VMWare ESXi: how to add network drivers to installation?

Question

Background / Problem

I have two new servers (Dell R720 & Dell R520) that I plan to install ESXi onto.
During the VMWare Hypervisor installation, I'm told that no network adapters exist.
Upon checking, I realized that the Broadcom NetXtreme I drivers are required additionally
I have obtained the Broadcom driver software bundle from VMWare's web site
I have installed PowerCLI on my desktop in case I will need it.

Most ESXi guides describe doing this on a server that's already been set up once, but I am installing ESXi on these boxes for the first time.

How do I properly get these network card drivers into the installation process?
I am under the impression that I may need to configure a custom installation package that includes these drivers (and use PowerCLI to do this) -- if so, how do I best go about doing this?

@Rex I was attempting to install 5.1 so it appears that you are mistaken in this case. The Dell customized ESXi image did the trick for me. — SeanKilleen, Oct 24 '12 at 18:37
[ESXi-Customizer](https://tinkertry.com/use-esxi-customizer-gui-to-inject-multiple-driver-vibs-into-your-esxi-installer-iso) — Davidenko, Oct 27 '15 at 10:44

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 24 '12 at 16:21

8

Which version of ESXi are you trying to install.. I think the drivers for those are now included in 5.1 (I might be wrong though).

Alternatively, you can try to use the Dell customized build of ESXi ISO to install VMWare and see if those include the required drivers you need.

answered Oct 24 '12 at 16:21

Rex

Thanks for the link to the Dell site! Their ESXi image did the trick. – SeanKilleen Oct 24 '12 at 18:36
What if I have a licensed version of VMware? VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise? – Mitar Apr 06 '13 at 01:00
Why is called recovery image? Is this also for initial installation? – Mitar Apr 06 '13 at 01:42

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 24 '12 at 16:57

Another way that can work:

A huge thanks for these tools as they are the only thing that allowed me to get this done quickly.

I'm going to wait to see how the Dell ISO works out and then try this one. I'll mark the answer as correct in that order of which one works.

Another advantage to going with the Dell customized ISO (5.1 has been available for about 3 or 4 weeks now) is they roll in their hardware monitoring to the install — Zypher, Oct 24 '12 at 17:01

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 24 '12 at 16:21

2

Make this easy on yourself - get the Dell-provided ESXi images. Those should have all the hardware things you might need.

answered Oct 24 '12 at 16:21

mfinni

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 03 '17 at 10:37

0

If you use ESXi 6.0 or ESXi 6.5 or newer, you must use ESXi-Customizer-PS. The Windows desktop app: ESXi-Customizer is deprecated.

ESXi-Customizer-PS is a free tool from the same author that runs under PowerCLI and you can also inject a driver into ISO ESXi install.

ESXi-Customizer-PS

edited Jan 03 '17 at 10:37

HBruijn

answered Jan 02 '17 at 12:35

Wing Commander