VMware

VMware ESX Server 2.1 Driver Update for Broadcom 5701 rev 15 NICs


Released 6/22/04

TAR File

This driver update is for users of the Broadcom 5701 rev 15 NIC on VMware ESX Server 2.1.

Under some circumstances, Broadcom 5701 rev 15 network interface cards may experience repeated network disconnects when running VMware ESX Server 2.1. This driver update addresses this issue.

Note: Before you install this driver update, confirm that you are running ESX Server 2.1, and your system has a Broadcom 5701 rev 15 NIC. This can be determined by running the lspci command on the VMware Service Console.

The installer logs the name of this patch and information on the updated components in the following file:
/var/log/vmkernel-version

Installing the Update

  1. Log in as root into the ESX Server 2.1 Service Console.
  2. Download the update, bcm5700-6.2.4-for-ESX-2.1.tar.gz, into a temporary directory, for example /tmp, on your ESX Service Console.
  3. Change directories to /tmp.
    cd /tmp
  4. Verify the integrity of the package: md5sum bcm5700-6.2.4-for-ESX-2.1.tar.gz The output should be:
    e9283aad690d3d6e600738ee1bf32416
  5. Extract the compressed tar archive:
    tar -xvzf bcm5700-6.2.4-for-ESX-2.1.tar.gz
  6. Change directories to the newly created directory, bcm5700-6.2.4-for-ESX-2.1:
    cd bcm5700-6.2.4-for-ESX-2.1
  7. Run the driver installer:
    ./install
  8. The script checks for the correct version numbers and applies the patch.