in my first post. The problem with it is that ESXi requires the vSphere CLI tools to install patches offered by VMWare, and in order to use the CLI tools I need to be able to connect to my ESXi host over the network. I have no way to connect to my ESXi host to install the driver.

Some of the CD driver disks install directly. I thought I remembered that the intel one did as well and was pointing to it for reference only. Update 1 has all the drivers from the driver CD download tab. You can try putting the card in a different slot?? Use a utility or your system tools to change the interupt the card uses.?? Modify simple.map to use one of the other drivers???

Some of the CD driver disks install directly. I thought I remembered that the intel one did as well and was pointing to it for reference only. Update 1 has all the drivers from the driver CD download tab. You can try putting the card in a different slot?? Use a utility or your system tools to change the interupt the card uses.?? Modify simple.map to use one of the other drivers???

The driver is indeed listed there, this was the driver referred to in the thread in my first post. Unfortunately, the only way to install it is with vlhostupdate in the CLI tools:

http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/drivercd/esx40-net-igb_400.1.3.19.12-1.0.4.html

I need network access to do this.

I'm not sure what fiddling with the simple.map file will do for me? I know what driver I need, I need this driver, I just can't install it. The card is detected fine, I just need this driver.

As far as changing the interrupts for the card, it works fine in other OSes. I'd like to first install this driver before doing that, if I can only find a way to do so.

Any ideas as to how I can install this driver?

Hey guys,

I created a new thread about installing this driver: http://communities.vmware.com/thread/250732 . I'm sorry about this dead-end thread, but since I only have a free PCI slot and not a PCI-E slot, there is very little that can be purchased that will be compatible with ESXi out-of-the-box that is PCI based, with exception to the MT server adapter which is significantly more expensive. If I have to get this NIC I guess I will, but getting my GT Desktop adapter to work seems so tantalizingly close if I can only find a way to install this driver!

At any rate, perhaps it's best to reply to my other thread (http://communities.vmware.com/thread/250732) since I'm pretty clear as to why the GT Desktop adapter is a no-go, thanks to the help of somebody in this thread clueing me in to the fact that there is a server and desktop adapter. I'm slow sometimes!

You really aren't helping your cause by making multiple posts about the same issue. I believe there are three possible drivers for the supported Intel NICs. I may be wrong but . . . Update 1 already contains all the additional drivers. No need to try installing anything else. Waste of time. Do some investigation about the chipset in the card you have. See if you can figure out which driver might support the card.

Check to see which driver is loaded for your card.

>lspci -p

Have a look at http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/ESXi_35_common_issues.php#IP_is_0000

If you still don't have a workable solution have a use the forums at http://vm-help.com to see if someone has created a custom oem.tgz with a workable solution. Otherwise find a real server adapter on the HCL.

You really aren't helping your cause by making multiple posts about the same issue. I believe there are three possible drivers for the supported Intel NICs. I may be wrong but . . . Update 1 already contains all the additional drivers. No need to try installing anything else. Waste of time. Do some investigation about the chipset in the card you have. See if you can figure out which driver might support the card.

Check to see which driver is loaded for your card.

>lspci -p

Have a look at http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/ESXi_35_common_issues.php#IP_is_0000

If you still don't have a workable solution have a use the forums at http://vm-help.com to see if someone has created a custom oem.tgz with a workable solution. Otherwise find a real server adapter on the HCL.

Okay, I will post on the vm help forums as well as this one, but just to follow up with your useful suggestions...

Doing an lspci -p I see that the e1000 driver is loaded for my card with ID 8086:107c. According to this: http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/Hardware_support.php#Intel this is exactly the right driver for this card. When I do an esxcfg-nics -l I see the card using the e1000, but when I attempt to use it does not work and cannot get a DHCP lease.

Any idea what the driver I've been babbling about is for? If my NIC does indeed use the e1000 kernel module, this is obviously not at all uncommon. You're right, everybody should have that.

Thanks for your help and patience!

The confusion is more likely that there is a Server Adapter and Desktop adapter and they are not the same. Try manipulating the drivers as per the vm-help site to see if one of the other two work.

What do you mean by "driver" exactly? It looks like the e1000 and e1000e kernel module covers a wide swath of Intel Pro cards, is this what you mean?

What was the aforementioned driver offered on VMWare's driver CDs downloads page anyway? I think I'm conflating "driver" with "kernel module", or are they the same thing when used in this context?

kernel modules are the drivers. The three Intel modules are e1000 e1000e and igb If ESXi has loaded the e1000 module then try the e1000e and then the igb module. You only have the three choices.

kernel modules are the drivers. The three Intel modules are e1000 e1000e and igb If ESXi has loaded the e1000 module then try the e1000e and then the igb module. You only have the three choices.

Thanks for your patience, I'm learning as I go!

I updated my simple.map following the instructions on the vmhelp site mapping my PCI ID from e1000 to both e1000e and igb. Neither allowed me to boot any longer, so for right now it appears that the info the vmhelp site is correct - the correct driver for the card is indeed the e1000 driver.

Do you have any other suggestions of things I can try here?

I don't know whether there is firmware available either up or down in version.

Use a PCI utility or possibly bios in your MB to change the interrupt the card uses. Disable any extra onboard devices that aren't being used.

All the while here I am assuming you have tried the obvious like try a different cable, different switch, verified the card works in another system, etc.

The last thing I did was check the Intel website for the Intel Pro/1000 GT Desktop Adapter. Intel shows the chipset as 82541PI

The HCL shows the 82541PI based card as being supported for 3.5 and not under 4.

I would try the vm-help.com website to see whether anyone has created an oem.tgz with other Intel drivers.

I don't know whether there is firmware available either up or down in version.

Use a PCI utility or possibly bios in your MB to change the interrupt the card uses. Disable any extra onboard devices that aren't being used.

All the while here I am assuming you have tried the obvious like try a different cable, different switch, verified the card works in another system, etc.

The last thing I did was check the Intel website for the Intel Pro/1000 GT Desktop Adapter. Intel shows the chipset as 82541PI

The HCL shows the 82541PI based card as being supported for 3.5 and not under 4.

I would try the vm-help.com website to see whether anyone has created an oem.tgz with other Intel drivers.

Question: would any of the interrupt issues be apparent in other OSes? This is not a leading question, I don't know the answer to this... Cause if so, my card in the exact same PCI slot works perfectly in Ubuntu on the same machine, same cable, same router.

My chipset is indeed the 82541PI, and I'm aware of the card being supported and using the e1000 which is what makes this so weird...

I was unable to find any Intel drivers for my card provided on the vm-help website, unfortunately...

Okay, I disabled everything in my BIOS except what I need. This included my parallel and serial ports, onboard LAN, etc.

Same result, unfortunately. Looking at the ESXi logs I see the same old kernel message that has been confounding me:

vmnic0: e1000_clean_tx_irq: Detected Tx Unit Hang

I've tried disabling tso as well, since some threads involving this error message suggest this. When I do this it says "function not implemented", but doing an ethtool -k vmnic0 I see that TSO is switched off anyway.

What version of ESXi are you installing? 3.5 or 4.

4.0 U1

Then

The HCL shows the 82541PI based card as being supported for 3.5 and NOT supported under 4.

Then

The HCL shows the 82541PI based card as being supported for 3.5 and NOT supported under 4.

You're right! Sorry, I missed that completely somehow even though I've gone through that list several times. I must be blind! This card is, however, not listed on this page, perhaps in error? http://vm-help.com/esx40i/Hardware_support_removed.php

This must be exactly where this driver: http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/esx_esxi40_intel_82575_82576_dt/ZCV0YmR0QGpidHdw comes into play given that it is reported to work with my NIC, and is listed as being for ESXi 4? However, you said that this driver would have been included and provided in ESXi anyway? This is where it gets confusing to me... Could the info in the official VMWare HCL for this NIC simply not be up-to-date? If I need to install this driver, how can I go about doing this w/o network access?

It is certainly possible that the driver you linked to is different than the ones included in Up 1.

You can try from the Unsupported Console but you will need to find a way to copy the file to the disk. Boot from a linux rescue disk or ?? and copy the file to the datastore.???

Boot ESXi and put it into maintenance mode.

From the unsupported console you can try

>esxupdate --bundle=INT-intel-lad-ddk-igb-1.3.19.12.1-offline_bundle-185976.zip update

It is certainly possible that the driver you linked to is different than the ones included in Up 1.

You can try from the Unsupported Console but you will need to find a way to copy the file to the disk. Boot from a linux rescue disk or ?? and copy the file to the datastore.???

Boot ESXi and put it into maintenance mode.

From the unsupported console you can try

>esxupdate --bundle=INT-intel-lad-ddk-igb-1.3.19.12.1-offline_bundle-185976.zip update

Ahhh.. I didn't realize that the esxupdate binary was available, I was looking for vlhostupdate.

I copied over the bundle to my datastore as you said, put the host into maintenance mode:

vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter

installed the driver successfully, and rebooted. It came up using the e1000 driver, same results, so I altered the simple.map to use the igb driver instead, rebooted, and got the warning about not being able to find supported hardware.

I was hopeful about this, but it looks like this puzzle persists... The driver is very clearly an IGB driver, right, so all I have to do is change the simple map entry for my PCI ID from e1000.o to igb.o to use the new driver, right?

Based on this

>Doing an lspci -p I see that the e1000 driver is loaded for my card with ID 8086:107c. According to this: http://www.vm->help.com/esx/esx3i/Hardware_support.php#Intel this is exactly the right driver for this card. When I do an esxcfg-nics -l I see the card using the e1000, >but when I attempt to use it does not work and cannot get a DHCP lease.

you want to stick with the e1000 driver. Just to confirm when you run lspci -p is a module (e1000) listed for the NIC? What status does esxfcg-nics -l show for the NIC? Have you tried to manually set an IP address?

Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.

Based on this

>Doing an lspci -p I see that the e1000 driver is loaded for my card with ID 8086:107c. According to this: http://www.vm->help.com/esx/esx3i/Hardware_support.php#Intel this is exactly the right driver for this card. When I do an esxcfg-nics -l I see the card using the e1000, >but when I attempt to use it does not work and cannot get a DHCP lease.

you want to stick with the e1000 driver. Just to confirm when you run lspci -p is a module (e1000) listed for the NIC? What status does esxfcg-nics -l show for the NIC? Have you tried to manually set an IP address?

I haven't checked on lspci -p in a while, but esxcfg-nics -l was definitely showing the NIC assigned to e1000. With the NIC manually assigned an IP address I can ping it part of the time, the rest of the time my pings timeout. The timeouts seem to be related to the traffic involved such as trying to connect to it via the vSphere Client, since doing this consistently causes the timeouts as if duplexing is an issue, although the esxcfg-nics -l output shows full duplexing is detected.

If I do a esxcfg-nics -a vmnic0 I sometimes lose my connection to the NIC causing it to show up with a speed of 0, half duplex, and "disconnected" in the management GUI.

This card is detected out of the box, it seems like it ought to work, it just seems buggy as hell. What has really been messing with my head is the conflicting reports I'm getting about the status of this card and people's success in getting it to work, and it's not like this card is obscure or uncommon in anyway.

Have you tried to set the duplex / speed on the switch as well?




Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.

Have you tried to set the duplex / speed on the switch as well?<br><br><br><br><br>Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.

Yes, manually setting properties via ethtool or esxcfg-nics seems to have no effect, and sometimes causes the NIC to revert to a disconnected state. Some of the properties such as TSO are not configurable with this NIC. I don't know if TSO is a feature typically reversed for server NICs?

Do some searching in the forum for esxcfg-module and e1000. You might find some problem similar to yours.

This KB article will tell you have to use the command - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1013413.

Do some searching in the forum for esxcfg-module and e1000. You might find some problem similar to yours.

This KB article will tell you have to use the command - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1013413.

Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.

Do some searching in the forum for esxcfg-module and e1000. You might find some problem similar to yours.

This KB article will tell you have to use the command - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1013413.

The only article that comes up is this very thread :smileyhappy:

I looked at esxcfg-module before and tried a couple of commands with it, but I felt like I was sort of flailing about in the dark. Are there any particular commands/options you'd recommend to help with my flailing? :smileyhappy:

Thank you, BTW...

So, I went and bought an Intel Pro server adapter and installed it...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106114

This is clearly labeled as supported by VMWare in their compatibility list. Exact same results: a combination of packets received and dropped. A comment on the NewEgg page confirms it working in ESXi 4.

The odd thing is, doing a:

lspci -p

shows using PCI ID: 8086:1026

while lspci shows that the chipset is 82545GM. According to the simple map file on vm-help:

http://vm-help.com/esx40i/Hardware_support.php#Intel

this PCI ID belongs to the 8254NXX Gigabit Ethernet Controller chipset. The 82545GM chipset is not listed on this page. Is it possible that I got myself another incompatible card? I kind of doubt it, but I don't know what else it could be.

Again:

1) Both cards work in Ubuntu in the same PCI slot on the same machine

2) I've disabled all hardware not-in-use within the BIOS

3) The card is detected (rightly or wrongly) by ESXi, the machine boots

4) Some packets are being dropped, I cannot connect via vSphere Client

Because I'm experiencing the exact same problem I'm tempted to think that this might be something hardware related with my PC, but I can't think of what this might be...

Any ideas?

Moved to the ESXi 4 forum.




Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.

Thanks