VMware has released new Driver rollup ISO image for VMware ESXi 5.5.0 few weeks back. There weren't much news about this release so I thought is's a good idea to point out to which usages this ISO is destined. This is an installable iso ISO which is suppose to be used for clean installations only so upgrades aren't supported.
The ISO includes original IOVP certified drivers (IOVP – I/O Vendor Partner Program) provided by device manufacturers which were not present on the ISO initially (or are updated) released when vSphere 5.5 came out.
The ISO shall detect recent hardware or recent I/O devices more easy compared to drivers included with the ESXi inbox drivers.
By reading the release notes:
Important: The ESXi 5.5.0 Driver Rollup 1 is designed for fresh installations of ESXi hosts. VMware does not support using the ESXi 5.5.0 Driver Rollup 1 to upgrade an existing ESXi installation.
Known Issues.
You should make sure that If you install ESXi by using this ISO then when patching by using the CLI make sure that you use #esxcli software vib update and not the #esxcli software vib install command. Otherwise you might experience PSOD.
Even if you use this ISO to try to upgrade existing ESXi host, and the installer detects that there is an existing installation of ESXi, you shall NOT select the upgrade option as it's unsupported and the ESXi 5.5.0 Driver Rollup 1 installation will overwrite the existing installation.
Check here for the release notes for VMware ESXi 5.5.0 Driver Rollup 1 and here for the download.
The VMware IOVP program is part of VMware Developer center website, and has some cool stuff there hidden. By navigating through some of the free content there I stumbled through a vCloud SDK poster. It's “hidden” at the communities page here – get your copy in PDF format.
Source: VMware Tech Aliance blog
Hi,
Question : do you think that the NIC driver Intel i217-LM ( integrated NIC in Intel DQ87PG motherboard ) will work now ?
I’m thinking of buying this motherboard for an ESXi 5.5 all-in-one box, and don’t want to add additional costs with additional PCI network card.
Or maybe someone can confirm that it is possible to inject a driver and use a custom iso for the installation ? I’ve read about i217-V, but nothing about i217-LM ( basically the same, but with vPro support http://ark.intel.com/compare/70831,60019 ).
Thank you.
Best regards,
Mircea
I have the I217-V working by injecting the driver. As concerning the i217-LV I don’t have the possibility to test this out, but perhaps some on the earth did.. So try Google…otherwise I’m using Intel PRO/1000 GT 82541PI Gigabit PCI Ethernet which I saw for about $15 on Amazon. You won’t get ruined with those.
Hi Vladan,
Which driver did you inject (source?)? Is it Daisuke’s custom net-e1000e from several years ago?
I did the same into an Esx 5.5 iso, but it is not recognizing the i217-LM. Wasn’t sure if you had a different source?
Or Mircea – If you found one and got it working.
I’m using HP Workstation class laptops for my hosts and have been previously successful with 8570w but they are discontinued. Still trying to get a successful NIC install for a Zbook 15.
Yes, the Daisuke’s. It seems to be more and more difficult to make networking to work on whiteboxes without going with certified NICs. Wish you luck.