What I usually do is to verify that a hardware component (e.g. a network adapter) is supported by VMware.  The VMware HCL also lists the required firmware, and driver version (combination).

The required firmware can usually be downloaded from the vendor's web site, as it's not specific to vSphere. The vSphere drivers - no matter whether these are VMware's native inbox drivers, or vendor "async" drivers, can usually be downloaded from a common place on VMware's web site.

André