'No compatible network adapters found' being reported on a host after upgrading from 7.0.3 to 8.0.3.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Hosts were upgraded using an upgrade ISO image.
• After the reboot the host becomes disconnected from the network and is reported as 'not responding' in the vCenter UI.
• In the DCUI you see the following being reported:

• You access the host CLI from the DCUI shell using the iDRAC, iLO or your vendor equivalent. Using the following command you verify that no physical network adapters are being listed:
  • localcli network nic list

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

• The expected physical NIC driver does not appear to be installed on the host. This can be confirmed by running the following command on the host via the DCUI shell, and searching for the driver name:
  • localcli software vib list | grep -i <driver_name>

Resolution

Option 1:

1. Rollback the host to its last working state to restore network connectivity:
   https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/316592/reverting-to-a-previous-version-of-esxi.html 
2. Copy the driver vibs from the full image ISO to local storage on the host.
3. Upgrade the host to ESXi 8.X.
4. If the issue is hit again with the network adapter then logon to the host using the IDRAC, iLO or your vendor equivalent console.
5. Press Alt+F1 to access the shell.
6. From the shell run the following command to install the NIC driver:
   https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/343324/download-and-install-async-drivers-in-vm.html#VIB
   - esxcli software vib install –v /path/async-driver.vib
7. Reboot the host.

Option 2:

1. Copy the driver vibs from the full image ISO to a USB key.
2. Insert the key into the host.
3. Logon to the host using the IDRAC, iLO or your vendor equivalent console and press Alt+F1 to access the shell.
4. From the shell try mount the USB key on the host using the steps in this blog:
   https://williamlam.com/2012/03/how-to-access-usb-storage-in-esxi-shell.html
5. After the USB is mounted from the shell run the following command to install the NIC driver:
   https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/343324/download-and-install-async-drivers-in-vm.html#VIB
   - esxcli software vib install –v /path-to-usb/async-driver.vib
6. Reboot the host.

Additional Information

• Accessing DCUI/Console of ESXi using ALT+F Keys KB343841
• Using the ESXi Shell Technical Documentation.