ESXi installation fails with the error "No network adapters were detected"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• ESXi installation fails with the error below

Error: No network adapters were detected. Either no network adapters are physically connected to the system, or a suitable driver could not be located. A third party driver may be required. Ensure that there is at least one network adapter physically connected to the system before attempting installation. If the problem persists, consult the VMware Knowledge Base.

• Standard ESXi image is used for the installation.

Environment

VMware ESXi 8.x

Cause

Standard ESXi ISO image does not contain the required drivers for certain network interface cards (NICs).

Resolution

There are two methods to resolve this issue by ensuring the correct driver is included in the installation media:

• Use a Vendor-Customized ESXi Image: 
  Download and use the pre-packaged, vendor-customized ESXi ISO image provided by your server hardware manufacturer.
  From the Broadcom Support Site, download and use the VMware ESXi 8.x Custom Image for your specific server model by following the steps in VMware vSphere downloads, OEM custom images, patches and addons in the Broadcom Support Portal
• Create a Custom ESXi Image: 
  If a vendor-customized image is unavailable or if you need to integrate a driver for a specific component not covered by the vendor's image, manually inject the missing driver into the Standard ESXi image. 
  Steps to create a Custom ESXi image:

1. 1. Engage the hardware vendor (or the NIC manufacturer) to obtain the required ESXi driver (the VIB file) for your network card chipset.
   2. Create a custom image using the network driver by following the steps in How the vSphere ESXi Image Builder Works