- #ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO HOW TO#
- #ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO INSTALL#
- #ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO DRIVER#
- #ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO FULL#
In my case, it was called ESXi-Customizer-v2.7.1.exe It auto-extracts to the same directory you ran it from 3) Run \ESXi-Customizer\ESXi-Customizer-v2.7.1\ESXi-Customizer.cmd All the files in the right place 2) Run the EXE Once downloaded, you'll need to extract the zip to locate the VIB within the extract to directory.Īnd put them into the same C:\VIBs directory, where I also put a copy of the original ESXi 5.5 installer called VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1331820.x86_64.iso. I used the ESXi SMIS VIB file for my exact LSI 9265-8i RAID controller. LSI 9265-8i(right-click, select "Save As" to download) needs the Certified LSI SMIS VIB for RAID health, described here.
Realtek 8111/8168 (right-click, select "Save As" to download) (filename is VMware_bootbank_net-r8168_8.013.00-3vmw.510.33.vib) for networking adapter support, described here. I then also took all 3 of my VIBs:ĪSMedia ASM1062 (right-click, select "Save As" to download) (filename is 86_64.vib) for SATA support on many popular motherboards, described here. I put the ESXi-Customizer-v2.7.1.exe into my C:\VIBs folder. Step by step to inject ASMedia, Realtek, and LSI VIBs into ESXi ISO: the latest ESXi-Customizer Here's the workaround I developed, where you create a custom ISO by adding the first VIB, then repeat with the second, using the new bigger ISO as the source for that second injection.
#ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO HOW TO#
So the next hurtle was how to inject all 3 VIBs into the same ISO, given there is currently no multi-selection ability in the ESXi-Customizer VIB Browse button. Then there's my LSI 9265-8i RAID controller for SSD caching reads/writes, which was never fully functional out of the box, requiring a VIB to get proper healthy monitoring going under all ESXi 5.x versions, described here. This is described by Andreas in his recent How to make your unsupported SATA AHCI Controller work with ESXi 5.5 post. Turns out the AHCI SATA ports on this motherboard by ASMedia also aren't seen by the ESXi 5.5, even though they worked fine on ESXi 5.1.
#ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO INSTALL#
No SSH or VIB install commands to remember.
#ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO FULL#
So instead of merely adding a fully support NIC like the Intel I350-T2, why not just inject this driver, along with any other needed drivers, right into the install ISO? That way, when I create the bootable USB flash drive using Rufus, I've now have the ISO to create that install source that also becomes the install target, with full support for all my devices. This gave me the dreaded "No network adapters have been detected" message discuss by other Realktek owners here. It has Realtek 8111 based NICs on the motherboard that worked great on ESXi 5.1, but ceased being recognized, when it came time for the ESXi 5.5 installer to see those devices. My vZilla build has the ASRock Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 motherboard from 2011.
#ADD DRIVERS TO ESXI 6 ISO DRIVER#
There are many ways to add driver bundles, but this article will focus on an actual example procedure I created for my own home lab. Turns out it isn't that big a deal, once you locate the fine work by Andreas Peetz ( over on his VMware Front Experience site, using his GUI utility called ESXi-Customizer* (see article end below, for updated info). In this step-by-step walkthrough supplemented by a video, I add ASMedia SATA, Realtek network, and LSI RAID monitoring support. With the recent cut-backs in drivers included with the ESXi 5.5 compared with 5.1, it seemed like a big problem to many. The big OEMs do it, like HP and IBM, but the home lab enthusiast may not really feel like learning VMware's official approach, nevermind the syntax. I've often heard that a barrier to giving VMware's ESXi a try is the burden of figuring out how to inject a driver/VIB (vSphere Installation Bundle) file into the installer ISO file.