This section describes VMware Driver Installation.
Hardware and Software Requirements
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Platforms | A server platform with an adapter card based on ConnectX®-6 Dx (EN) (firmware: fw-ConnectX6 Dx) |
| Operating System | ESXi 6.5 |
| Installer Privileges | The installation requires administrator privileges on the target machine. |
Installing NATIVE ESXi Driver for VMware vSphere
Please uninstall all previous driver packages prior to installing the new version.
To install the driver:
- Log into the ESXi server with root permissions.
Install the driver.
#> esxcli software vib install –d <path>/<bundle_file>
Example:
#> esxcli software vib install -d /tmp/MLNX-NATIVE-ESX-ConnectX-4-5_4.16.8.8-10EM-650.0.0.4240417.zipesxcli
- Reboot the machine.
Verify the driver was installed successfully.
esxcli software vib list | grep nmlx nmlx5-core 4.16.8.8-1OEM.650.0.0.4240417 MEL PartnerSupported 2017-01-31 nmlx5-rdma 4.16.8.8-1OEM.650.0.0.4240417 MEL PartnerSupported 2017-01-31
After the installation process, all kernel modules are loaded automatically upon boot.
Removing Earlier NVIDIA Drivers
Please unload the previously installed drivers before removing them.
To remove all the drivers:
- Log into the ESXi server with root permissions.
- List all the existing NATIVE ESXi driver modules. (See Step 4 in Installing NATIVE ESXi Driver for VMware vSphere.)
Remove each module:
#> esxcli software vib remove -n nmlx5-rdma #> esxcli software vib remove -n nmlx5-core
To remove the modules, you must run the command in the same order as shown in the example above.
- Reboot the server.
Firmware Programming
- Download the VMware bootable binary images v4.6.0 from the Firmware Tools (MFT) site.
- ESXi 6.5 File: mft-4.6.0.48-10EM-650.0.0.4598673.x86_64.vib
- MD5SUM: 0804cffe30913a7b4017445a0f0adbe1
Install the image according to the steps described in the MFT User Manual.
The following procedure requires custom boot image downloading, mounting and booting from a USB device.
