Converged Network Adapter Networking Driver for VMware ... - QLogic

Converged Network Adapter Networking Driver for 

VMware ESX/ESXi 

1 Package Contents 

2 OS Support 

3 Supported Features 

4 Using the Driver 

4.1 Creating the Driver Disk 

4.2 Installing the Driver 

4.3 Removing the Driver 

5 Driver Parameters 

6 Additional Notes 

7 Contacting Support 

QLogic Corporation 

All rights reserved 

Table of Contents 

1 Package Contents 

The QLogic Converged Network Adapter Networking Driver (for 8100 Series Adapters) for 

VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0.x and 4.1.x package contains the following driver installation disk 

(ISO) file: 

vmware-esx-drivers-net-qlge_.iso 

2 OS Support 

The QLogic Converged Network Adapter Networking Driver for VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0.x and 

4.1.x is compatible with the following OS platforms: 

 

 

VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0.x 

VMware ESX/ESXi 4.1.x 

3 Supported Features 

The Converged Network Adapter Networking Driver supports the following features: 

 

 

 

MSI-X 

1500 or 9000 (jumbo) byte frames 

NetQueue 

Converged Network Adapter Networking Driver for VMware ESX/ESXi Page 1 of 5

NIC teaming 

Stateless offloads 

4 Using the Driver 

This section provides the following procedures for using the QLogic Converged Network 

Adapter Networking Driver for VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0.x and 4.1.x: 

 

 

 





To create a driver disk: 

1. Go to the QLogic Driver Downloads/Documentation Web page located here: 

http://driverdownloads.qlogic.com 

2. Under Downloads, click QLogic Products. 

3. On the QLogic Products: Adapters selection box, follow these steps: 

a. In the first column, click Converged Network Adapters. 

b. In the second column, click the adapter model number. 

c. In the third column, click VMware ESX/ESXi. 

d. Click the Go button. 

4. On the VMware ESX/ESXi downloads page for the specified adapter, under Drivers, 

click the Networking Driver link. 

5. Read the message regarding downloading from a third party Web site, and then click 

I Agree to go to the VMware driver downloads page. 

6. On the VMware page that contains the driver CD (ISO) for this driver, click 

Download. 

7. On the File Download dialog box, click Save to save the driver CD (ISO) to a 

temporary location on the hard drive or other media. 

8. Use a CD/DVD burner to create a driver installation disk using the downloaded ISO 

image. 


The operating system manages and controls the driver installation process. To install the 

driver, follow the steps in this section. 

NOTE: This section provides the most common ways of installing and upgrading the driver. 

For other installation procedures, consult the operating system manuals. 

This section provides procedures for the following: 

 

 

 

4.2.1 Installing the Driver for Devices as Part of a New ESX Installation (for ESX 

only) 

4.2.2 Updating an Existing Driver or Installing a New Driver for an Existing ESX 

Installation with esxupdate (for ESX only) 

4.2.3 Updating Existing Drivers or Installing New Drivers for an Existing ESX or 

ESXi Installation with vihostupdate (for both ESX and ESXi) 


4.2.1 Installing the Driver for Devices as Part of a New ESX 

Installation (for ESX only) 

NOTE: This procedure has changed since the ESX 3.5 version of the driver CD. You will 

need the ESX installation DVD to begin. 

1. Place the ESX installation DVD in the DVD drive of the host. 

2. Restart the host. 

3. Accept the terms of the license agreement. 

4. Select a keyboard type. 

5. When prompted for Custom Drivers, select Yes to install custom drivers. 

6. To eject the ESX installation DVD, click Add. 

7. Place the driver CD in the DVD drive of the ESX host. 

8. Select the driver module to import drivers to the ESX host. 

9. To continue, click Next. 

10. On the Load the system drivers? message box, click Yes. 

11. After loading the driver module, continue installing ESX. 

12. After the drivers are installed, you are prompted to swap the driver CD with the ESX 

installation DVD. 

4.2.2 Updating an Existing Driver or Installing a New Driver for an 

Existing ESX Installation with esxupdate (for ESX only) 

1. Power on the ESX host and log into an account with administrator capability. 

2. Place the driver CD in the CD-ROM drive of the ESX host. 

3. Mount the driver CD. 

4. Navigate to /offline-bundle/, and then locate the .zip 

file. 

5. Install the drivers using the offline bundle by issuing the esxupdate command as 

follows: 

esxupdate --bundle=.zip update 

4.2.3 Updating Existing Drivers or Installing New Drivers for an 

Existing ESX or ESXi Installation with vihostupdate (for both 

ESX and ESXi) 

NOTE: To update the driver from a remote host using the vihostupdate command, make 

sure that the ESX/ESXi system is in Maintenance Mode. To put the ESXi host in Maintenance 

Mode using vSphere Client, select Inventory > Host > Enter Maintenance Mode. 

1. Power on the ESX or ESXi host. 

2. Place the driver CD in the CD-ROM drive of the host where either the vSphere CLI 

package is installed or the vMA is hosted. 

3. Mount the driver CD. 

4. Navigate to /offline-bundle/, and then locate the .zip 

file. 

5. Install the drivers using the offline bundle by issuing the vihostupdate command, 

depending on whether you use the vSphere CLI or the vMA Appliance. 


With vSphere CLI: 

vihostupdate.pl --install --bundle .zip 

With vMA Appliance: 

vihostupdate -i --bundle= 

6. Reboot the ESX/ESXi host. 

NOTE: For more details on vihostupdate, see the vSphere Command- Line Interface 

Installation and Reference Guide. 


This section provides several methods of removing the driver. 

To remove the NIC driver for VMware ESX 4.0.x and 4.1.x: 

1. Power on the ESX host and log in as the administrator. 

2. (Optional) To list all drivers that were added after OS installation, issue the following 

command: 

esxupdate query 

3. To obtain the driver's VIB-ID (required for removal), issue the following command: 

esxupdate query --vib-view | grep -i 

4. Remove the driver by issuing the following command: 

esxupdate -b remove 

5. Reboot the ESX host. 

NOTE: To update the driver from a remote host using the vihostupdate command, make 

sure that the ESXi system is in Maintenance Mode. To put the ESXi host in Maintenance 

Mode using vSphere Client, select Inventory > Host > Enter Maintenance Mode. 

To remove the NIC driver for VMware ESXi hosts using vSphere CLI: 

1. Power on the ESXi host and log in as the administrator on the vSphere Client. 

2. Obtain the driver's VIB-ID (required for removal) by issuing the following vSphere 

CLI command: 

vihostupdate.pl -q 

3. Remove the driver by issuing the following vSphere CLI command: 

vihostupdate.pl -r 

4. Reboot the ESXi host. 


To remove the NIC driver for VMware ESXi using vMA Appliance: 

1. Power on the ESXi host and log in as the administrator on the vMA Appliance. 

2. Obtain the driver’s VIB-ID (required for removal) by issuing the following command: 

vihostupdate -q 

3. Remove the driver by issuing the following command: 

vihostupdate -r 

4. Reboot the ESXi host. 

5 Driver Parameters 

No configurable parameters. 

6 Additional Notes 

No additional notes. 

7 Contacting Support 

Please feel free to contact your QLogic approved reseller or QLogic Technical Support at any 

phase of integration for assistance. QLogic Technical Support can be reached by the 

following methods: 

Web: http://support.qlogic.com 

E-mail: support@qlogic.com 

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QLogic logo are registered trademarks of QLogic Corporation. All other brand and product 

names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Converged Network Adapter Networking Driver for VMware ... - QLogic

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