Category Archives: HP

10GB Nics Do Not Appear After ESXi 6.0 U1b Update (Emulex HP NC550SFP)

If after ESXi upgrade the host does not see network card. You need to check the compatibility of drivers which came with a new ESXi version with your network card firmware. This example is for Emulex HP NC550SFP (Part Number  581201-B21) and ESXi 6.0 U1b HP custom image.

  1. Check the current BIOS version for Emulex 10GB card (version 4.9.416.2)
BIOS_Emulex_HP_NC550SFP

BIOS_Emulex_HP_NC550SFP

2. Check VMware Compatability Guide for the specific network card (i.e. HP NC550SFP http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=17123)

VMware Compatability Guide HP NC550SFP

3. SSH to host and check the firmware version installed: esxcli software vib list | grep elxnet

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_01

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_01

VMware ESXi 6.0 U1b comes with 10.5.121.7-OEM.600.0.0.2159203 driver for elxnet. This driver does not support the NC550SFP card’s firmware version. Need to downgrade the drivers.

4. Download the driver version required (10.2.298.5)

5. Remove the elxnet vib: esxcli software vib remove -n elxnet

6. Install the required driver version: esxcli software vib install -d “/vmfs/volumes/datastore/tmp/VMW-ESX-5.5.0-elxnet-10.2.298.5-offline_bundle-2263089.zip”

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_02

Emulex_HP_NC550SFP_02

7. Reboot the host: esxcli system shutdown reboot -r ‘Downgrade Emulex HP NC550SFP driver (elxnet) to 10.2.298.5’

 

References:

VMware kb2008939: Installing patches on an ESXi 5.x/6.x host from the command line (2008939)