No network adapters were detected ESXI 7 D-link and Realtek

[dalleuh]

Hi there, first of all I'm a total noob in this stuff so take a deep breath before you dive in with me^^

 So I'm after downloading the VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 7.0U2a iso and setting it up on a usb stick with rufus, after trying to install it on a Dell Vostro 3888 I get the error "No network adapters were detected".

Now I have 2 NICs (I hope I'm not calling them that wrongfully)

1- the one which came with the pc: Realtek Semiconductor RTL811/8168/8411 PCI Express gigabit ethernet controller, which I found this download

2- the one we added: D-link system DGE-528T gigabit ethernet adapter, which I found this download from this blog which asnwsers my problem but on esxi5/5.5/6

 

Now the big question is; can any of those 2 NICs somehow be installed on esxi7 using esxi-customiser (even though ESXi-Customizer only supports ESXi versions 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5. and when running it on windows 10 I get an error, but I fixed that with this)

OR 

should I change the esxi version that is compatible with both of my NICs 

either way, buying a new one that is on the compatibility list  is a last resort because I'm on an internship and I'm trying to work with what I got.

Here is my reddit post concerning this issue, if you want to read more about how I got this far ! 
Thanks in advance

[a_p_]

Drivers for older ESXi versions are not compatible wit ESXi 7.0, and I'm not aware of anyone who provides drivers for the network adapters that you are using. So I'd suggest that you try ESXi 6.x, to see which versions works on your system.

André

[dalleuh]

Hello sir thanks for the reply,

"I'm not aware of anyone who provides drivers for the network adapters that you are using."

so I have heard lately, kind of unlucky  

"So I'd suggest that you try ESXi 6.x, to see which versions works on your system."

I'm sorry but I don't get that, do you mean I should try downloading multiple esxi 6.x version and keep trying to install them until maybe one would have the drivers and things works out?

thanks.

[a_p_]

The reason that it mentioned 6.x is that your hardware is not officially supported, and I can't tell you whether your network adapters are the only components that may prevent you from installing a given version. The different ESXi versions have different hardware requirements for e.g. CPU models etc.

As a side note, the latest available ESXi-Customizer is a Powershell (PowerCLI) script that's available at https://github.com/VFrontDe/ESXi-Customizer-PS

André

[dalleuh]

Ok here is where it gets more confusing to me! based on this compatibility guide  there is no D-link or Realtek drivers, so that means that no matter what esxi version, I won't find a supported driver in the iso right? ok now how about the unsupported drivers? where do I even find them (because every driver I find is on windows) and lets say I found one, does merging it with the esxi via the esxi-customizer gonna make the installation succeed (ofc assuming I don't have other hardware issues) ?

do you think it's worth it to keep looking for a solution instead of just getting a supported intel nic? 

thanks

[a_p_]

>>> I won't find a supported driver in the iso right?
Right.

>>> where do I even find them 
It looks like drivers for the NIC models that you mentioned are available from https://vibsdepot.v-front.de/wiki/index.php/List_of_currently_available_ESXi_packages (Net55-r8168)

>>> does merging it with the esxi via the esxi-customizer gonna make the installation succeed
Go for it. Btw. the ESXi-Customizer-PS script has options to create a current ESXi image online, into which you can inject the custom drivers.

>>> do you think it's worth it to keep looking for a solution instead of just getting a supported intel nic?
It depends on the use case, and the time you are willing to spend.

André

[dalleuh]

"https://vibsdepot.v-front.de/wiki/index.php/List_of_currently_available_ESXi_packages (Net55-r8168)"

yeah I already tried to merge this with the esxi7 iso but using the esxi-customizer which only supports up to 5.5, maybe that's why the installation didn't succeed, I'll try with the esxi-customizer-ps and maybe with other esxi versions (if the vmware website lets me get to the download page :p)

thank you both for your replies!

[dimyke]

You got some good feedback in the Reddit post as well.

My 2 cents in case the customization does not work . Buy yourself the cheapest intel nic card you can find. With my homelab I discovered that even my built in intel nic on my motherboard worked out of the box.

Or second idea: install esxi on virtualbox on windows/Ubuntu. Or install esxi on VMware workstation on Ubuntu or Windows. It's far from ideal but of you don't want to spend any money and it's just for your internship, that should work.

Good luck!