vmware esx only supports scsi virtual drives. it appears to be: 1000/0030 LSI53C1020/1030 PCI-X to Ultra320 SCSI Controller
so a new kernel with scsi support and a new cd image should fix it; anything else to consider? fyi, here's the pci output: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddxpv6x5_34dgrn4wgz