The onboard Intel 82579LM nic cannot be detected by vmware esxi4.1 and 5.0 out of the box.
For ESXi 4.1,
download the custom oem.tgz here with the e1001e driver and replace/merge the one in the /bootbank
For ESXi 5.0,
1st option :
Please try the following:
1. Install your machine(s) with the vanilla ESXi 5.0 ISO.
2. Log on to the console (or via ssh) of one of the machines and install the vib file by using the following commands:
esxcli software acceptance set –level=CommunitySupported
esxcli software vib install -v http://files.v-front.de/net-e1001e-1.0.0.x86_64.vib
3. reboot, configure all NICs, and try to enable FDM then
2nd option :
Get the driver E1001E.tgz and create a custom esxi 5.0 install iso using the tools at http://esxi-customizer.v-front.de/
hello
could you give me the download link of vanilla ESXi 5.0?
thx!
You can get it from vmware website
https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/index.php?p=free-esxi5&lp=default
the problem of install esxi on 990,i had worked out by second solution
i have another question now
i install an vcenter on the first 990,and,the solution of this artical were work
but i want to install the other 990 by auto deploy app
acturally,install esxi at 990 is not work by auto deploy
the problem still is the network interface card
in the esxi 5.0 mirror,dirvers is a vib file
and vib is mention in your first solution
Is this work for auto deploy?
thx!
but to use the vib, you must place a supported NIC first.
no,i just want to make an offline_bundle package of e1000e NIC
Hi
regarding 1. option for ESXi 5.0 – how can I install a plain vanilla ESXi on a Dell Optiplex 990 if the installer aborts because it can not find an network adapter?
regarding 2. option: I get “You don’t have permission to access /~sfluk/files/E1001E.tgz on this server.” when i click the link. Any other option to download it?
Thanks a lot for putting up this solution
Roger
I did this today and it WORKED !! Thank You SO much !!!!
P.S. Citrix XenServer 6 loads without any problems (so now I have one 990 with VMware ESXi 5 and one with Citrix XenServer 6)
Hi Roger,
For option 1, you have to put a compatible NIC in the 990 first
For option 2, I have fixed the permission of the download link.
Thanks! Option 2 works! OptiPlex 990 MT
Works like a charm. many thanks 😉
cheers
can someone share the iso created in the second option for 5.0?
This worked great, thank you. Will it also work for ESXi 5.1?
This really need a test,
Option 2 : It worked Perfectly, Thanks a lot !
Hi, is this driver ” E1001E.tgz” for Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Adapter or I need modify?
Regards
Holy cow, thank you so much for this! Option 2 worked flawlessly, and was supremely easy.
You put together many remarkable tips within ur blog,
“Dell Optiplex 990 with VMWare ESXi 4.1 and ESXi 5.0
| Peter Luk’s Blog”. I may remain heading back to ur web page eventually. Thanks -Maryann