Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5764M with ESXi 7

[AubsUK]

I've acquired an old HP Z600 for home testing. I know it's old and no longer supported, but I'm ok with that.  I've replaced the single CPU with two E5640's and upped the RAM significantly.

It has a Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5764M Ethernet port onboard.

I can install ESXi 6.7U3 (using VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.7.0.update03-14320388.x86_64.iso) and all works correctly (I did have to enable legacy CPU allowLegacyCPU=true).  The NIC is accepted and reported as:

[root@localhost:~] esxcli network nic list
Name    PCI Device    Driver  Admin Status  Link Status  Speed  Duplex  MAC Address         MTU  Description
------  ------------  ------  ------------  -----------  -----  ------  -----------------  ----  --------------------------------------------------------
vmnic0  0000:01:00.0  tg3     Up            Up            1000  Full    3c:d9:2b:5b:63:c7  1500  Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5764M Gigabit Ethernet

[root@localhost:~] esxcli network nic get -n vmnic0
   Advertised Auto Negotiation: true
   Advertised Link Modes: 10BaseT/Half, 10BaseT/Full, 100BaseT/Half, 100BaseT/Full, 1000BaseT/Half, 1000BaseT/Full
   Auto Negotiation: true
   Cable Type: Twisted Pair
   Current Message Level: 255
   Driver Info:
         Bus Info: 0000:01:00.0
         Driver: tg3
         Firmware Version: 5764m-v3.35
         Version: 3.131d.v60.4
   Link Detected: true
   Link Status: Up
   Name: vmnic0

[root@localhost:~] vmkchdev -l | grep vmnic0
0000:01:00.0 14e4:1684 103c:130a vmkernel vmnic0

When I try and install ESXi 7.0 (any version), I get:  

No network adapters were detected.  Either no network adapters are physically connected to the system, or a suitable driver could not be loaded.
Ensure that there is at least one network adapter physically connected to the system before attempting installation. If the problem persists, consult the VMware Knowledge Base.
(Enter) Reboot

Looking at the VMware Compatibility Guide, the Broadcom : NetXtreme BCM5764M Gigabit Ethernet should be supported in all versions of 7.0, though the original 7.0 release needs it downloading.

SXi 7.0 U3	ntg3 version 4.1.7.0-0vmw	VMware Inbox, native
ESXi 7.0 U2	ntg3 version 4.1.5.0-0vmw	VMware Inbox, native
ESXi 7.0 U1	ntg3 version 4.1.5.0-0vmw	VMware Inbox, native
ESXi 7.0	ntg3 version 4.1.4.1-1vmw **Footnotes  : Download driver from…	VMware Async, native
ESXi 6.7 U3	tg3 version 3.131d.v60.4-2vmw	VMware Inbox, vmklinux

I've created several custom ISOs for various versions of ESXi 7.0 to 7.0 U3 and added VMW-ESX-6.5.0-ntg3-4.1.2.0-5562451.zip. I know it's for 6.5, but it was the first location I could find it).  All gave the same results.  As could probably be expected. I can't find a download for ntg3 version 4.1.4.1-1.

From the VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 7.0.0 >> Drivers & Tools >> Driver CDs page, there is VMware ESXi 7.0 Driver CD for Broadcom NetXtreme-C/E BCM5731x/BCM57xxx Network Controller. Building an ISO using the ESXi Offline Bundle for 7.0.0 and including the driver with the following PS command:

.\ESXi-Customizer-PS.ps1 -iZip "C:\Temp\ESXi\VMware-ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-depot.zip" -pkgDir "C:\Temp\ESXi\ESXi-Customizer-PS-2.8.1\VIBs" -outDir "C:\Temp\ESXi\Output\700\" -log "C:\Temp\ESXi\Output\700\ESXi-Customizer-PS.log" -nsc

gives the following output:

Using Imageprofile ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard ...
(Dated 03/16/2020 10:48:54, AcceptanceLevel: PartnerSupported,
The general availability release of VMware ESXi Server 7.0.0 brings whole new levels of virtualization performance to datacenters and enterprises.)

Loading Offline bundles and VIB files from C:\Temp\ESXi\ESXi-Customizer-PS-2.8.1\VIBs ...
   Loading C:\Temp\ESXi\ESXi-Customizer-PS-2.8.1\VIBs\Broadcom-bnxt-Net-RoCE_216.0.293.106-1OEM.700.1.0.15525992_16039884.zip ... [OK]
      Add VIB bnxtnet 216.0.72.0-1OEM.700.1.0.15525992 [OK, replaced 216.0.50.0-4vmw.700.1.0.15843807]
      Add VIB bnxtroce 216.0.65.0-1OEM.700.1.0.15525992 [OK, replaced 216.0.58.0-1vmw.700.1.0.15843807]

Exporting the Imageprofile to 'C:\Temp\ESXi\Output\700\\ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard-customized.iso'. Please be patient ...

Running through the install again gave the same result.  Tried this with different builds of 7, all with the same results.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I'm not sure what else I can do.

[GodfatherX64]

Did you got any where with your issue?

im in the same boat and no solution is working except add another NIC

[AubsUK]

Sorry, I didn't see your reply (I don't think I had a notification email).

I've tried so many ways and nothing seems to work. I think adding a NIC card in might work, but I've been ill and not had the enthusiasm to do that. Plus I don't have a spare card without taking it out of another machine!

If you figure anything out, please do share and I'll do likewise. Emails turned on!

[AubsUK]

I bought a £10 GBP 4-port Gigabit NIC from eBay and it allowed me to install ESXi 7. Though it did say it was unsupported (or would be in later versions). For the sake of £10, I couldn't complain, though frustrating the built-in NIC wouldn't work and no response in the forum.

[DKalinowski]

I ran into the same problem with BCM5719 Network Card:

With Custom-ISO from Lenovo my vmnic were "lost" not shown with "# esxcli network nic list"

because the vmkernel.log said, that system is seaching for tg3 devices, I made the following changes

# esxcli system module set --enabled=true --module=ntg3 

# reboot

and now my vmnics are back in town 😁

hope this helps

[btechit]

anyone tried this with success with the BCM5764M?

[bbrotschi]

I am experiencing the same. Although I am trying to make this work on a HP Z400. Same NIC. ESXi 6.7 is working fine. Install of ESXI-7.0U3G fails claiming it can't identify network interface.

Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5764M Gigabit Ethernet = integrated NIC

Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5761 Gigabit Ethernet = 2nd NIC installed in PCIe bus

What is the make and model of network adapter which was recognized by the installer ?

[bbrotschi]

just replaced the Broadcom NIC with the following, Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapter RJ45 to PCIe x4 w/ Intel(R) 82573. Same outcome. Any thoughts or ideas on how to resolve this issue ?

[btechit]

use intel i350 nic.  dual or quad are easy to get from ebay for around $50. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=intel+i350&_sacat=0

"60% of the time they work every time"

[bbrotschi]

fingers crossed, order has been placed.

[bbrotschi]

OK, replacing the Broadcom NIC with the following adapter worked

NEW = Network Card for I350-T2V2 Intel Dual Ports RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapter

Learned a couple of other things along the way. While the upgrade from 6.7 to 7.x did proceed, after installing the Intel NIC. I ran into a problem with the installer complaining about "unsupported CPU". After some searching, I found the following command which needed to be amended to the "runweasel" command from the ESXi installer.

After starting the ESXi installer, before automatic boot starts (press the SHIFT + O key combination). You will then see in the bottom left of the screen a command.

>runweasel cdromBoot

this needs to be changed to the following.

>runweasel cdromBoot allowLegacyCPU=true

press <ENTER> and let the installer continue. NOTE, I tried the "upgrade" option (which after install did not install ethernet driver software). I would recommend choosing the "install" option instead, in my case the ethernet driver software did get installed and when the machine rebooted (post install), I had network connectivity.

P.S. thanks to Unkyjoe's Playhouse YouTube video for instruction on how to deal with the unsupported CPU issue.

[btechit]

so when using upgrade you didn't have intel i350 drivers, or didn't have the Broadcom nic drivers?   using install did install the missing "XXX" driver?

Worth noting:  be sure you are using the latest esxi 7 installer, not the initial release - use esxi7 U3 version, which has patches fixes and new drivers in it, over the older/initial release 7.0 version.