topic Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not in ESXi Discussions

lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

gekm — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 11:04:49 GMT

I followed to Intel® Server Adapters — VMware ESXi* Driver and NVM Image Compatibility Information and choosed that‌ driver version. It installed successfully. Now then esxi is up i'm going to cli and type:

~ # lspci | grep Network

0000:09:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection [vmnic2]

0000:09:00.1 Network controller: Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection [vmnic3]

0000:0f:04.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet [vmnic0]

0000:0f:04.1 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet [vmnic1]

It's ok, but then

~ # esxcfg-nics -l

Name    PCI           Driver      Link Speed     Duplex MAC Address       MTU    Description

vmnic0 0000:0f:04.00 tg3         Up   1000Mbps Full   00:19:99:0a:34:2a 1500   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

vmnic1 0000:0f:04.01 tg3         Down 0Mbps     Half   00:19:99:0a:34:2b 1500   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

Also it's absent in vsphere client => network adapters. Here is only Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet too. How to fully initialize I350t2? What the problem?

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

MKguy — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 10:23:23 GMT

Try the latest supported igb driver version 5.3.1 from here: (Make sure you reboot after updating the driver!)

https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/details?downloadGroup=DT-ESXI55-INTEL-IGB-531&productId=353

VMware Compatibility Guide: I/O Device Search

If that doesn't help, please post the output of the following commands:

# vmware -vl

# esxcli software vib list | grep igb

# esxcli hardware pci list | grep "Device Class: 0x0200" -A20 -B15

Also check /var/log/vmkernel.log for any issues.

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

gekm — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 14:26:41 GMT

Thank you for advice, MKguy. I have tried 5.3.1 before 5.2.7, there was nothing differences. Anyway, i'll bring output with both version's here:

~ # vmware -vl

VMware ESXi 5.5.0 build-2068190

VMware ESXi 5.5.0 Update 2

~ # esxcli software vib list | grep igb

net-igb                       5.2.7-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820            Intel   VMwareCertified   2015-11-28

~ # esxcli hardware pci list | grep "Device Class: 0x0200" -A20 -B15

000:009:00.0

   Address: 000:009:00.0

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x09

   Slot: 0x00

   Function: 0x00

   VMkernel Name: vmnic2

   Vendor Name: Intel Corporation

   Device Name: I350 Gigabit Network Connection

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x8086

   Device ID: 0x1521

   SubVendor ID: 0x8086

   SubDevice ID: 0x0002

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0x01

   Interrupt Line: 0x0b

   IRQ: 11

   Interrupt Vector: 0x2d

   PCI Pin: 0xf0

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4110

   Module Name: vmklinux_9

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 4

   Slot Description: Chassis slot 4.00

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:8:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:9:0:0

   Reset Method: Function reset

   FPT Sharable: false

000:009:00.1

   Address: 000:009:00.1

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x09

   Slot: 0x00

   Function: 0x01

   VMkernel Name: vmnic3

   Vendor Name: Intel Corporation

   Device Name: I350 Gigabit Network Connection

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x8086

   Device ID: 0x1521

   SubVendor ID: 0x8086

   SubDevice ID: 0x0002

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0x01

   Interrupt Line: 0x09

   IRQ: 9

   Interrupt Vector: 0x2f

   PCI Pin: 0x00

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4110

   Module Name: vmklinux_9

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 4

   Slot Description: Chassis slot 4.01

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:8:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:9:0:1

   Reset Method: Function reset

   FPT Sharable: false

--

000:00f:04.0

   Address: 000:00f:04.0

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x0f

   Slot: 0x04

   Function: 0x00

   VMkernel Name: vmnic0

   Vendor Name: Broadcom Corporation

   Device Name: NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x14e4

   Device ID: 0x1678

   SubVendor ID: 0x1734

   SubDevice ID: 0x108c

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0xa3

   Interrupt Line: 0x0b

   IRQ: 11

   Interrupt Vector: 0x37

   PCI Pin: 0x6d

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4121

   Module Name: tg3

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 0

   Slot Description:

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Reset Method: Bridge reset

   FPT Sharable: false

000:00f:04.1

   Address: 000:00f:04.1

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x0f

   Slot: 0x04

   Function: 0x01

   VMkernel Name: vmnic1

   Vendor Name: Broadcom Corporation

   Device Name: NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x14e4

   Device ID: 0x1678

   SubVendor ID: 0x1734

   SubDevice ID: 0x108c

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0xa3

   Interrupt Line: 0x09

   IRQ: 9

   Interrupt Vector: 0x38

   PCI Pin: 0x20

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4121

   Module Name: tg3

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 0

   Slot Description:

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Reset Method: Bridge reset

   FPT Sharable: false

...driver updated=>

~ # esxcli software vib list | grep igb

net-igb                        5.3.1-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820            Intel   VMwareCertified   2015-11-30

~ # esxcli hardware pci list | grep "Device Class: 0x0200" -A20 -B15

000:009:00.0

   Address: 000:009:00.0

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x09

   Slot: 0x00

   Function: 0x00

   VMkernel Name: vmnic2

   Vendor Name: Intel Corporation

   Device Name: I350 Gigabit Network Connection

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x8086

   Device ID: 0x1521

   SubVendor ID: 0x8086

   SubDevice ID: 0x0002

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0x01

   Interrupt Line: 0x0b

   IRQ: 11

   Interrupt Vector: 0x2d

   PCI Pin: 0x68

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4110

   Module Name: vmklinux_9

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 4

   Slot Description: Chassis slot 4.00

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:8:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:9:0:0

   Reset Method: Function reset

   FPT Sharable: false

000:009:00.1

   Address: 000:009:00.1

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x09

   Slot: 0x00

   Function: 0x01

   VMkernel Name: vmnic3

   Vendor Name: Intel Corporation

   Device Name: I350 Gigabit Network Connection

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x8086

   Device ID: 0x1521

   SubVendor ID: 0x8086

   SubDevice ID: 0x0002

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0x01

   Interrupt Line: 0x09

   IRQ: 9

   Interrupt Vector: 0x2f

   PCI Pin: 0x14

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4110

   Module Name: vmklinux_9

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 4

   Slot Description: Chassis slot 4.01

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:8:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:9:0:1

   Reset Method: Function reset

   FPT Sharable: false

--

000:00f:04.0

   Address: 000:00f:04.0

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x0f

   Slot: 0x04

   Function: 0x00

   VMkernel Name: vmnic0

   Vendor Name: Broadcom Corporation

   Device Name: NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x14e4

   Device ID: 0x1678

   SubVendor ID: 0x1734

   SubDevice ID: 0x108c

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0xa3

   Interrupt Line: 0x0b

   IRQ: 11

   Interrupt Vector: 0x37

   PCI Pin: 0x00

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4121

   Module Name: tg3

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 0

   Slot Description:

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Reset Method: Bridge reset

   FPT Sharable: false

000:00f:04.1

   Address: 000:00f:04.1

   Segment: 0x0000

   Bus: 0x0f

   Slot: 0x04

   Function: 0x01

   VMkernel Name: vmnic1

   Vendor Name: Broadcom Corporation

   Device Name: NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

   Configured Owner: Unknown

   Current Owner: VMkernel

   Vendor ID: 0x14e4

   Device ID: 0x1678

   SubVendor ID: 0x1734

   SubDevice ID: 0x108c

   Device Class: 0x0200

   Device Class Name: Ethernet controller

   Programming Interface: 0x00

   Revision ID: 0xa3

   Interrupt Line: 0x09

   IRQ: 9

   Interrupt Vector: 0x38

   PCI Pin: 0xf8

   Spawned Bus: 0x00

   Flags: 0x0201

   Module ID: 4121

   Module Name: tg3

   Chassis: 0

   Physical Slot: 0

   Slot Description:

   Passthru Capable: false

   Parent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Dependent Device: PCI 0:14:0:0

   Reset Method: Bridge reset

   FPT Sharable: false

~ # esxcfg-nics -l

Name    PCI           Driver      Link Speed     Duplex MAC Address       MTU    Description

vmnic0 0000:0f:04.00 tg3         Up   1000Mbps Full   00:19:99:0a:34:2a 1500   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

vmnic1 0000:0f:04.01 tg3         Down 0Mbps     Half   00:19:99:0a:34:2b 1500   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

~ #

Same situation here

Vmkernel sends only informational-severity messages.

p.s. sorry for overquotes - i didn't find spoiler in the editor's menu.

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

MKguy — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 15:13:14 GMT

Strange, the vmkernel supposedly detected and claimed the devices, assigning them to vmnic2 and vmnic3 (see the "VMkernel Name" in the detailed hardware output), which means the driver should be ok.

Can you run these commands?:

# ethtool -i vmnic2

# esxcli network nic get --nic-name vmnic2

# grep -i vmnic /etc/vmware/esx.conf

# esxcli system module get --module igb

# esxcfg-module --get-options igb

# enum_instances VMware_EthernetPort root/cimv2

You don't have vmdirectpath pass-through enabled on a VM with these NICs, right?

Someone in a similar thread said it worked for them after a firmware update of the NIC, have you tried that?: Re: Intel I350-T4 only recognized by Esx 5.5, not by 5.5 U2

Download Intel® Ethernet Connections Boot Utility, Preboot images, and EFI Drivers

If all that fails, then at this point I can only guess that maybe there is some server BIOS or NIC BIOS configuration option interfering here. Typically this could be a setting related to interrupt handling. Updating the server BIOS may help too.

Have you tried a different host or moving the NIC to a different physical PCI slot? Also you could consider upgrading to 5.5 U3 regardless of whether this will fix the issue.

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

gekm — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 12:53:27 GMT

~ # ethtool -i vmnic2

Can not get control fd: No such file or directory

~ # esxcli network nic get --nic-name vmnic2

There is no pnic with name vmnic2

~ # grep -i vmnic /etc/vmware/esx.conf

/vmkdevmgr/pci/p0000:0f:04.0/alias = "vmnic0"

/vmkdevmgr/pci/s00000004.01/alias = "vmnic3" #is there syntax mistake?

/vmkdevmgr/pci/s00000004.00/alias = "vmnic2"

/vmkdevmgr/pci/p0000:0f:04.1/alias = "vmnic1"

/device/000:015:04.1/vmkname = "vmnic1"

/device/000:015:04.0/vmkname = "vmnic0"

/device/000:009:00.1/vmkname = "vmnic3"

/device/000:009:00.0/vmkname = "vmnic2"

/net/vswitch/child[0000]/uplinks/child[0000]/pnic = "vmnic0"

/net/vswitch/child[0000]/teamPolicy/uplinks[0000]/pnic = "vmnic0"

/net/vswitch/child[0000]/portgroup/child[0000]/teamPolicy/uplinks[0000]/pnic = "vmnic0"

/net/vswitch/child[0001]/uplinks/child[0000]/pnic = "vmnic1"

/net/vswitch/child[0001]/teamPolicy/uplinks[0000]/pnic = "vmnic1"

/net/vmkernelnic/child[0000]/macFromPnic = "vmnic0"

/net/pnic/child[0000]/name = "vmnic0"

/net/pnic/child[0001]/name = "vmnic1"

~ # esxcli system module get --module igb

   Module: igb

   Module File: /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/igb

   License: GPL

   Version: Version 5.3.1, Build: 1331820, Interface: 9.2 Built on: Sep 10 2015

   Signed Status: Unsigned

   Signature Issuer:

   Signature Digest: 84fc 15df aa35 7aa5 1294 9606 3130 1cb4 89bd 8064 86f1 78af 1a2d 215d 2813 c91c

   Signature FingerPrint: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000

   Provided Namespaces:

   Required Namespaces: com.vmware.driverAPI@9.2.2.0, com.vmware.vmkapi@v2_2_0_0

~ # esxcfg-module --get-options igb

igb enabled = 1 options = ''

~ # enum_instances VMware_EthernetPort root/cimv2

error: enumInstances Failed initialization

I'll try to update to 5.5u3 today.

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

MKguy — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:45:02 GMT

A few more things left to try before giving up:

Post the output from:

# vmkchdev -L

Try the procedure described here to manually enable a vmnic (assign to vmkernel): How to Disable a vmnic in ESX(i) | virtuallyGhetto

E.g. run:

# vmkchdev -v 000:009:00.0

# vim-cmd hostsvc/net/refresh

/vmkdevmgr/pci/s00000004.01/alias = "vmnic3" #is there syntax mistake?

Should be fine, I have similar entries on my hosts.

Backup /etc/vmware/esx.conf and remove all references pointing to vmnic2 and vmnic3 in the file. Then run these commands and reboot:

# /sbin/auto-backup.sh

# backup.sh 0

~ # enum_instances VMware_EthernetPort root/cimv2

error: enumInstances Failed initialization

This error is due to this bug:

VMware KB: Running the cim-diagnostic.sh or swfw.sh command fails with the error: enumInstances Failed initializatio…

Simply comment out the ipv6 localhost ::1 entry in /etc/hosts.

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

gekm — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 15:14:52 GMT

I updated to 5.5u3. Still nothing.

~ # vmware -vl

VMware ESXi 5.5.0 build-3029944

VMware ESXi 5.5.0 Update 3

~ # ethtool -i vmnic2

Can not get control fd: No such file or directory

~ # grep -i vmnic /etc/vmware/esx.conf

/vmkdevmgr/pci/p0000:0f:04.0/alias = "vmnic0"

/vmkdevmgr/pci/s00000004.01/alias = "vmnic3"

/vmkdevmgr/pci/s00000004.00/alias = "vmnic2"

/vmkdevmgr/pci/p0000:0f:04.1/alias = "vmnic1"

/device/000:015:04.1/vmkname = "vmnic1"

/device/000:009:00.1/vmkname = "vmnic3"

/device/000:015:04.0/vmkname = "vmnic0"

/device/000:009:00.0/vmkname = "vmnic2"

/net/vswitch/child[0000]/uplinks/child[0000]/pnic = "vmnic0"

/net/vswitch/child[0000]/teamPolicy/uplinks[0000]/pnic = "vmnic0"

/net/vswitch/child[0000]/portgroup/child[0000]/teamPolicy/uplinks[0000]/pnic = "vmnic0"

/net/vswitch/child[0001]/uplinks/child[0000]/pnic = "vmnic1"

/net/vswitch/child[0001]/teamPolicy/uplinks[0000]/pnic = "vmnic1"

/net/vmkernelnic/child[0000]/macFromPnic = "vmnic0"

/net/pnic/child[0000]/name = "vmnic0"

/net/pnic/child[0001]/name = "vmnic1"

~ # esxcli system module get --module igb

   Module: igb

   Module File: /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/igb

   License: GPL

   Version: Version 5.3.1, Build: 1331820, Interface: 9.2 Built on: Sep 10 2015

   Signed Status: Unsigned

   Signature Issuer:

   Signature Digest: 84fc 15df aa35 7aa5 1294 9606 3130 1cb4 89bd 8064 86f1 78af 1a2d 215d 2813 c91c

   Signature FingerPrint: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000

   Provided Namespaces:

   Required Namespaces: com.vmware.driverAPI@9.2.2.0, com.vmware.vmkapi@v2_2_0_0

some difference here:

~ # enum_instances VMware_EthernetPort root/cimv2

VMware_EthernetPort.CreationClassName="VMware_EthernetPort",DeviceID="vmnic0",SystemCreationClassName="OMC_UnitaryComputerSystem",SystemName="58364b59-3130-3038-3432-0019990a342a"

                    SystemName = 58364b59-3130-3038-3432-0019990a342a

       SystemCreationClassName = OMC_UnitaryComputerSystem

                      DeviceID = vmnic0

             CreationClassName = VMware_EthernetPort

                     AutoSense = 1

                      PortType = 53

       IdentifyingDescriptions = { PCI Bus, PCI Slot, PCI Function, PCI Vendor, PCI DeviceID, PCI Segment, }

          OtherIdentifyingInfo = { 0x0f, 0x04, 0x00, 0x14e4, 0x1678, 0x0000, }

ActiveMaximumTransmissionUnit = 1500

                    FullDuplex = true

              UsageRestriction = 4

          TransitioningToState = 12

                         Speed = 1000000000

                RequestedState = 5

              PermanentAddress = 0019990A342A

             OperationalStatus = { 2, }

              NetworkAddresses = { 0019990A342A, }

                          Name = vmnic0

                LinkTechnology = 2

                  EnabledState = 2

                EnabledDefault = 2

           EnabledCapabilities = { 5, }

                   ElementName = vmnic0

                       Caption = vmnic0

                  Capabilities = { 5, }

SupportedMaximumTransmissionUnit = (NULL)

           OtherLinkTechnology = (NULL)

                    PortNumber = (NULL)

          OtherNetworkPortType = (NULL)

                MaxQuiesceTime = (NULL)

        AdditionalAvailability = (NULL)

             TotalPowerOnHours = (NULL)

                  PowerOnHours = (NULL)

                  ErrorCleared = (NULL)

              ErrorDescription = (NULL)

                 LastErrorCode = (NULL)

                    StatusInfo = (NULL)

                  Availability = (NULL)

   PowerManagementCapabilities = (NULL)

      PowerManagementSupported = (NULL)

                   Description = (NULL)

                    InstanceID = (NULL)

                   InstallDate = (NULL)

            StatusDescriptions = (NULL)

                        Status = (NULL)

                   HealthState = (NULL)

           CommunicationStatus = (NULL)

                DetailedStatus = (NULL)

               OperatingStatus = (NULL)

                 PrimaryStatus = (NULL)

             OtherEnabledState = (NULL)

         TimeOfLastStateChange = (NULL)

      AvailableRequestedStates = (NULL)

                      MaxSpeed = (NULL)

                RequestedSpeed = (NULL)

                 OtherPortType = (NULL)

                   MaxDataSize = (NULL)

        CapabilityDescriptions = (NULL)

      OtherEnabledCapabilities = (NULL)

                SupportedPorts = { 1, }

            SupportedLinkModes = { 10_HALF, 10_FULL, 100_HALF, 100_FULL, 1000_HALF, 1000_FULL, }

           AdvertisedLinkModes = { 10_HALF, 10_FULL, 100_HALF, 100_FULL, 1000_HALF, 1000_FULL, }

     AdvertisedAutoNegotiation = true

               PhysicalAddress = 1

                   Transceiver = 1

                  WOLSupported = { 6, }

                    WOLOptions = { 6, }

VMware_EthernetPort.CreationClassName="VMware_EthernetPort",DeviceID="vmnic1",SystemCreationClassName="OMC_UnitaryComputerSystem",SystemName="58364b59-3130-3038-3432-0019990a342a"

                    SystemName = 58364b59-3130-3038-3432-0019990a342a

       SystemCreationClassName = OMC_UnitaryComputerSystem

                      DeviceID = vmnic1

             CreationClassName = VMware_EthernetPort

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

gekm — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 14:36:52 GMT

So, i tried 5.5U2, 5.5U3, 6.0 - seem's like all of them does not support i350t2! Now i downgraded to 5.5 and now:

~ # vmware -vl

VMware ESXi 5.5.0 build-1331820

VMware ESXi 5.5.0 GA

~ # esxcfg-nics -l

Name    PCI           Driver      Link Speed     Duplex MAC Address       MTU    Description

vmnic0 0000:0f:04.00 tg3         Up   1000Mbps Full   00:19:99:0a:34:2a 1500   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

vmnic1 0000:0f:04.01 tg3         Down 0Mbps     Half   00:19:99:0a:34:2b 1500   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5715 Gigabit Ethernet

vmnic2 0000:09:00.00 igb         Down 0Mbps     Half   a0:36:9f:a1:41:b0 1500   Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection

vmnic3 0000:09:00.01 igb         Down 0Mbps     Half   a0:36:9f:a1:41:b1 1500   Intel Corporation I350 Gigabit Network Connection

here they are! Detected without any driver manipulations! Of course this is not a solution, but it's better than nothing. My thank to MKguy for help. If i will need 5.5U2+ i'll try to update my network card firmware - this is last hope.

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

CollinChaffin — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 08:00:23 GMT

This is not the correct answer. This is a known issue with this driver and it revolves around the NVM checksum on this chipset and some configurations. I have had this exact issue with the i350's and i211's myself so can say 100% this driver works through 6u1 build 3380124.

Run the following to install a modified build of this driver to fix this specific issue and you will be good to go. Lspci will show the card and the non-modified driver simply won't load due to the checksum. This modified driver simply ignores the NVM checksum allowing the driver to load.

SSH to esxi host and issue these commands (if you don't want to pull down the vib locally):

esxcli software acceptance set --level=CommunitySupported

esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient

esxcli software vib install -n net-igb -d https://vibsdepot.v-front.de

Reboot the host.

Hope this helps!

Collin

Re: lspci detect i350t2 but vsphere does not

CollinChaffin — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 08:19:18 GMT

Oh and here's the output you should receive:

Installation Result

Message: The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.

Reboot Required: true

VIBs Installed: Intel_bootbank_net-igb_5.2.10-9

VIBs Removed: Intel_bootbank_net-igb_5.3.1-1OEM.550.0.0.1331820

VIBs Skipped:

That is installing the modified igb driver into the latest 6.0u1 build 3380124 (This month). I've also installed this modified build back to v5 with zero issues for this exact issue as well.

Your issue is clear right? Hardware seen, driver not loading. That's what the lspci is showing you above. When the driver attempts to load, due to the NVM checksum the driver looks doesn't like the checksum and just refuses to load. The only thing modified in the driver link I posted is to simply bypass that NVM checksum check - no other driver changes so should be zero impact to performance, params, etc.

Don't feel bad this had me pulling my hair out for quite some time too before I found the solution. The good news is, rolling back to older esx builds is NOT needed here - you can absolutely run the latest and greatest with this NIC!