Specifications

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Chapter 8 Using VMkernel Device Modules
After!you!load!a!VMkernel!device!module,!an!entry!appears!in!/proc/vmware/net!or!
/proc/vmware/scsi.!For!example,!when!e100.o!is!loaded!as!described!above,!the!
entry!/proc/vmware/net/vmnic0!appears,!indicating!there!is!one!EEPro!card!
controlled!by!the!VMkernel!and!available!as!vmnic0!to!the!virtual!machines.!See!
“Creating!and!Configuring!Virtual!
Machines”!on!page 39!for!information!on!how!to!
configure!virtual!machines!to!use!VMkernel!devices.!
Other Information about VMkernel Modules
The!only!non‐device!VMkernel!module!available!in!this!release!of!VMware!ESX!Server!
is!the!nfshaper!module,!which!provides!support!for!network!filtering,!as!described!in!
“Managing!Network!Bandwidth”!on!page 367.!
Load!nfshaper!using!the!following!syntax:
vmkload_mod /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/nfshaper.o nfshaper
VMkernel!modules!must!be!reloaded!each!time!the!VMkernel!is!loaded!(as!described!
in!“Loading!VMkernel!Device!Modules”!on!page 239).!
Controlling VMkernel Module Loading During Bootup
You!can!customize!the!loading!of!VMkernel!device!driver!modules! during!startup!by!
editing!one!of!the!following!files:
! /etc/vmware/hwconfig!–!Automatically!supply!extra!parameters!to!a!driver!
when!it!is!loaded!during!bootup.
! /etc/vmware/vmkmodule.conf!–!Supply!extra!parameters!to!a!driver,!add!or!
prevent!a!driver!module!from!loading,!or!determine!the!order!in!which!the!driver!
modules!are!loaded!during!bootup.
Customizing Parameters of VMkernel Device Driver Modules on
Startup
You!can!supply!extra!parameters!to!be!passed!to!a!driver!when!it!is!loaded!during!
bootup.!You!do!this!by!editing!the!file!/etc/vmware/hwconfig.!This!file! contains!
information!about!the!hardware!on!your!system,!including!device!driver!modules.
CAUTION Editing!these!files!is!recommended!for!advanced!users!only.!If!you!have!any!
questions,!contact!your!authorized!service!provider!before!editing!these!
files.