Network Adapters Not Detected (i40en) After ESXi 8.0 Update 3 Upgrade

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading an ESXi host, network adapters (NICs) are no longer detected, causing a total loss of network connectivity. The Management Network (vmk0) and other VMkernel interfaces become unavailable.

• Source Build: ESXi 8.0.3 build 24784735

• Target Build: ESXi 8.0.3 build 25067014

Post upgrade we notice TEAM-PNIC as void, indicating the physical nic not detected:

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

Post upgrade of the ESXi host we may notice below message during the loading of VMware ESXi page:


This issue occurs due to a corrupted driver installation during the upgrade process.

Reviewing the ESXi host logs (/var/log/vmkernel.log), you will see a warning similar to the following:

WARNING: VisorFS: 651: Failed to set vib information for tardisk i40en.v00 in rev 0: Not found

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must completely remove the corrupted i40en driver module and reinstall a clean version of the VIB. Since network connectivity is lost, these steps must be performed via the Local Tech Support Mode (ESXi Shell) or via an active Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI/iLO/iDRAC) console.

NOTE: Before proceeding with the below steps make sure that the VIB file can be transferred to a shared datastore (accessed via HBA not NICs) on the ESXi host else the below steps would not work as expected.

Step 1: Remove the Corrupted VIB

1. Log in to the ESXi host console as root.

2. Run the following command to completely uninstall the problematic network module:

   Bash

    

   esxcli software vib remove --vibname=i40en
   

Step 2: Reinstall the Driver VIB

1. Download the correct driver bundle for your hardware and transfer it to an accessible shared datastore.

2. Install the clean VIB bundle by running:

   Bash

    

   esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/YOUR_DATASTORE/PATH/TO/inner_bundle.zip
   

   (Replace /YOUR_DATASTORE/PATH/TO/inner_bundle.zip with your actual datastore path and file name).

Step 3: Reboot the Host

1. Reboot the ESXi host to apply the changes:

   Bash

    

   reboot
   

2. Once the host boots up, verify that the Physical NICs are detected and vmk0 online status is restored