Gigabyte G1 Sniper 3 LAN not detected

GodAtum · 13 Nov 2012 at 14:57

Hi all,

I have just fitted in a new GB mb but when ESXI is not detecting the two onboard LAN NICS. It does however detect the PCI Intel NIC card. Any help will be greatly appreciated

coolamasta · 13 Nov 2012 at 15:43

Well assuming the onboard NIC's are enabled in the BIOS then it will be because VMware will only work with approved hardware and its particularly fussy with NIC's, generally Intel and Marvell NIC's are the best to use.

Out of interest what make/model are the onboard ones?

Use THIS to check your hardware's compatibility

GodAtum · 13 Nov 2012 at 15:50

I ran lspci and got the vendor IDs. One is 8086:1013 (which is the one that works), 8086:1503 and 1969:e091. Checkeg that site only 1 is supported! And the only reason I bought that mb is for the dual NICS what a waste!

coolamasta · 13 Nov 2012 at 16:10

Yeah I know the feeling mate, I learnt about VMware hardware compatibility the hard way as well but live and learn eh, can you return the board?

I recommend you get some Intel Pro/1000 PT Server NIC's or the Dual port version, 100% reliable and fast

GodAtum · 13 Nov 2012 at 16:43

Yeah very frustrating! Something to get for Xmas I guess lol.

GodAtum · 13 Nov 2012 at 20:43

Will an EXPI9404PTLBLK or EXPI9402PTBLK do? They are Intel pro ones but dont show up on the lvmware list?

#Chri5# · 13 Nov 2012 at 21:07

Try the codes without the BLK - that usually means they are bulk packed cards rather than retail.

GodAtum · 13 Nov 2012 at 21:29

Thanks. Can still only find EXPI9404PT which is a four port. The 2 port EXPI9402PT does not seem to be listed.

J.B · 14 Nov 2012 at 08:29

A couple of years ago there was an unofficial ESXi white box hardware list which was basically a long list of different consumer grade kit that works. A bit of Googling and you might find something similar

RimBlock · 14 Nov 2012 at 11:16

Have a look in the ESXi thread here for lots of good info.

Nics that are compatible with vSphere (ESXi) include;
Intel CT (Single port, PCIe x1)
Intel ET (Dual or Quad, PCIe x4, Quad does not support passthrough but the dual does).
Intel ET2 (Dual or Quad, PCIe x4)
Intel GT (Single, PCI).

What you really want to do is look for the chipsets rather than the cards. The Intel 82574L (CT) and 82541P1 (GT) are well supported whilst the Intel 82579LM is not supported at all.

Worth noting though that even if they are not supported, you may be able to do a VT-d passthrough directly to a VM and have that VMs OS take control with its own set of drivers.

RB