Installing Realtek Network Driver Fling using Free ESXi 8.0 Update 3e ISO

The typical method for authoring a customized ESXi image that contains additional drivers and packages is by either using vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) if you already have a vCenter Server deployed or by using PowerCLI cmdlets which does not depend on vCenter Server to to create a new image.

In the latter option of using PowerCLI, users must provide a reference to the ESXi base image which can be be provided by using Broadcom's Online Depot (requires Broadcom Download Token) or served using a local ESXi offline bundle zip file.

As some of you may have observed over the years, not every single ESXi release (typically patch/updates) will include both an ISO and offline bundle deliverable. If you have an existing vCenter Server, you can download ANY ESXi release in either ISO and/or offline bundle format using vLCM.

What if you only had access to an ESXi ISO, can you still take advantage of some of the custom drivers including the recently released Realtek Network Driver for ESXi Fling?

The answer is yes and I will demonstrate the process by using the Free ESXi 8.0 Update 3e ISO, as that scenario has come up a few times.

Note: The proposed solution below should only be used as a last resort if you do not have access to vCenter Server or an ESXi offline bundle. The solution is also not specific to the Free ESXi ISO and should apply to other released versions using the ISO format.

Step 1 - Download both the Free ESXi 8.0 Update 3e ISO and the Realtek Network Driver for ESXi Fling from the Broadcom Support Portal as a registered user (free).

Step 2 - Extract the Realtek Network Driver for ESXi download which is a standard zip file.

Next, we need to extract the Realtek Network Driver for ESXi VIB located in the vib20/if-re directory using ar (archive) utility which you can find on macOS or Linux-based system.

ar -x vmw_bootbank_if-re_1.101.01-5vmw.800.1.0.20613240.vib

Copy the ifre file out since that is the only thing we need from the driver. Go ahead and rename it to ifre.v00

Step 3 - Create a bootable ESXi Installer using the downloaded ESXi ISO. I will assume you are using USB device as a the boot media.

Once the installer has been created, copy the ifre.v00 onto the root of the USB device and then edit the EFI\boot.cfg configuration file and append ifre.v00 module so that it will automatically load as shown in example below.

bootstate=0
title=Loading ESXi installer
timeout=5
prefix=
kernel=b.b00
kernelopt=runweasel
modules=jumpstrt.gz --- useropts.gz --- features.gz --- k.b00 --- uc_intel.b00 --- uc_amd.b00 --- uc_hygon.b00 --- procfs.b00 --- vmx.v00 --- vim.v00 --- tpm.v00 --- sb.v00 --- s.v00 --- atlantic.v00 --- bcm_mpi3.v00 --- bnxtnet.v00 --- bnxtroce.v00 --- brcmfcoe.v00 --- cndi_igc.v00 --- dwi2c.v00 --- elxiscsi.v00 --- elxnet.v00 --- i40en.v00 --- iavmd.v00 --- icen.v00 --- igbn.v00 --- intelgpi.v00 --- ionic_cl.v00 --- ionic_en.v00 --- irdman.v00 --- iser.v00 --- ixgben.v00 --- lpfc.v00 --- lpnic.v00 --- lsi_mr3.v00 --- lsi_msgp.v00 --- lsi_msgp.v01 --- lsi_msgp.v02 --- mtip32xx.v00 --- ne1000.v00 --- nenic.v00 --- nfnic.v00 --- nhpsa.v00 --- nipmi.v00 --- nmlx5_cc.v00 --- nmlx5_co.v00 --- nmlx5_rd.v00 --- ntg3.v00 --- nvme_pci.v00 --- nvmerdma.v00 --- nvmetcp.v00 --- nvmxnet3.v00 --- nvmxnet3.v01 --- pvscsi.v00 --- qcnic.v00 --- qedentv.v00 --- qedrntv.v00 --- qfle3.v00 --- qfle3f.v00 --- qfle3i.v00 --- qflge.v00 --- rdmahl.v00 --- rshim_ne.v00 --- rshim.v00 --- rste.v00 --- sfvmk.v00 --- smartpqi.v00 --- vmkata.v00 --- vmksdhci.v00 --- vmkusb.v00 --- vmw_ahci.v00 --- bmcal.v00 --- checkup.v00 --- clusters.v00 --- crx.v00 --- drivervm.v00 --- elx_esx_.v00 --- btldr.v00 --- dvfilter.v00 --- esx_ui.v00 --- esxupdt.v00 --- tpmesxup.v00 --- weaselin.v00 --- esxio_co.v00 --- infravis.v00 --- loadesx.v00 --- lsuv2_hp.v00 --- lsuv2_in.v00 --- lsuv2_ls.v00 --- lsuv2_nv.v00 --- lsuv2_oe.v00 --- lsuv2_oe.v01 --- lsuv2_sm.v00 --- native_m.v00 --- qlnative.v00 --- testesxc.v00 --- trx.v00 --- vcls_pod.v00 --- vdfs.v00 --- vds_vsip.v00 --- vmware_e.v00 --- hbrsrv.v00 --- vsan.v00 --- vsanheal.v00 --- vsanmgmt.v00 --- tools.t00 --- devmode.v00 --- xorg.v00 --- gc.v00 --- imgdb.tgz --- basemisc.tgz --- resvibs.tgz --- esxiodpt.tgz --- imgpayld.tgz --- ifre.v00
build=8.0.3-0.70.24674464
updated=0

Step 4 - You are now ready to install ESXi, plug the USB device and power on your hardware. You should now see that the Realtek Network Driver for ESXi is automatically loaded and networking is now functional as shown in the screenshot below using the vExpert Maxtang NUC that was given away back in 2022.

Note: It is assumed that you will be installing ESXi onto the local SSD device of your system. If you decide to install ESXi onto the USB device that is providing the ESXi Installer, then you will need to manually perform the Steps 5-6 directly on the USB device by unplugging it and using your local desktop.

Step 5 - After completing the installation do NOT reboot the ESXi host.

You will either need to access the ESXi Console (ALT+F1), which you can enable SSH to perform the next series of steps remotely OR you can simply run these commands directly on the console.

We need to copy the ifre.v00 driver from our installation device and onto the installed bootbanks

cp /tardisks/ifre.v00 /vmfs/volumes/BOOTBANK1/ifre.v00
cp /tardisks/ifre.v00 /vmfs/volumes/BOOTBANK2/ifre.v00

Finally, we need to edit both /vmfs/volumes/BOOTBANK1/boot.cfg and /vmfs/volumes/BOOTBANK2/boot.cfg and append the ifre.v00 module just like we did initially in Step 3.