These are the release notes of NVIDIA® ConnectX®-4 onwards adapter cards for NATIVE ESXi Driver for VMware vSphere 7.0 U3. This driver supports the following uplinks to servers.
| Version | OS | Uplink Speed |
|---|---|---|
4.22.73.1004 | ESXi 7.0 U3 | 10/25/40/50/100/200GbE |
Content of MLNX-NATIVE-ESX Driver Package
ESXi 7.0 U3:
Mellanox-nmlx5_4.22.73.1004-1OEM.703.0.0.18644231.zip - Hypervisor bundle for ESXi 7.0 U3 contains the following kernel modules:
- nmlx5_core
- nmlx5_rdma
Supported HCAs Firmware Versions
MLNX-NATIVE-ESX Rev 4.22.73.1004 supports the following Ethernet HCA and their corresponding firmware version:
| HCAs | Minimal Recommended Firmware Rev. |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA BlueField-2 | 24.34.1002 |
| ConnectX-7 | 28.34.1002 |
| ConnectX-6 Dx | 22.34.1002 |
| ConnectX-6 Lx | 26.34.1002 |
ConnectX-6 | 20.34.1002 |
ConnectX-5 / ConnectX-5 Ex | 16.34.1002 |
ConnectX-4 Lx | 14.32.1010 |
ConnectX-4 | 12.28.2006 |
For the latest firmware versions, visit: https://network.nvidia.com/support/firmware/firmware-downloads/
Embedded BlueField Software Versions
| Software/Firmware | Version |
|---|---|
NVIDIA BlueField-2 Software BFB | 3.9.2 |
MLNX_OFED | 5.7-1.0.2.0 |
BlueField Related Information
Download: DOCA_1.4.0_BSP_3.9.2_Ubuntu_20.04-4.signed.bfb file.
VMware users should use only the certified NVIDIA BlueField-2 bfb image linked above.
To install the BlueField image, follow the instructions provided here.
In VMware environments, to install and initialize the NVIDIA BlueField-2 with a new bfb image, follow the instructions above using the RSHIM interface of the Linux VM configured with passthrough to be used for upgrading the bfb image.
Tested Hypervisors in Paravirtualized and SR-IOV Environments
Guest OS users may choose to work with Inbox Drivers or take latest MLNX_OFED available for download from NVIDIA website.
| Tested Hypervisors | HCAs | Guest Operating System |
|---|---|---|
SR-IOV | NVIDIA BlueField-2 ConnectX-7 ConnectX-6 Dx ConnectX-6 Lx ConnectX-6 ConnectX-5/ConnectX-5 Ex ConnectX-4 Lx ConnectX-4 | Windows Server 2016 DC RedHat 8.0 RedHat 7.5 RedHat 7.3 RedHat 6.10 RedHat 6.3 SLES 12 SP4 SLES 12 SP3 |
Paravirtualizeda (Ethernet Only) | ConnectX-7 ConnectX-6 Dx ConnectX-6 Lx ConnectX-6 ConnectX-5/ConnectX-5 Ex ConnectX-4 Lx ConnectX-4 | Windows Server 2016 DC RedHat 8.0 RedHat 7.5 RedHat 7.3 RedHat 6.10 RedHat 6.3 SLES 12 SP4 SLES 12 SP3 |
Paravirtualizeda (Ethernet Only) | NVIDIA BlueField-2 | CentOS 7.6 |
a. Paravirtualized RDMA is supported only in Linux Operating Systems and in this release it was tested for RedHat 7.5 only.
