I’ve been desperately searching for inexpensive 10GBe SFP+ network interface cards for use with my new #intel #optane #homelab #vSAN which support both VMware vSphere 7.0 (ESXi 7.0) and 8.0 (ESXi 8.0), the major reason is so I can use the same lab for vSphere 7.0 and then upgrade to vSphere 8.0.
You can use the VMware Hardware compatibility list to find them, but it does take some searching and testing, so I’ve settled on the following network interface cards
Dell 0Y40PH Broadcom 57810S Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Network Card Low Profile Dell P/N: 0Y40PH – this uses the qfle3i driver in ESXi 7.x and 8.x.
Dell 0Y40PH Broadcom 57810S Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Network Card Low Profile Dell P/N: 0Y40PH
Dell 0Y40PH Broadcom 57810S Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Network Card Low Profile Dell P/N: 0Y40PH
Dell 0XYT17 Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port 10GB SFP+ NIC with SFP this uses the ixgben driver for ESXi 7.x and 8.x
Dell 0XYT17 Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port 10GB SFP+ NIC with SFP
Dell 0XYT17 Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port 10GB SFP+ NIC with SFP
which I’ve tested both with ESXi 7.0 and ESXi 8.0.
What does surprise me, in it’s taken many months to find the first card above, which is present on the HCL, and also functions with ESXi 7. and 8.0, without adding any additional drivers, e.g. it works out of the box!
We were scrapping many Dell R910 from the datacentre, and I was surprised after testing that the Dell 0XYT17 Intel X520-DA2 Dual Port 10GB SFP+ NIC with SFP still functions with ESXi 7.0 and ESXi 8.0, and was manufactured 10 years ago, and is still present on the HCL today! Well done #intel for stopping these cards going to landfill!
10 years old and on the HCL!
This is a bargain card and firmware is still available and can be updated from Dell ! From memory 21.x !
So ideal for an inexpensive #homelab
Argh, I’ve got one issue, more later on that!
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Tags: ESXi 7.0, ESXi 8.0, homelab, Intel, optane, vExpert, VMware vSphere, vSAN