OK, I give -- I have to start asking around and this place seems likely to have some folk who know what they're talking about.
Simple simple setup of a stand alone ESXi v5.5 server, all hardware is approved, including a dual Intel 82574L and three guest VMs. No big deal.
Problem: One of the physical adapters will not come up. vmnic1 is up and running just fine on the default vSwitch0. The VMdernel Port is attached to vSwitch0 and the Network Management port looks to vmnic1. The vmnic1 connects to Port Group WAN0
The problem has to be simple but I am not seeing it.
The other physical adapter, vmnic0, will not come up. It shows up in the vSphere client. I can add or delete the adapter from any vSwitch. I get no error messages as I manipulate or configure this physical adapter. But no matter what I do, adapter will not come up. The darn thing just sits there taking up space.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
The attached is a screen shot of the vSphere client.