ESXi - i217 and i210

D

_d3_

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Jan 13, 2013
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Hi, does anybody know, if i217 (V/LM) and i210 chips on new lynxpoint based motherboards are working in esxi?
 
Don't get i217, I think it's a desktop version which doesn't support many of the features VMware requires. Therefore, only i210 is supported.
 
You can find VMWare driver (igb-4.0.17-890403.zip) for the I210, I350 and 82580 Gigabit Ethernet controller.
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?productId=268&downloadGroup=DT-ESXi5X-INTEL-igb-4017

I am going to use it on a SuperMicro X10SLM+-LN4F (Socket 1150 Haswell E3-1200V3) which has a 4 nic Intel® i210AT Controller. (writing it here fully so others searching for compatible will find it here)
Going for a test run this weekend and keep it posted here if it all works.
Out of the box ESXi 5.1 U1 does not recognise the ethernet NICs and refuses to install.
. So my options are build a custom ISO ( a lot of work) Or put a mainstream $30 Intel PCIe NIC in the box so I can install VMWare and add the drivers afterwards for the I210AT

So my strategy/workaround is:
1. Insert an Intel 1GBit card PCI Express card (EXPI9301CT) in the 1U server and install ESXi 5.1U1
2. Install the VMWare
3. Add the igb 4.0.17 driver from the VMWare site
4. Remove the nic, and close up my 1U server and back into the rack :)

Wessel
 
Ok, that strategy of Plan A failed for me upgrading the install afterwards with a new driver is close to imposible as there is no command prompt available.

I took plan B:
Create a custom ISO. This turns out to be "very" simple!

Use the tool found here:
1. http://www.v-front.de/p/esxi-customizer.html
2. Download your ESXi image
3. Download the driver, and unpack it (http://click.hardforum.com/?url=htt...017&id=1&match=1&source=none&destination=none)
4. Run the tool: ESXi-Customizer-v2.7.1.
5. Run the tool, select the ISO and select the *.VIB file that is inside the driver package (Intel_bootbank_net-igb_4.0.17-1OEM.500.0.0.472560.vib)
6. Your new custum image is now saved under ~/Documents
7. Mount the image with your IPMI and install your custom ESXi image.
Enjoy

Wessel
 
I got the Intel i210 working in ESXi 5.1. I installed a 1x PCIe Intel Pro/1000 and left it in while getting everything online. Once you have ESXi installed, you'll need to grab the iGB .vib from VMWare and copy it to your datastore. Then install the VMWare vSphere command line utility (VCLI) on your desktop computer and issue the command to install the .vib. It's a pretty simple process that only takes a few minutes. Once the .vib is installed, you can remove the PCIe/PCI nic.

The command I used from vCLI was:
esxcli --server=10.10.10.5 --username=root software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/Intel_bootbank_net-igb_5.0.5.1-1OEM.500.0.0.472560.vib

Hit enter and it will install and should give you a confirmation. Reboot and you should be good and can remove the extra nic.

Yes, there's 2 dashes for both of those. Hope this helps!
 
How do I get both the i210 and i217 working at the same time? I used ESXi Customizer and successful got the i217 to recognize, but not the i210. I suppose the first link probably gets the I210 working normally, but not the i217. I may try to install one vib and then manually add the second one using this method.

http://www.ivobeerens.nl/2013/09/20/enable-the-intel-i217-v-network-card-in-vmware-esxi/

The ESXi Customizer would not let me add 2 vib files at the same time. Thanks for the help.
 
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So I tried that and it worked i210 shows up now as well. Sweet!

I hope that helps anyone else that has that issue. ESXi Customizer needs the option to add multiple vib files.

EDIT: I found out that he makes another tool ( ESXi Community Packaging Tools ) that can bundle multiple vib files if needed to be used by ESXi Customizer.

http://www.v-front.de/p/esxi5-community-packaging-tools.html
 
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