Specifications

Administration Guide
320 VMware, Inc.
If!you!are!unsure!what!name!the!VMkernel!has!assigned!to!the!network!adapter!
that!formerly!was!eth0!in!the!service!console,!determine!its!name!using!the!
findnic!program!(see!“VMkernel!Network!Card!Locator”!on!page 314).!
The!next!time!you!reboot!the!system,!the!network!adapter!is!shared!by!the!service
!
console!and!the!virtual!machines.!
7To!begin!sharing!the!network!adapter!without!rebooting!the!system,!manually!
issue!the!same!commands!you!added!to!/etc/rc.d/rc.local:
insmod vmxnet_console devName=”vmnic0”
ifup eth0
Using Virtual Switches
ESX!Server!lets!you!create!abstracted!network!devices!called!virtual!Ethernet!switches.!
Each!virtual!switch!is!a!network!hub!that!can!be!used!by!virtual!machines.!A!virtual!
switch!can!route!traffic!internally!between!virtual!machines!or!link!to!external!
networks.!
Use!virtual!switches!to!combine!the!bandwidth!of!multiple!network
!adapters!and!
balance!communications!traffic!among!them.!They!can!also!be!configured!to!maintain!
persistent!network!connections!despite!link!failures!for!individual!adapters.
A!virtual!switch!models!a!physical!Ethernet!switch.!A!virtual!switch!contains!32!logical!
ports.!You!can!connect!one!network!adapter!of!a!virtual!machine!to!each!port.
Each!virtual!switch!can!also!have!one!or!more!port!groups!assigned!to!it.!See!“Creating!
Port!Groups”!on!page 190.
Choosing a Network Label
ESX!Server!uses!network!labels!to!represent!network!connections!to!virtual!machines.!
The!network!label!is!intended!to!be!a!functional!descriptor!for!the!network!connection.!
ESX!Server!represents!both!virtual!switches!and!port!groups!to!virtual!machines!by!
assigning!them!a!network!label.
You!can!change!the!network!label!for!
a!switch!only!when!it!is!not!being!used!by!a!virtual!
machine.!
Binding Physical Adapters
Group!physical!adapters!by!“binding”!them!together.!This!is!the!functional!equivalent!
for!NIC!teaming!in!ESX!Server.!Certain!options!you!can!configure!through!the!Service!
Console!refer!to!grouped!adapters!as!a!“bond.”