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craigbtg

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ESXi Test Management Network Ping Failed

Hello,

I am new to ESXi and just tried my first installation.  I attempted to install ESXi 5.5 using the ISO image downloaded directy from VMWare when it errored out telling me that my Realtek network card was not supported.  I was able to use an ESX Customizer to add the driver and then got 5.5 loaded.  Pings from Test Management Network fail for everything except the IP of the server itself even though the network card says it is Connected.

Thinking that it must be because the network card is not supported with 5.5 I downloaded the ISO for 5.1 and installed it.  It did not error out on the network card and I read that the card is supported in 5.1.  However, I am still getting the same Failed ping response and I cannot see the server on the network.

When I leave the network settings to use DHCP the server is assigned an IP that is not on my subnet.  When I change it over to use static it seems to take all the settings but pings still fail.  Does anyone have any thoughts on what is going wrong?  I have double checked the static IP, subnet, gateway, and DNS entries.  They appear to be correct and match any workstations on my network.
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insidetech

Since you are new to this and learning, it may be easier to put in Intel Based NIC instead of the Realtek. Installation "out of the box" provides for basic network configuration of the host management port, so if you are having problems most likely it is issue with the NIC.
Is that an option for you?

I have experienced many problem with Realtek NIC's and in general I recommend to stay away. It is not to say that there may be someone whom figured how to make them work...
but I never experienced problem with any Intel Chipset based NIC.
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ASKER

Thanks, I will give that a try.  Will update once I have had a chance to install a new network card.
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It seems possible to me that the switch port may be configured with the wrong VLAN.

Configure a laptop with the same network settings, and attach it to the same switch port, then perform the same ping test.

Also, if the switch port is a trunk port, you will have to configure the ESXi management network with the correct VLAN ID.
1) As Asavenser stated your phyiscal switch may be setup to use vlan's and you would need to contact you network team to find out the correct vLan information.

2) Are you static and dhcp address on the same subnet?

3) Can you upload a screen shot of vswitch settings.
Thanks for the suggestions.  There is no vLan in place.  Static and DHCP are on the same subnet.  The vswitch settings are grayed out, no option to change them.

I'm still messing with a new NIC that I bought.  An Intel 1000 PT dual port.  I installed in an open PCIe slot in my Dell XPS 8700 but when I try to install ESXi it continues to say no network adapter.  At this point I am going to try and reinstall Windows so that I can see if the network card is working (unless any kind folks out there have any better suggestions!).
Well, the NIC is in the compatibility matrix, so VMware should support it.  I don't see a Dell XPS server listed, though.

Again, have you tried connecting another device to the switch port and testing?
Does this Dell box have an on board NIC? If so, you may need to disable this native NIC in the BIOS as  there may be a conflict.
If I google "dell xps 8700 esxi" you'll see that the Dell community pages are full of folks having trouble getting NICs recognized on it.

Are you using the Dell-specific ESXi installer?
Yes, there is an onboard NIC.  That is the one I tried to use first.  I have since disabled it in the BIOS without any luck.

Yes, other devices can use the switch port without any problem.

I just downloaded and tried the Dell-specific ESXi installer.  It still gave the same No Network Adapter message.

To get the Onbaord NIC recognized I had to use an ESX customizer and include the driver for it.  That got the installer past the No Network Adapter message but once in Network Management it could not use the NIC.  Does anyone know if I need to do something similar with the new Intel NIC that I am trying to use?
When I used the ESX customizer to include the driver for my onboard Realtek NIC I found an article that had a direct link to the .vib file.  Does anyone know where to grab the .vib file for the Intel NIC?  Following the link insidetech provided I was able to determine I need the driver named "e1000e version 1.1.2-4vmw".  I couldn't seem to find anything after doing some searches (assume I'm not searching for the right thing).
Question... are you back to 5.5 or using the 5.1 build or... did you try them both?
The Dell-specific one I tried was 5.5.  I also tried both versions 5.1 and 5.5 of the standard installs that were downloaded directly from VMWare.
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insidetech

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Before you go further, I'd recommend you see if you can find someone who's successfully installed ESXi on that model server.  Do you have a local VMware User's Group?  Or maybe post the question on a forum.
Yeah, I saw some of those, but I did no see a definitive case of someone having problems and then getting it working successfully.
I will try the different NIC first and if that does not work chaulk it up to ESXi will not work on an XPS 8700.  Will let you know what I find, need to order the new NIC first.
Hi Everyone, I have an update to this issue.  I tried a new NIC as insidetech suggested and everything worked perfectly.  I went with a basic Intel 1000 CT single port card.  Thanks all for your suggestions and especially insidetech for figuring it out.