GogglesP wrote:
...... and I am thinking the next step is to just put the ESXi 5.x Hypervisor oin the machine and see if the cards can be seen via that.....
I don't understand what you mean here? You already have installed ESXi 5.x, correct? Or are you saying that you are going to put a hard disk in and install the ESXi to that?
I've installed dozens of ESXi on both SD cards and hard disks - really there is no difference at all and where the OS is stored has nothing to do with the OS detecting HBA devices.
Something - some detail - has been missed. It has to have been ....