Specifications
VMware, Inc. 321
Chapter 11 Networking
Bind!together!similar!physical!adapters!whenever!possible.!ESX!Server!uses!only!
features!or!capabilities!common!to!all!adapters!when!defining!the!functionality!of!a!
bonded!switch.!For!example,!ESX!Server!can!use!a!hardware!acceleration!feature!for!a!
bond!only!if!all!adapters!in!the!bond!include!that!feature.!
Hardware!acceleration
!features!supported!by!ESX!Server!include:
! VLAN!tag!handling
! Checksum!calculations
! TCP!Segmentation!Offloading
Binding!together!identical!models!of!physical!adapters!ensures!that!ESX!Server!can!use!
all!features!of!the!adapter.
When!you!choose!a!network!connection!for!a!virtual!machine,!ESX!Server!links!it!to!the!
associated!virtual!switch.!The!operation!of!the!virtual!machine!depends!on!the!
configuration!of!its
!network!connection.!You!cannot!bind!or!detach!physical!adapters!
while!a!virtual!switch!is!being!used!by!a!virtual!machine.
You!can!bind!up!to!ten!physical!adapters!to!each!virtual!switch.
Finding Bonds and Adapters in the Service Console
When!you!bind!together!adapters!in!a!virtual!switch,!ESX!Server!assigns!a!bond!
number!identifying!the!new!logical!grouping!of!physical!adapters.!You!need!the!bond!
number!to!configure!the!bond!options!described!below.!Check!
/etc/vmware/netmap.conf!to!determine!the!bond!number!assigned!to!a!virtual!
switch.
You!might!also!need!
the!device!name!that! ESX!Server!assigns!to!a!physical!adapter.!
Certain!options!use!the!device!name!to!designate!a!specific!adapter.!ESX!Server!defines!
device!names!with!the!string!vmnic<n>,!for!which!<n>!is!the!same!adapter!number!
displayed!for!an!adapter!in!the!Management!Interface.!For!example,!the!
physical!
adapter!identified!as!Outbound!Adapter!1!would!have!the!device!name!vmnic1.
You!can!also!determine!the!device!name!by!searching!/etc/vmware/devnames.conf
for!the!name!definition.The!PCI!bus!address!of!the!adapter!in!the!Management!
Interface!and!search!for!the!corresponding!name!definition.
To find the device name for the adapter at PCI!2:4.0:
1Log!into!the!Service!Console.