DELL - Precision Workstation 490 Network Card - Burnt , Not able to connect to Network what are my possibilities ?

[varkalahomelabe]

Hi All,

System Configuration - Dell workstation 490 -  2* intel xeon x5355 Quad Core 2.66 GHZ,  RAM - 8 *4 GB RAM, 1TB 7.2 K SATA 3.5 HD, 512 MB NVIDA Quadro Dual DVI Cache, and optical DVD ROM,

I installed ESXI 6.0 for my home lab, unfortunately my NIC card port has been completely burnt. I am not able to connect to network, Rest all services are running fine. I wanted to explore my best possible options for overcome this huddle. Am really curious to resolve this issue. Since my desktop has no connectivity am not able to connect via Client tool as well. Would really appreciate if you can guide me to solve this issue.

This is the error I get  "No Compatilble network adapter found.Please consult the products hardware compatibility Guide(MCG) for list of Supported adapters"

Thanks,

Srinath

[bluefirestorm]

Cursory search results show Precision 490 came with Broadcom 575x Gigabit Ethernet controller and also has 2 PCIe x8 (wired as 4x) slots.

The most obvious first step is to get a replacement Gigabit Ethernet card assuming the PCIe slots are free. Try to get a Gigabit Ethernet PCIe card with a Broadcom 575x or 57xx chipset to be as close as possible to your original integrated Ethernet controller.

On the other hand, it's the first time I have ever heard of a LAN port being completely burnt. So there might be more issues going on that needs to be addressed as well; such as heat building up inside as a result of not having proper ventilation and possibly some other things on the motherboard could be also be close to failing for the integrated LAN port to be completely burnt.

[varkalahomelabe]

Is it possible to use wireless  USB adapters Or USB to Ethernet adapters ?? I see that's much cheaper way. But does esxi 6.0 support it ??

[bluefirestorm]

I don't think any of the ESXi versions support WiFi for ESXi host as ESXi is really designed for server/enterprise/data centre environments. It isn't expected one would be carrying around an ESXi host to different places. As for USB Ethernet it depends on the chipset; but USB Ethernet chipsets tend to be consumer grade rather than the enterprise grade that ESXi would support. Support in this context is that an ESXi driver exists for that device.

You can check for all the compatible network cards here by selecting the appropriate version and Network as I/O Device Type; you can also select Brand Name such as Broadcom.

VMware Compatibility Guide - I/O Device Search

The reason I suggested another BCM575x or BCM57xx is that it is closest to the integrated Ethernet controller the Precision Workstation 490 (according to specifications). Your recovery may be easier as the drivers would already be installed for your ESXi host. Most of the time, chipsets from the same family would share the same software driver.

Doing a search on Amazon, typing BCM575 (it suggested BCM5751) the results show Gigabit Ethernet NICs anywhere between US$14 - US$28.99 (excluding shipping).

The Compatibility guide shows BCM5751 as a supported card.

It is strange for the integrated Ethernet port to be completely burnt out; maybe it sounds worse than it really is. But for electronics to have "magic smoke" incidents usually suggest some sort of heat build-up. You should provide more ventilation and air flow to your system. Don't place the unit too close to a wall as the exhaust from the fans of hot air simply will be slowly cooking the components on the outside (and also inside). The front should also not be obstructed. You will also have to clean up dirt and dust that will likely have built up inside.