6.5.1

Table Of Contents
Stateless Network Deployment 17
Stateless is a mode of execution for ESXi hosts with no local storage that formerly would save
configuration or state. Configurations are abstracted into a host profile, which is a template that applies to
a class of machines. Stateless allows easy replacement, removal, and addition of failed hardware, and
improves the ease of scaling a hardware deployment.
Every stateless ESXi boot is like a first boot. The ESXi host boots with networking connectivity to
vCenter Server through the builtin standard switch. If the host profile specifies distributed switch
membership, vCenter Server joins the ESXi host to VMware distributed switches or a third party switch
solution.
When planning the network setup for stateless ESXi hosts, you should keep the configuration as generic
as possible and avoid hostspecific items. Currently the design has no hooks to reconfigure physical
switches when deploying a new host. Any such requirement would need special handling.
To set up stateless deployment, one ESXi host must be installed in the standard fashion. Then find and
record the following network-related information to save in the host profile:
n
vSphere standard switch instances and settings (port groups, uplinks, MTU, and so forth)
n
Distributed switch instances (VMware and third party)
n
Selection rules for uplinks and uplink port or port groups
n
vNIC information:
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Address information (IPv4 or IPv6, static or DHCP, gateway)
n
Port groups and distributed port groups assigned to the physical network adapter (vmknic)
n
If there are distributed switches, record VLAN, physical NICs bound to the vmknic, and if
Etherchannel is configured
The recorded information is used as a template for the host profile. Once the host profile virtual switch
information has been extracted and placed in the host profile, you have the opportunity to change any of
the information. Modifications are offered for both standard and distributed switches in these sections:
uplink selection policy, based on either vmnic name or device number, and auto discovery based on
VLAN ID. The (possibly modified) information is stored by the stateless boot infrastructure and applied to
a stateless ESXi host on its next boot. During network initialization, a generic network plugin interprets
the recorded host profile setting and does the following:
n
Loads appropriate physical NIC drivers.
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