Is my NIC supported with Enhanced Data Path (EDP) with VCF 9.0

By default, VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 will use the optimized Enhanced Data Path (EDP) Standard switch mode when configuring NSX, which will require you to have an EDP capable network adaptor. One way to check whether your network adaptor supports EDP is by using the Broadcom Compatibility Guide (BCG) and ensuring "Enhanced Data Path - Interrupt mode" feature

Alternatively, if you already have ESXi running, you can quickly check by running the following command: esxcfg-nics -e

Here is an example output from a Minisforum MS-A2, as you can see the 2.5gbE NIC is not EDP capable, but the dual 10GbE SPF+ NICs are

Here is another example output from a GMKtec NucBox K11, both of the 2.5GbE NIC are not EDP capable

You can also remotely check an ESXi host by using PowerCLI using the following:

$networkMgr = Get-View (Get-VMHost).ExtensionData.ConfigManager.NetworkSystem
$networkMgr.NetworkInfo.Pnic | select device, Driver,  EnsInterruptSupported

Here is the same output from the Minisforum MS-A2

Can I still deploy VCF 9.0 without EDP capable NIC? Absolutely, simply select Standard rather than the EDP Standard switch mode during the VCF Installer.

For those deploying using the JSON method, you will need to add additional configuration entry under nsxtSwitchConfig that looks like the following:

"nsxtSwitchConfig": {
  "transportZones": [
    {
      "transportType": "OVERLAY",
      "name": "vcf-overlay-TZ"
    },
    {
      "transportType": "VLAN",
      "name": "vcf-vlan-TZ"
    }
  ],
  "hostSwitchOperationalMode": "STANDARD"
}

The supported values are STANDARD for Standard and ENS_INTERRUPT for EDP Standard.