DEV Community: eServers

How to Fix the "No Network Adapters Were Detected" Error in VMware ESXi

olivia Millie — Fri, 08 May 2026 08:01:31 +0000

If you are setting up a private cloud on a bare metal server, VMware ESXi is likely your hypervisor of choice. However, the installation process can quickly come to a halt with a frustrating red screen displaying the message:

"No Network Adapters Were Detected. Either no network adapters are physically connected to the system, or a suitable driver could not be located."

For IT administrators and UK businesses trying to deploy bare-metal dedicated servers, this is a common roadblock. In this tutorial, we will explain why this error occurs and provide a step-by-step guide to fixing it by creating a custom ESXi ISO.

Why Does This Error Occur?

VMware is designed for enterprise environments. To keep the ESXi installation file (ISO) lightweight, VMware strictly adheres to its Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) and does not include drivers for standard, consumer-grade network cards (like Realtek or older desktop-grade Intel NICs).

Prerequisites

VMware ESXi Offline Bundle (.zip) from Broadcom/VMware.
ESXi-Customizer-PS script (PowerShell script).
.VIB driver file for your specific network card.

Step 1: Prepare Your Workspace

Create a folder named C:\ESXi-Build. Inside this folder, place the:

ESXi-Customizer-PS.ps1 script.
ESXi Offline Bundle .zip file.
A subfolder named Drivers (Put your .VIB file inside this).

Step 2: Configure Windows PowerShell

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run the following commands to install PowerCLI and allow the script to run:

Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -AllowClobber
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Step 3: Inject the Driver and Build the ISO

Navigate to your build folder in PowerShell and run the command to fuse the driver with the ESXi installer:

.\ESXi-Customizer-PS.ps1 -vft -load net55-r8168 -pkgDir C:\ESXi-Build\Drivers

Step 4: Boot and Install

Once the script finishes, you will find a brand-new, custom .iso file in your folder. Flash this ISO to a USB drive using a tool like Rufus and boot your server. Your network adapter will now be detected!
The Alternative: Enterprise-Grade Hardware
While injecting drivers is a great workaround, the most robust way to avoid hardware incompatibility is to use a server built specifically for virtualization.

At eServers, our UK Bare Metal Dedicated Servers are provisioned with 100% VMware-compatible enterprise hardware, including high-throughput Broadcom and Intel network interfaces.

Check out our secure UK dedicated servers here!

How to Secure a UK Dedicated Server in 2026: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

olivia Millie — Fri, 01 May 2026 08:13:55 +0000

When you invest in dedicated servers for your UK business, you gain ultimate raw power, complete control, and maximum privacy.

Unlike shared hosting, a bare-metal machine means you are solely responsible for its security. In this guide, we will walk you through the most critical steps to lock down your dedicated server running Ubuntu or Debian, keeping your data safe and GDPR-compliant.

Step 1 — Update Your System Immediately

Outdated software is the number one vulnerability. The very first thing you should do upon receiving your new server credentials is to update the OS packages.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

## Step 2 — Change the Default SSH Port and Disable Root Login
Hackers constantly scan port 22 for brute-force attacks. Changing this port and disabling direct root access drastically reduces your attack surface. Open your SSH configuration file:

bash
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config


Find `#Port 22` and change it to something like `Port 2244`. Then, find `PermitRootLogin yes` and change it to `PermitRootLogin no`. Restart the SSH service to apply changes:

bash
sudo systemctl restart sshd


## Step 3 — Configure a Basic Firewall (UFW)
Your bare-metal server needs a strict firewall rule set. UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is perfect for this.

bash
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow 2244/tcp # Your new SSH port
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp # HTTP
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp # HTTPS
sudo ufw enable


## Step 4 — Install Fail2Ban to Stop Brute-Force Attacks
Fail2Ban automatically blocks IP addresses that show malicious signs, such as too many password failures.

bash
sudo apt install fail2ban -y
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
sudo systemctl start fail2ban




## Conclusion
Securing your infrastructure is an ongoing process. By following these foundational steps, you make it extremely difficult for automated bots and attackers to compromise your system.

If you are looking for enterprise-grade security and uncompromised performance, explore our range of highly secure UK dedicated servers at [eServers](https://www.eservers.uk) today.

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Proxmox vs VMware in 2026: Choosing the Best Hypervisor for Your Bare Metal Private Cloud

olivia Millie — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:51:38 +0000

For years, building a private cloud on a bare metal server meant one thing: installing VMware. But as we move through 2026, the virtualization landscape has dramatically shifted. Following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and the subsequent overhaul of its licensing models, thousands of UK businesses have started looking for robust, cost-effective alternatives. Enter Proxmox VE.

If you have outgrown public cloud environments and are ready to leverage the raw power of a dedicated bare metal server, choosing the right hypervisor is your most critical decision. Let’s compare Proxmox and VMware in 2026 to help you decide which platform is the best foundation for your private cloud infrastructure.

The 2026 Landscape: Why the Shift?

Building a private cloud allows you to partition a single powerful bare metal server into multiple virtual machines (VMs) or containers. This gives you the flexibility of the cloud but with the security, predictable pricing, and dedicated resources of on-premises hardware.

VMware vSphere: Still the enterprise heavyweight. However, the recent shift from perpetual licenses to a per-core subscription model has drastically increased the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE): An open-source, Debian-based platform that has rapidly matured. By 2026, Proxmox has become the go-to alternative, offering enterprise-grade features without the steep licensing fees.

Performance and Scalability on Bare Metal

When you rent a high-performance bare metal server (like those offered by eServers in the UK), you want a hypervisor that minimizes overhead and maximizes raw compute power.

VMware’s ESXi: As a highly optimized Type-1 hypervisor, ESXi is incredibly efficient. Its resource management tools (like DRS - Distributed Resource Scheduler) are unparalleled for massive, multi-server clusters.
Proxmox KVM & LXC: Proxmox uses KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) for full virtualization and LXC for lightweight Linux containers. In 2026, KVM’s performance on modern CPUs is virtually indistinguishable from bare metal. For single-server deployments or small clusters, Proxmox handles high workloads, such as database hosting and web servers, flawlessly.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Cost Efficiency

This is where the battle is often decided for UK businesses in 2026.

The VMware Premium: While VMware offers polish and deep third-party integrations, its subscription-based licensing can quickly eclipse the cost of the hardware itself. It is best suited for massive corporations with established VMware ecosystems.
The Proxmox Advantage: Proxmox is completely free and open-source. You get all the features—including live migration, built-in backup (Proxmox Backup Server), and software-defined storage (Ceph)—out of the box. You only pay if you want official enterprise support, making it the perfect match for a fixed-cost bare metal server.

Usability and Management Tools

A private cloud is only as good as your ability to manage it.

VMware vCenter: The industry standard. It is incredibly powerful but comes with a steep learning curve and requires its own dedicated resources to run.
Proxmox Web GUI: Proxmox includes a built-in, intuitive web-based interface out of the box. By 2026, the Proxmox UI has evolved significantly, making it incredibly easy to deploy VMs, manage backups, and monitor server health without needing a separate management server.

Security and UK Compliance

When hosting in the UK, adhering to GDPR and local data protection laws is non-negotiable. Both platforms offer excellent security, provided they are configured correctly.

VMware benefits from decades of enterprise hardening and native security integrations (like NSX). Proxmox, being built on standard Debian Linux, benefits from the massive open-source security community. Crucially, by running either platform on a UK-based bare metal server, you maintain complete data sovereignty, keeping your data entirely within UK borders.

Conclusion: Which Should You Choose?

If you are a large enterprise with an unlimited IT budget, complex hybrid-cloud requirements, and an existing VMware ecosystem, VMware remains a powerhouse in 2026.

However, if you are a UK business, agency, or developer looking to build a secure, high-performance private cloud without unpredictable licensing fees, Proxmox is the clear winner in 2026. Pairing the open-source brilliance of Proxmox with the raw, unmetered power of an eServers machine gives you the ultimate, cost-effective infrastructure.

How to Set Up a High-Performance Dedicated Gaming Server (FiveM & Minecraft)

olivia Millie — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:19:13 +0000

When building a large gaming community, standard hosting simply doesn't cut it. Games like GTA V (FiveM) and Minecraft rely heavily on high CPU clock speeds and massive amounts of RAM.

To ensure a lag-free experience for hundreds of players, bare-metal dedicated servers are the only choice. Here is how to set up your own high-performance gaming environment on Linux.

Step 1: System Preparation and Dependencies

First, update your server and install screen (which allows your game server to run in the background after you disconnect). Open your terminal and run the following commands:


bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install screen wget curl git -y


Step 2: Setting Up a Minecraft Java Server
Minecraft is notoriously single-thread heavy. An AMD Ryzen dedicated server is highly recommended here to handle the load.

First, install Java:

Bash

sudo apt install openjdk-21-jre-headless -y
Next, create a directory, download the server file, and start it:

Bash

mkdir minecraft_server && cd minecraft_server
wget [https://piston-data.mojang.com/v1/objects/](https://piston-data.mojang.com/v1/objects/)[LATEST_VERSION_HASH]/server.jar
screen -S minecraft
java -Xmx16G -Xms16G -jar server.jar nogui
Note: Adjust -Xmx and -Xms based on your server's total RAM availability. The example above allocates 16GB of RAM.

Step 3: Setting Up a FiveM (GTA V) Server
FiveM requires specific artifacts to run successfully. Create a new directory for your server:

Bash

mkdir -p ~/fivem_server/server
cd ~/fivem_server/server
Download the latest recommended Linux artifact from the FiveM runtime page and extract it:

Bash

wget [LINK_TO_LATEST_ARTIFACT]
tar xf fx.tar.xz
Clone the cfx-server-data repository into a new folder:

Bash

git clone [https://github.com/citizenfx/cfx-server-data.git](https://github.com/citizenfx/cfx-server-data.git) ~/fivem_server/server-data
You can now configure your server.cfg file and launch your server inside a screen session using:

Bash

bash ~/fivem_server/server/run.sh +exec server.cfg
Conclusion
Hosting your own game server gives you complete administrative control, modding capabilities, and a stable environment for your players.

For the ultimate gaming experience with high clock speeds and DDoS protection, deploy your community on premium dedicated game servers today.

Read the original tutorial here: Eservers.uk - Setup Dedicated Gaming Servers