This chapter describes how to install and test the Mellanox ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5 NATIVE ESXi package on a single host machine with Mellanox Ethernet adapter hardware installed.
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Requirements |
Description |
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Platforms |
A server platform with an adapter card based on one of the following Mellanox Technologies’ HCA devices:
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Device ID |
For the latest list of device IDs, please visit Mellanox website. |
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Operating System |
ESXi 6.5 |
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Installer Privileges |
The installation requires administrator privileges on the target machine. |
Uninstall any previous Mellanox driver packages prior to installing the new version. See “Removing the Previous Mellanox Driver” for further information.
For further information on how to install the driver for VMware vSphere, see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2008939.
Unload the driver before removing it.
To remove all the drivers, do the following:
Log into the ESXi server with root permissions.
List all the existing NATIVE ESXi driver modules. (see Step 4 in "Installing Mellanox NATIVE ESXi Driver for VMware vSphere" section above)
Remove each module.
#> esxcli software vib remove -n nmlx5-core
WarningTo remove the modules, the command must be run in the same order as shown in the example above
Reboot the server.
Unload the driver before removing it.
To downgrade to the previous ESXi version, do the following:
Automatic downgrade flow in currently unavailable for current driver version due to a change in the number of driver modules. Using "esxcli software update" command to downgrade may cause unexpected result.
In order to safely downgrade to any previous version (e.g. 4.16.8.8), you must manually remove the current version and install the previous one as described in the process below.
Log into the ESXi server with root permissions.
List all the existing NATIVE ESXi driver modules. (see Step 4 in "Installing Mellanox NATIVE ESXi Driver for VMware vSphere" section above)
Remove each module
#> esxcli software vib remove -n nmlx5-core
WarningTo remove the modules, the command must be run in the same order as shown in the example above.
Install the desired driver version.
Reboot the machine.
For further information on how to install the driver for VMware vSphere, see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2008939.