Extra Nic Cards

Question

Hello all. I have a Dell Precision T7600 workstation. I want to add extra NIC cards to it. I need NIC cards that are going to be identical or from the same manufacture that are integrated one’s. I am running VMWare on it and it only plays nice with those NIC cards.
thank you.

speedstep · Accepted Answer

@Xplod420 Again there is support for VMWARE.

Its not free.

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2107518?lang=en_US

https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere/7_0

Driver types are inbox or async:

The inbox driver: Version included by VMware* in the ESXi ISO image
The async driver: Posted on the VMware driver support site and updates the inbox driver

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005693/ethernet-products/700-series-network-adapters-up-to-40gbe.html

In response to the "cards" question the answer is NO and NOT EVER.

There is no panacea for all machines for all versions of card or All versions of VMWARE. The point remains that you cant add cards with reckless abandon.

Intel Ethernet Server Adapter I350T4 is fine as well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005A98OX6

I suspect that this card also works fine

But I'm done looking things up and making suggestions.

Intel Ethernet Server Adapter I340-T4

INTEL CORP. E1G44HTBLK I340 SERVER ADAPTER
PCI Express 2.0 (5 GT/s) bus type; 4-lane PCI Express bus size (operable in x4, x8 and x16 slot)
Intel 82580 controller, RJ-45 connector, over copper cabling

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003A7LKOU/

Must be compatible and must go into the correct PCI-E 2.X slot and you can ONLY have ONE.

Documentation and Specs

https://cdrdv2.intel.com/v1/dl/getContent/252454

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/84805/intel-ethernet-server-adapter-i350-t4v2.html

The drivers are not native to windows

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/22283/Intel-Ethernet-Adapter-Complete-Driver-Pack

See the table below for examples of the recent Intel Ethernet Network Adapters and how they're mapped to controllers and VMware Native Mode API-based ESXi drivers.

Driver	Controller / Connection	Adapter
icen	Intel® Ethernet 800 Series	Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter E810 (All Product SKUs)
i40en	Intel® Ethernet Controller XL710	Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter XL710-QDA1 Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter XL710-QDA2 Intel® Ethernet I/O Module XL710-Q1 Intel® Ethernet I/O Module XL710-Q2
	Intel® Ethernet Controller X710	Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X710-DA2 Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X710-DA4 Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X710-T4 Intel® Ethernet Controller X710/X557-AT 10GBASE-T Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter X710-T2L Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter X710-T4L
	Intel® Ethernet Controller XXV710	Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter XXV710-DA1 Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter XXV710-DA2 Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter XXV710 OCP
	Intel® Ethernet Connection X722	Intel® Ethernet Connection X722 for 10GBASE-T Intel® Ethernet Connection X722 for 10GbE backplane Intel® Ethernet Connection X722 for 10GbE QSFP+ Intel® Ethernet Connection X722 for 10GbE SFP+ Intel® Ethernet Connection X722 for 1GbE
ixgben	Intel® Ethernet Controller X550	Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X550-T1 Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X550-T2
	Intel® Ethernet Controller X540	Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X540-T1 Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X540-T2
	Intel® 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller	Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X520 (-SR2, -SR1, -LR1, -DA2, -T2, and so on)
	Intel® 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller	Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter X520 (-SR2, -SR1, -LR1, -DA2, -T2, and so on)
	Intel® Ethernet Connection X552	Intel® Ethernet Connection X552 10 GbE Backplane Intel® Ethernet Connection X552 10 GbE SFP+ Intel® Ethernet Connection X552/X557-AT 10GBASE-T
igbn	Intel® Ethernet Controller I350	Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter I350 (-T2, -T4, -F2, -F4)
	Intel® Ethernet Connection I354	Intel® Ethernet Connection I354 1.0 GbE Backplane Intel® Ethernet Connection I354 2.5 GbE Backplane
	Intel® 82580 Gigabit Ethernet Controller	Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter I340 (-T4, -F4)

speedstep · Answer

You cant JUST PLUG CARDS IN with reckless abandon like planting flowers.

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-pk/000139598/hardware-specifications-for-the-precision-t7600-desktop-workstation

There is support for VMWARE but its not FREE support.

VMWARE allows for ONE card that has 4 ports.

Needs to go into PCI-E 2.X x8 slot.

Intel E1G44ETBLK Gigabit Ethernet Quad Port Server Adapter PCI Express x8

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009MQS92O/

https://communities.vmware.com/t5/ESXi-Discussions/The-right-network-card-to-run-pfsense-in-a-ESXi-virtual-machine/m-p/1361002

https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=io

https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=io&details=1&partner=46&releases=338&deviceTypes=6&page=1&display_interval=10&sortColumn=Partner&sortOrder=Asc

Xplod420 · Answer

Thank you. But I am running 7U2, I guess I am very limited as to what I can get. The only thing that I found was this… https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Ethernet-Server-Adapter-I350T4/dp/B005A98OX6

Precision Fixed Workstations

Extra Nic Cards

@Xplod420 Again there is support for VMWARE.

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