6.7

What to do next
If the contents of the packet are saved to a file, copy the file from the ESXi host to the system that runs a
graphical analyzer tool, such as Wireshark, and open it in the tool to examine the packet details.
Capture Packets for a VMkernel Adapter
Monitor packets that are exchanged between a VMkernel adapter and a virtual switch by using the
pktcap-uw utility.
You can capture packets at a certain capture point in the flow between a virtual switch and a VMkernel
adapter. You can also determine a capture point by traffic direction with regard to the switch and proximity
to the packet source or destination. For information about supported capture points, see Capture Points
of the pktcap-uw Utility.
Procedure
1 (Optional) Find the name of the VMkernel adapter that you want to monitor in the VMkernel adapter
list.
n
In the vSphere Web Client, expand Networking on the Configure tab for the host and select
VMkernel adapters.
n
In the ESXi Shell to the host, to view a list of the physical adapters, run the following console
command:
esxcli network ip interface list
Each VMkernel adapter is represented as vmkX, where X is the sequence number that ESXi assigned
to the adapter.
2 In the ESXi Shell to the host, run the pktcap-uw command with the --vmk vmkX argument and with
options to monitor packets at a particular point, filter captured packets and save the result to a file.
pktcap-uw --vmk vmkX [--capture capture_point|--dir 0|1 --stage 0|1] [filter_options] [--outfile
pcap_file_path [--ng]] [--count number_of_packets]
where the square brackets [] enclose the options of the pktcap-uw --vmk vmkX command and the
vertical bars | represent alternative values.
vSphere Networking
VMware, Inc. 216