vSphere 7.0b was just released last week and one of the important fixes was to resolve an issue where Nested ESXi VMs were crashing upon powering on an inner-guest VM. This looks to have also affect newer generations of CPUs including Intel's 10th Gen Comet Lake which is also found in the latest 10th Gen Intel NUCs (Frost Canyon).
A number of folks quickly found that if you simply applied the ESXi 7.0b patch, an unexpected behavior occurred on the 10th Gen Intel NUCs and the onboard networking was lost upon a reboot. This occurs as the original ne1000 driver which had been replaced with a newer version found within ESXi 7.0b no longer recognizes the onboard Intel NIC. The solution is quite simple, create a new Image Profile that contains the Intel NUC NIC Driver.
Several of you have asked for instructions and although this is a pretty common vSphere workflow, I have documented the two supported options using the vSphere Image Builder utility but there are definitely other methods which will have the same results. If you have access to a vCenter Server 6.7 or newer, I recommend using the Image Builder UI. If vCenter Server access is not available, then you can use Image Builder with PowerCLI, however you will need to have access to a Windows machine as the Image Builder cmdlet is not supported with PowerCLI Core.
Note: There is currently a known bug with the Image Builder UI when using vSphere 7 which will prevent you from authoring a new Image Profile. A workaround would be to deploy a VCSA 6.7 which does not have this issue when looking to use the Image Builder UI.
Option A: Image Builder using vSphere UI
Step 1 - Download both the ESXi 7.0 GA Offline Bundle (VMware-ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-depot.zip) and ESXi 7.0b patch Offline Bundle (VMware-ESXi-7.0b-16324942-depot.zip)
Step 2 - Download the Community Networking Driver for ESXi, if you have not already
Step 3 - Login to your vCenter Server and navigate to Menu->Auto Deploy->Image Builder (enable the service if is it not already enabled) and import all three offline bundles with the following names which will be referenced: ESXi 7.0 GA, ESXi 7.0b and Intel Driver
Step 4 - Select the ESXi 7.0b Software Depot and make a note of the build number for the specific Image Profile you wish to use. In this case, we will be using 16324942 which is the "full" image which includes both bug fix + security fix along with VMware Tools. If you only want the security fix, use 16321839.
Step 5 - In the right hand corner, click New to create a new Custom Depot called NUC10-ESXi-7.0b and then create new Image Profile and provide a name, vendor and description of your choosing
Step 6 - On the Depot column, filter by ESXi 7.0b initially and select the following 13 packages as shown in the screenshot below.
- cpu-microcode
- crx
- esx-base
- esx-dvfilter-generic-fastpath
- esx-update
- esx-xserver
- loadesx
- native-misc-drvers
- nvme-pcie
- vdfs
- vmkusb
- vsan
- vsanhealth
Step 7 - On the Depot column, filter by Intel Driver and select the ne1000-intelnuc package
Step 8 - On the Depot column, filter by ESXi 7.0 GA and select everything, EXCEPT for the 13 packages we had already selected from Step 6.
Step 9 - Complete the wizard and if all directions were followed, your new Image Profile should contain a total of 72 packages as shown in the summary view below. You can now export and either download the Image Profile either as a bootable ISO which can then be used for fresh installation and/or upgrade as well as using vSphere Update Manager. You can also download the Image Profile which can be used to update via ESXCLI on the ESXi Shell.
Option B: Image Builder using PowerCLI
Step 1 - Download the ESXi 7.0b patch Offline Bundle (VMware-ESXi-7.0b-16324942-depot.zip)
Step 2 - Download the Community Networking Driver for ESXi, if you have not already
Step 3 - Open up PowerCLI shell and connect to your vCenter Server using Connect-VIServer cmdlet.
Step 4 - Replace the full path to both ESXi 7.0b offline bundle and Intel NUC NIC Driver and run the following commands:
$esxiOfflineBundle = "C:\Users\jumphost\Desktop\VMware-ESXi-7.0b-16324942-depot.zip"
$intelNicOfflineBundle = "C:\Users\jumphost\Desktop\Intel-NUC-ne1000_0.8.4-3vmw.670.0.0.8169922-offline_bundle-16654787.zip"
$esxiImageProfileName = "ESXi-7.0b-16324942-standard"
$newImageProfileName = "ESXi-7.0b-IntelNUC10"
Add-EsxSoftwareDepot $esxiOfflineBundle
Add-EsxSoftwareDepot $intelNicOfflineBundle
Step 5 - Run the following command which will identify the ne1000 version of the Intel NUC NIC Driver and add that to the ESXi 7.0b image profile.
$IntelNUCVib = Get-EsxSoftwarePackage | where {$_.name -eq "ne1000-intelnuc" -and $_.version -eq "0.8.4-3vmw.670.0.0.8169922"}
New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile $esxiImageProfileName -Name $newImageProfileName -Vendor vGhetto
Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile $newImageProfileName -SoftwarePackage $IntelNUCVib
Step 6 - Export your new image profile to either an offline bundle or ISO using one of the following two commands:
# Offline Bundle
Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile $newImageProfileName -ExportToBundle -FilePath "C:\Users\jumphost\Desktop\ESXi-7.0b-IntelNUC.zip"
# ISO
Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile $newImageProfileName -ExportToIso -FilePath "C:\Users\jumphost\Desktop\ESXi-7.0b-IntelNUC.ISO"
Applying Patch
Patching using vSphere Lifecycle Manager
Step 1 - Navigate to Menu->Lifecycle Manager->Imported ISOs and upload the custom ISO you had download from Step 9.
Step 2 - Create a new upgrade baseline with your image and then attach and remediate
After successfully applying the upgrade baseline, your Intel NUC 10 should be upgraded without losing the on-board Intel NIC
Patching Using ESXCLI
esxcli software profile update -d /vmfs/volumes/vsanDatastore/ISO/ESXi-7.0b-IntelNUC.zip -p ESXi-7.0b-IntelNUC10
Thanks William I updated yesterday using the using image the builder on power-up. Thanks for your advice on Twitter.
Hi William,
Are you noticing any issues with DHCP on the NUC10 series with ESXi7?
My VMs are losing their IPs assigned via DHCP, at some point they all begin to send “DHCPREQUEST” with no response from DHCP
Cheers!
Haven’t seen it and I’ve got both Windows and Ubuntu running and using DHCP
Hi Matt,
I have the same problem with my NUC10FNH.
No IP offered... I installed the latest driver for esxi 7upd2
Have you fixed this?
Are we likely to ever see the later/inbuilt versions of the ne1000 driver include support for this variant of the NIC?
I have updated my nuc with original Patch Exi 7.0b and know I Have no network. Is it possible to repair my mistake ? Thanks
reinstall the NUC driver since it was updated
Any plan to add 8086:0d4c to the driver? I am almost certain that it is the same as 0d4f. This Intel Ethernet adapter is found in the latest Lenovo Thinkstation P340 Tiny. ESXi still does not support it rendering the port useless.
Please see https://www.williamlam.com/2020/08/enhancements-to-the-community-ne1000-vib-for-intel-nuc-10.html which now includes support for 0d4c
Thank you for the update!
Let me know if the ThinkStation works 100% as that looks like a nice kit for Homelab as well
Will let you know 🙂 I was forced to run Proxmox due to the driver problem. I am switching back to ESXi over the coming weekend! Thanks again!
Thank you for the great information! I want to ask you if the wake on lan is working now with NUC 10i7FNH .
I am considering between supermicro build or NUC and a working WOL is important for me.
Is there a way to apply this on a running ESXi? I don't have access to vSphere & I am running this on my home PC. Since I have VMs running, I cannot really format the host again. I don't mind shutting down VMs but formatting would be very cumbersome.
Yes. VIBs are installed on ESXi and if you have vCenter (vSphere is a family name for VC+ESXi), you can certainly take advantage of that. If not, simply upload the offline bundle and install using ESXCLI - esxcli software vib install -d /path/to/offline-bundle.zip and then reboot ESXi host
hi, I did everything just like you described. I only have one Nuc, so I have to update via CLI. Unfortunately, I'm getting a error here. Can you help me?
Error Message:
[DependencyError]
VIB VMware_bootbank_esx-update_7.0.0-1.20.16321839 requires esx-version <= 7.0.0-1.25, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
with this version also my guest VM are crashing ( nesting).
ON NUC10i3
In Step 5: $IntelNUCVib = Get-EsxSoftwarePackage | where {$_.name -eq "ne1000" -and $_.version -eq "0.8.4-3vmw.670.0.0.8169922"} does not work for me; must be $IntelNUCVib = Get-EsxSoftwarePackage | where {$_.name -eq "ne1000-intelnuc" -and $_.version -eq "0.8.4-3vmw.670.0.0.8169922"}, right?
Ah, yes good catch. I had forgot to update the name entry which is "ne1000-intelnuc"
Heads up - maybe a mistake on my part, but during the import of the Intel Driver I get:
"Your software depot "Intel Driver" failed to import. Try importing it again or choose another software depot to import."
I have no idea why, but I just tried it three times (I'm not really sure why I even did that) and on the third time it loaded. *Shrugs*. If anyone else bumps into this... keep trying? I didn't log out - the only thing I did was leave the page, come back, delete the name of the failed import, and then reimported with the same name.
Hope this helps someone else 😂
I don't know if it's a clue, but I simply changed my web browser and it works. Maybe a cache to cleanup before trying to import
This worked like a charm for the Lenovo M70Q Tiny unit, just need to sort out why the NVME disk is not showing up, but this fixed the no nic issue! and allows the install to the 2.5" Sata drive
did you get it to work?
hello
the download link (Intel-NUC-ne1000_0.8.4-3vmw.670.0.0.8169922-offline_bundle-16654787.zip) doesn't work. Please help.
any one here can upload the nuc driver? so i can download it thanks a lot 🙂
The previous driver is now part of the new Community Networking Driver for ESXi https://www.williamlam.com/2021/02/new-community-networking-driver-for-esxi-fling.html
I've fixed up the link to directly point to the Fling
Hello William, Yes I was able to search for it and was able to install on one of our servers with Intel Ethernet Connection (12) I219-V. Thanks a lot for this guide also, have a great day!
Option a,1. The image download site:
(https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/downloads/details?downloadGroup=ESXI70U2A&productId=974&rPId=47905)
States: You either are not entitled or do not have permissions to download this product.
Check with your My VMware Super User, Procurement Contact or Administrator.
If you recently purchased this product through VMware Store or through a third-party, try downloading later.
I already have license(s) and these are on this account? What is the issue with VMWare? 1, they give away the software and on the other hand they say you can't? 2, they release v7 but the support software to inject specific drivers (in my case Intel (11) I219-LM for the Dell NUC)
I am waiting for full purchased licenses with VMWare support then I will pass it all back to them to sort out but in the mean time I need to get it running on the NUC with a VM OS and application very urgently. The working VM can be transferred to another Host when it eventually arrives on the VMW Esxi7 with purchased licenses (when they arrive too). Don't blame Covid, blame Large international organisations lazy procurement offices. At the end of the day, I have to get this working on this NUC.
Can you re-post the image(s)?
Hi, any update on this? I have followed the instructions to the letter AND used the latest patches and depot files blah blah and still the resulting ISO doesn't see the NIC card or a TP-LINK USB3 NIC Card. I can confirm the NIC and TP-Link USB NIC works on both: Windows 10 Pro (The OS at purchase), Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS (clean install).
Trouble is a desperately need to fix this TODAY. My Boss has sent me 2 more of these DELL NUCS as there is (yet another) procurement delay of my servers and VM licenses and I need to have everything ready to go as soon as the new servers arrive. This means a lot of tinkering on the resulting program/app in MS Server 2019 running on VM Host.
David,
Not sure what a Dell NUC is, but is this the same as the Intel NUC mentioned in the blog post? Also, the driver is not for USB, so I wouldn't expect the USB NIC to be picked up 🙂
Also, this article is a bit out dated. The latest driver for I219* is https://flings.vmware.com/community-networking-driver-for-esxi and make sure your NIC actually meets the requirements as mentioned in https://flings.vmware.com/community-networking-driver-for-esxi#requirements since it sounds like this may not be the same platform originally blogged about
For USB-based NICs, you can take a look at https://flings.vmware.com/usb-network-native-driver-for-esxi and see if your device is on the supported list.
Without the proper driver, NIC/Storage devices will not just work even if they work for other OSes, so not exactly apples to apples comparison.
For the best experience, if your intention is to run production workloads is to always check the VMware HCL to ensure your hardware is fully supported. The Intel NUC and USB NICs aren't there to supplement the VMware Homelab Community
I work for Dell and am also not familiar with a Dell NUC? Granted I’m a software engineer 😂. Are you maybe talking about the VEP? This is mostly for my curiosity - maybe I’ll learn something new hahaha