Wanting to avoid this, I (perhaps foolhardily) updated to the latest driver from VMware support site, net-tg3_3.137h.v55.1-1OEM.550.820 and rebooted. I noticed that the tg3 driver was net-tg3 3.123c.v55.5-1vmw.550.190 VMware VMwareCertified which has known issues per KB2072515.
I use both onboard NICs and two Thunderbolt >GB eth dongles, all four of which appear as BCM57762 GB adapters in ESXi, claimed by the tg3 driver. I ran into an issue lately with my MacPro running 5.5 latest build 2638301. Wiliam - your site is the single greatest resource for ESXi on MacPro - thank you for all that you do.
Here is a screenshot of the latest ESXi 5.5 Update 2 Patch03 running on an Apple Mac Pro 8-Core system courtesy from VMware Engineering:
I am hoping to get this further clarified on the HCL. Note: The VMware HCL currently lists 5.5 U2 as the supported release, but you will specifically need ESXi 5.5 Update 2 Patch03 for this new hardware support. The VMware HCL has also been updated to reflect this new update:
You can find the ESXi 5.5 Update 2 Patch03 ( ESXi550-201410001) download here using Image Builder to author and ISO image which is equired to install ESXi on the new Mac Pro. UPDATE (10/31) - Take a look at this blog post here for detailed instructions on installing ESXi 5.5 Update 2 Patch03 on the Mac Pro 6,1. I also would like to point out that when the next release of vSphere (.NEXT) is available, the Apple Mac Pro will also be certified and supported. Due to unforeseen issues, it has taken a bit longer than expected to get the Apple Mac Pro certified, but VMware Engineering has been working hard to get all the bugs fixed and triaged with Apple and you can now run the latest release of vSphere on the Apple Mac Pro 4-core, 6-core, 8-core & 12-core configuration. Wait a couple of seconds, then click inside the Window, and select the USB option using the arrow keys on your keyboard.The much anticipated support for running vSphere on the latest generation of the Apple Apple Mac Pro 6,1 (black) is finally here with the release of ESXi 5.5 Update 2 Patch03. First, right click the USB icon on the bottom right corner of VMware Player, and click Connect (Disconnect from Host). Make sure your USB drive with a bootable OS is attached. Make sure that USB is enabled, and if it isn’t, click “Customize Hardware”, click the USB Controller device, and check the first two options.
On the final screen, you’ll see the hardware resources automatically allocated for this particular VM. On the next screen, select “Store Virtual Disk as single file”, and allot 5 GB to it, since we will be booting from the USB drive, and not actually doing an install. Specify the name of the VM and the destination where it will be saved. Select Linux as the Guest Operating System, and from the list of versions, select Ubuntu (or if you have a different OS, select it and its version).