Installation guide

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VMware ESX Server Administration Guide
Select a primary adapter by setting the home_link option for a virtual switch:
1. Log into the Service Console as root.
2. Edit /etc/vmware/hwconfig.
3. Define the primary adapter. For example, to choose vmnic2 for bond1:
nicteam.bond1.home_link = “vmnic2”
If you previously defined the option for this switch, just change the current
mode value to vmnic2.
4. Save the file and close it.
Note: Designating a primary link for a virtual switch overrides the load balancing
mode. If you set the home_link option, ESX Server ignores the value of
load_balance_mode.
ESX Server monitors the primary link for physical connection failures. When the
primary adapter loses contact, ESX Server transfers the network traffic to one of the
secondary adapters while continuing to monitor the primary adapter. When ESX
Server detects that the physical connection of the primary link has been restored, it
transfers the connection for the virtual switch back to the primary.
This basic failure detection mode passively monitors an adapter for loss of physical
connection to an external switch. You can configure ESX Server to actively search for
network failures using beacon monitoring.
Using Beacon Monitoring
The beacon monitoring feature broadcasts beacon packets on the external network
linked to the server to detect distributed connection failures. ESX Server issues beacon
packets from one adapter addressed to other adapters assigned to a virtual switch. By
monitoring beacon reception, the server can determine the state of connections in a
multi-point network route. You can configure beacon monitoring for each virtual
switch and for the entire server.
Beacon monitoring is designed to be used in configurations where the multiple
adapters assigned to a virtual switch are connected to more than one external switch.
Physical link monitoring only indicates whether an adapter is communicating with
one external switch. Beacon failures can detect connection failures between external
switches or routing errors among switches in a distributed network domain.
ESX Server uses beacon monitoring as a variable indicator of network connection
failure. The server indicates a connection loss after it fails to receive a set number of
broadcast beacons in succession. Only when the number of failed beacons exceeds