ESXi 5.1

ESXi 5.1 host accepts no network connections

Evan Davies

• 1 min read
NOTE: Check the name of your datastore and replace “datastore1” in these instructions with the appropriate name of your actual datastore.This process will get your Supermicro 1u w/ x7dca-l and 2 Xeon L5420’s running ESXi 5.1 with functional NICs, using a USB key:1) Download this file: https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/OFFLINE/release-346-20120706-638484/ESXi500-201207001.zip2) Format a USB flash drive that is 2GB or less for FAT16, and copy the downloaded file onto this flash drive.3) Alt-F1 from the ESXi prompt on the console of the server. This takes you to the command line. Login as root. (You may have to enable ESXi Shell under Troubleshooting Options from the regular ESXi configuration [F2])4) Run this command:

/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop

5) Connect your USB flash drive to the server. The drive will then be mounted under the following: /vmfs/volumes/NO NAME/

6) Copy the zip file to

/vmfs/volumes/datastore1
cp /vmfs/volumes/"NO NAME"/ESXi500-201207001.zip /vmfs/volumes/datastore1

7) Just for good measure, while in the datastore1 directory, verify ownership is root and chmod 777 if you have problems with the next step.

Also verify the file size is the same from the source to the destination directory.

8)Run the following command:

   
esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/ESXi500-201207001.zip -n net-e1000e

9)Reboot. (Alt+F2 to return to ESXi menu)

10)Test network connections. (Success)