Cannot set auto-negotiate on nic

[Hettegger Matthias]

We tried to set the network interface cards (NICS) in our esxi hosts  to auto-negotiate the duplex and speed settings without success.

vCenter displayed the following error:
Call "HostNetworkSystem.UpdatePhysicalNicLinkSpeed" for object "networkSystem-9" on vCenter Server "SWZLMGT1.efswlager.ch" failed.
Operation failed, diagnostics report: Operation not supported: Operation not supported

We then tried to change the nics to auto-negotiate by using the ssh support console but again, an error occured:
~ # esxcfg-nics -a vmnic1
Error: Operation not supported: Operation not supported

We are using the following hardware/software configuration for the esxi hosts:

• - HP ProLiant BL460c G7 with a
• - HP NC553i Dual Port FlexFabric 10Gb network adapter
• - HP ethernet passthru module (1gbe)
• - VMware esxi 4.1 U1 (348481)

The firmware and driver version in use are listed below:

~ # ethtool -i vmnic1
driver: be2net
version: 2.102.518.0
firmware-version: 3.102.453.0
bus-info: 0000:02:00.1

Does anyone have a suggestions on how to solve this problem?

[Mjonesy]

I think this might be a limitation on the 10Gb cards.  We are using NC523SFP's and they are the same.  We just set the switches to no negotiate, full duplex, 10gb.