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

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

•  Intel X520 10GbE network adapters (using the ixgben driver) may not appear as vmnics in the ESXi host client or vCenter inventory. While the device is visible in the physical hardware list (iDRAC or lspci), the VMkernel fails to initialize the port, often following a hardware change such as switching from DAC cables to SFP+ optical transceivers.
  
• 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, there are errors 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

• In other cases, the network adapter may be detected, but the physical link shows as down.

  The following logs can be found in the /var/log/vmkernel.log:

  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu0:2097947) ixgben: ixgben_DetectSFP:4618: Unsupported SFP+ or QSFP detected. Try to replace a supported module. 
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu0:2097947)WARNING: ixgben: ixgben_CheckLink:3684: Failed to initialize because an unsupported SFP+ module type was detected. Reload the driver after installing a supported module.
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu37:2097933) ixgben: ixgben_CheckLink: 3699: Link is down for device vmnic4 (0x430de2xxxx)
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu37:2097933) netsched HClk: NetSchedHC1kNotify: 4662: vmnic4: link down notification
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu37:2097933) ixgben: ixgben_CheckAsyncEvents:1530: vmnic4: Module removed
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu37:2097933) ixgben: ixgben_DetectSFP: 4618: Unsupported SFP+ or QSFP detected. Try to replace a supported module.
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSS cpu37:2097933) WARNING: ixgben: ixgben_CheckLink: 3684: Failed to initialize because an unsupported SFP +module type was detected.Reload the driver after installing a supported module.

Environment

vSphere ESXi 7.0 

vSphere ESXi 8.0 

 

Cause

 Intel X520 controllers enforce strict firmware-level validation for SFP+ modules. If a non-Intel coded or unsupported OEM module (such as Dell-branded optics) is detected, the ixgben driver halts initialization to prevent hardware instability.

Resolution

1. Identify the installed transceiver part number and manufacturer.
2. Consult the Broadcom Compatibility Guide to verify if the module is certified for the Intel X520 on your ESXi version.
3. Replace the unsupported SFP+ module with an Intel-coded transceiver or a supported Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cable.
4. Reboot the ESXi host to re-initialize the hardware.
5. If you need to download specific driver versions, see Download Broadcom Products and Software.

Additional Information

For further assistance, see Contact Broadcom Support.