Nested Virtualization

[marius1]

I use nested virtualization for pure tersting and self trainins puposes.
I attempted to install ESXi free version as a guest VM in VMware Player on a Windows 10 PC.
Up to versiuon 6.7 I was able to install ESXi and perform limited activities.
With ESXi 7.x I get an error during installation saying that no network adapters were detected.
How can I solve this issue and go on using my nested VMware ESXi?

[Alex_Romeo]

Hi,

It means that the network card drivers are not compatible with version 7.0. You can create an ISO custome by entering the drivers of your network card. There are some guides on the net on how to proceed.

I once solved it by buying a USB ethernet adapter ... that one was recognized.

regards,

AR

[ptarnawski]

Hey @marius1 ,

As @Alex_Romeo mentioned, you must build a custom ISO that includes your network card drivers.  Furthermore here you have a walkthrough of how to build a home lab:

https://angrysysops.com/home-lab/ 

[Kinnison · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Excuse me, but there is no need to complicate your life with custom ISO and company singer.

With the most recent versions of the "VMware Wokstation PRO" product and therefore reasonably the "Player" version as well, at the time of creation of the virtual machine just choose ESXi 7.0 hardware compatibility level and that's usually enough, or check that the your virtual machine at least uses the "VMXNET3" model as a network interface.

It should also be said that in ESXi 8 the legacy bios had been deprecated, so in your virtual machine if you want to do things right use UEFI.

Regards,
Ferdinando