Intel X520 Series Network Adapter is not visible in the Inventory of a Host

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• A Network adapter is not listed in the network adapter inventory in either the vSphere Client or Web Client, or in the CLI after running the following command:
  
  esxcli network nic list

         Name    PCI Device    Driver       Admin Status  Link Status  Speed    Duplex     MAC Address               MTU   Description
         ------  ------------  ------  ------------  ------------------- -----  ------      ---------   --------      -------------------               ------   ----------------

        vmnic0 0000:81:00.0  ixgben      Up                   Up               10000    Full           XX:XX:XX:XX: XX:XX  1500     Intel(R) Ethernet 10G 2P X520 Adapter

       vmnic1 is not detected by the ESXI. 

• However, network adapters can be seen with the following command:
  
  lspci -v | grep -A1 -i ethernet

         0000:81:00.0 Ethernet controller: Intel(R) Ethernet 10G 2P X520 Adapter [vmnic0]
         0000:81:00.1 Ethernet controller: Intel(R) Ethernet 10G 2P X520 Adapter [vmnic1]

 

• And the appropriate driver is installed, which can be verified with the following command:
  
  esxcli software vib list |grep -i ixgben 
  
  
   

• In the boot log, you see error similar to:  

  cat var/log boot
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu14:2097781)ixgben: indrv_Attach:2415: Attaching ixgben driver
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu14:2097781)VMK_PCI: 774: device 0000:81:00.1 pciBar 0 bus_addr 0xc8500000 size 0x100000
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu14:2097781)DMA: 687: DMA Engine 'ixgben' created using mapper 'DMANull'.
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu14:2097781)ixgben: ixgben_InitSharedCode:412: Unsupported SFP+ or QSFP detected. Try to replace a supported module then reload the driver.
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu14:2097781)ixgben: ixgben_InitSharedCode:414: HW init failed: -19
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu14:2097781)WARNING: ixgben: indrv_Attach:2642: Failed to init shared code

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0 

 

Cause

The vmnic fails to load because an unsupported SFP is detected by the ixgben driver 

Resolution

Reference the following Intel article to verify if supported SFP is in use:

SFP+ Modules, SFP Modules, and Cables Compatible with Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X520 Series


Engage the hardware vendor and replace the  unsupported SFP with a supported SFP. 

Additional Information

https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/324505/