I had to install recently a couple of HP Proliant BL460c G7 with FlexFrabric Embedded Ethernet adapter (dual port 10G), but these nics are not recognized by the ESXi 4.1 Update 1 installer CD. Here you can see only the additional dual port nic (HP nc283m) is recognized:
Instead of configuring the management network in the 1G nics and use the PowerCLI procedure, I used this time another method.
First of all, find on the VMware support site the right ISO containing the additional drivers and download it. Then, mount the iso using iLO on burn it and insert it in the cd tray.
Then, enable from the console the Local Tech Support Mode.
Locate the name use to identify the cdrom inside ESXi:
ls /dev/cdrom/ mpx.vmhba34:C0:T0:L0Load the iso9660 module with this command:
vmkload_mod iso9660
Mount the CDROM using the device determined earlier:
/sbin/vsish -e set /vmkModules/iso9660/mount mpx.vmhba34:C0:T0:L0
The CDROM will be mounted under /vmfs/volumes/CDROM/. Go there and enter into the subfolder named OFFLINE.
Set ESXi in maintenance mode:
vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter
Install the patch:
esxupdate –bundle=SVE_BE2N.ZIP update
Finally, reboot the ESXi and at next boot you will find the new network cards, as you can see in the image below.
