Posts Tagged ‘PuTTY’

Minisforum MS-A2 HOW TO: Install the NEW Realtek driver on ESXi 9.0

Wednesday, January 14th, 2026

Minisforum MS-A2: How to Install the New Realtek Driver on VMware ESXi 9.0

Running VMware ESXi 9.0 on the Minisforum MS-A2 is a fantastic option for homelabs and edge deployments, but out of the box you may notice that not all Realtek network interfaces are detected.

In this guide, based on my latest episode of Hancock’s VMware Half Hour, I walk through installing the new Broadcom-compiled Realtek driver (available as an official Broadcom Fling) to unlock additional NIC support.

What This Guide Covers

  • Why Realtek NICs are limited by default on ESXi 9.0
  • Where to download the official Broadcom Fling driver
  • Installing the driver using esxcli
  • Rebooting safely and verifying NIC availability

Supported Realtek Network Adapters

The driver demonstrated in this guide supports the following Realtek PCIe devices:

  • RTL8111 – 1GbE
  • RTL8125 – 2.5GbE
  • RTL8126 – 5GbE
  • RTL8127 – 10GbE

Driver Installation Command

Once the driver ZIP has been copied to your ESXi datastore and the host is in maintenance mode, install it using:

esxcli software component apply -d path VMware-Re-Driver_1.101.00-5vmw.800.1.0.20613240.zip

After installation, a reboot is required for the new network interfaces to become available.

Video Chapters

00:00 - Start
00:03 - Welcome to Hancock's VMware Half Hour
00:37 - Todays video - HOW TO Install Realtek driver on ESXi 9.0
00:55 - Broadcom Released the Realtek Driver fling in November 2025
01:55 - Minisforum MS-A2 - VCF 9.0 Homelab of the Year 2025 !
02:26 - Available as a Broadcom Fling - Tech Preview - not for production
02:55 - I'm not a fan of Realtek let it be known!
03:11 - Go to Broadcom Fling Portal site to download - https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/productdownloads?subfamily=Flings&freeDownloads=true
03:22 - Download the driver don't forget to Accept the Agreement!
03:51 - Enable SSH on Host, and use WinSCP to copy to local datastore
04:31 - Whoops Zoom is broke again!
05:07 - Connect to host using SSH
05:22 - Use lspci to show PCI devices in the host
06:05 - Use grep - lspci | grep Realtek
07:01 - Install the driver using esxcli software component apply -d /VMware-Re-Driver_1.101.00-5vmw.800.1.0.20613240.zip
07:59 - A reboot is required, reboot the server
08:36 - Reboot server
09:20 - The reason for the 10th Outake !
10:01 - Login to ESXi 9.0 using HTML Client
10:51 - Realtek driver is installed and network interfaces are available for use
11:07 - HenryChan1973 this video is for you!
12:23 - Thanks for Watching

Final Thoughts

This Broadcom Fling makes ESXi 8.0 far more usable on modern mini PCs like the Minisforum MS-A2, especially for homelabbers who rely on multi-gig Realtek networking.

Huge thanks to Henrychan1973 for their contribution and support.

If this guide helped you, consider subscribing on YouTube and checking out more VMware content on the blog.

– Andrew Hancock
Hancock’s VMware Half Hour

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Minisforum MS-A2 HOW TO: Install the NEW Realtek driver on ESXi 8.0

Sunday, January 11th, 2026


Minisforum MS-A2: How to Install the New Realtek Driver on VMware ESXi 8.0

Running VMware ESXi 8.0 on the Minisforum MS-A2 is a fantastic option for homelabs and edge deployments, but out of the box you may notice that not all Realtek network interfaces are detected.

In this guide, based on my latest episode of Hancock’s VMware Half Hour, I walk through installing the new Broadcom-compiled Realtek driver (available as an official Broadcom Fling) to unlock additional NIC support.

What This Guide Covers

  • Why Realtek NICs are limited by default on ESXi 8.0
  • Where to download the official Broadcom Fling driver
  • Installing the driver using esxcli
  • Rebooting safely and verifying NIC availability

Supported Realtek Network Adapters

The driver demonstrated in this guide supports the following Realtek PCIe devices:

  • RTL8111 – 1GbE
  • RTL8125 – 2.5GbE
  • RTL8126 – 5GbE
  • RTL8127 – 10GbE

Driver Installation Command

Once the driver ZIP has been copied to your ESXi datastore and the host is in maintenance mode, install it using:

esxcli software component apply -d path VMware-Re-Driver_1.101.00-5vmw.800.1.0.20613240.zip

After installation, a reboot is required for the new network interfaces to become available.

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:06 - Welcome to Hancock's VMware Half Hour
00:31 - Today’s Video – Minisforum MS-A2
01:01 - Installing the ESXi Realtek Driver for ESXi 8.0
01:16 - Shoutout to member Henrychan1973!
02:03 - HTML Client view of network interfaces
03:00 - Broadcom engineering compiled a driver for ESXi 8.0
04:00 - Driver is available as a Broadcom Fling
05:00 - Download the driver from Broadcom Fling portal
05:44 - WinSCP – Copy driver ZIP to ESXi datastore
06:14 - Put host into maintenance mode
07:11 - Only three interfaces supported out of the box on MS-A2
07:16 - Start an SSH session using PuTTY
07:34 - Using lspci | grep Realtek
08:22 - Supported Realtek PCIe devices
08:35 - Installing the driver using esxcli
09:59 - Whoops! Typo!
10:37 - Can you spot it?
11:08 - Driver installed – reboot required
11:27 - Nano KVM issue accepting root password?
11:41 - Reboot via the GUI
12:30 - MS-A2 restarting
13:42 - Driver installed and Realtek interfaces available
14:54 - Thanks to Henrychan1973!
15:15 - Thanks for watching

Final Thoughts

This Broadcom Fling makes ESXi 8.0 far more usable on modern mini PCs like the Minisforum MS-A2, especially for homelabbers who rely on multi-gig Realtek networking.

Huge thanks to Henrychan1973 !!!

If this guide helped you, consider subscribing on YouTube and checking out more VMware content on the blog.

– Andrew Hancock
Hancock’s VMware Half Hour

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Posted in All, computing, ExpertsExchange, Hancock's VMware Half Hour, homelab, vExpert, Virtualisation, Virtualization, VMware | Comments Off on Minisforum MS-A2 HOW TO: Install the NEW Realtek driver on ESXi 8.0

HOW TO: Enable SSH Remote Access on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
In my previous VMware Articles, most featured Intermediate VMware Topics. My next series of articles will concentrate on topics for the VMware Novice; this is the fifth article in this series.

If you would like to read the other articles in this series,  they are listed here for your convenience.

HOW TO: Install and Configure VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

HOW TO: Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client

HOW TO: Create an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image (*.iso), and MD5 checksum signature, for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

HOW TO: Upload an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image to a VMware datastore for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client, and checking its MD5 checksum signature is correct.

In this series of basic VMware articles for the Novice, I’ll be showing you the basic VMware skills required to install, configure and deploy virtual machines using VMware’s FREE VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi).

In this article we will show you HOW TO: Enable SSH Remote Access on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) so you can remotely connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) server remotely via SSH (PuTTY).

1

Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) or vSphere vCenter Server using the vSphere Client

Please refer to my Andysworld! article on HOW TO: Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client

  • vSphere-Client-Connected-to-ESXi

vSphere-Client-Connected-to-ESXi

Once connected to the “default hypervisor home page”, click the Inventory icon, to see the server’s Inventory.
  • Click Configuration Tab

Click Configuration Tab

Click the Configuration Tab.
  • Click Security Profile

Click Security Profile

Click Security Profile, followed by Properties
  • Service Properties

Service Properties

The Security Service Properties will be displayed.
  • SSH Options

SSH Options

Click the SSH label followed by Options button, you will notice the daemon service is currently stopped, this is the default.
  • SSH (TSM-SSH) Options – Click Start

SSH (TSM-SSH) Options - Click Start

The SSH (TSM-SSH) Options will be displayed. Click Start to start the SSH deamon. You can change the options here if you wish to Start and stop the SSH daemon service with the host, or Start automatically if any ports are open, and stop when all ports are closed. Check with your Security IT Policy which is best for you. Opening SSH ports long term can be considered a security risk.
  • SSH Daemon Running

SSH Daemon Running

You will notice the SSH Daemon Status has changed to Running
. Click OK to continue, and Click OK to return to Inventory.

Confirm using PuTTY, you can connect to the server successfully.

In vSphere 4 1, 5.0 and 5.1, when you have enabled Remote SSH management of hosts from the vSphere Client, you may notice that that a Configuration Issues warning yellow box appears on the Summary page of the host ESXi server.

  • Configuration Issues, SSH and ESXi shell enabled Configuration Issues, SSH and ESXi shell enabled

Configuration Issues, SSH and ESXi shell enabled Configuration Issues, SSH and ESXi shell enabled

This Configuration Issues warning yellow box only appears when Remote SSH and/or ESXi shell has been enabled.

Please refer to my Andysworld! Article on HOW TO: Suppress Configuration Issues and Warnings Alert displayed in Summary status for ESXi 4.1 U2 or ESXi 5.0 after enabling SSH or ESXi Shell

Congratulations, you have successfully Enable SSH Remote Access on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

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