I have bad news unfortunately. Simply adding the missing device IDs will not work.
I spent the weekend reviewing the
VMware source code v4.5.3 and compared it to the original
Intel source code on which it is based.
Here is what I found:
1. The VMware source code v4.5.3 appears to be based on the Intel source code v5.1.3 which was released 18 May 2017. That means the VMware driver is 10 months behind the Intel driver. The Intel source code is now at v5.3.6.
2. The Intel source (both v5.1.3 and v5.3.6) contains a lot of code that is specific to the X553 and X557. Each NIC type (X552/3/7) supports different feature sets, modes, responses, etc. which the code deals with. That code is completely missing from the VMware source v4.5.3. So, even if I add the missing device IDs the driver itself will not work with X553/7.
3. The X553/7 code in the Intel source v5.1.3 was intentionally removed by VMware when they ported it to v4.5.3. Although they removed the code they forgot to update the README (that's why it still lists X553). The fact that VMware removed this code worries me. They must have had a good reason to remove it. Attempting to re-insert the code may not work.
4. The VMware source v4.5.3 has been significantly modified to enable it to work on ESXi. When compared against the Intel source v5.1.3 there are significant changes.
So, no matter which way I decide to approach this it's going to be a big job, and there's no guarantee I will be able to make it work.
I can either:
1. Try to re-insert the X553/7 code from Intel v5.1.3 back into VMware v4.5.3
2. Try to add the VMware modifications from VMware v4.5.3 into Intel v5.1.3
3. Try to add the VMware modifications from VMware v4.5.3 into Intel v5.3.6
I think option 1 would be the easiest but that still means we'll be using a 10 month old driver. I'd prefer to do option 3 but I think that will most likely be the hardest to accomplish.
No matter which option I choose, it's going to take a lot of time (which I don't have much of right now) and I will only be able to do it once my own motherboard finally arrives.
To be honest, I think the best option would be to put pressure on VMware to update the driver themselves.