As of the writing of this book, the latest VI Client (version 2.5) could not be installed on 64-bit operating systems.
The Bottom Line
Understand ESX Server compatibility requirements. ESX Server has tight restrictions with regard to supported hardware. VMware is the only company that provides hardware drivers for the VMware-supported hardware. The compatibility lists provided by VMware are living documents that will continue to change as new hardware is approved.
Master It You want to reconfigure an existing physical server as an ESX Server host.
Plan an ESX Server deployment. A great deal of detailed planning and projecting is required to deploy a scalable virtual infrastructure.
Master It Your company wants to achieve the greatest ROI while maintaining high performance and availability levels. You need to produce a report that details the virtual infrastructure hardware specifications and costs.
Install ESX Server. ESX Server is a fairly straightforward installation process with only one or two details to pay close attention to.
Master It You need to reinstall ESX Server and want to be sure that inadvertent data loss cannot occur. The ESX Server will boot from local disks.
Perform postinstallation configuration. Once the installation of ESX Server is complete the configuration can be tweaked to meet the needs of the organization.
Master It After installing ESX Server, the web-based management page is returning a “page not found” error.
Master It Your department heads have defined a company policy mandating the installation of antivirus software into the Service Console. Additional software might be installed at a later date.
Install the Virtual Infrastructure Client (VI Client). The Virtual Infrastructure Client is a flexible management tool that allows management of an ESX Server host directly or by connecting to a VirtualCenter installation.
Master It You want to manage the ESX Server hosts from your administrative workstation.
Chapter 3 Creating and Managing Virtual Networks
The goal of this chapter is to arm you with the most critical tools required for designing, managing, and troubleshooting a virtual infrastructure. Fluency in storage management, virtual machine provisioning, security, and backup are pointless if virtual machines cannot talk to the rest of the network. Server consolidation, simplified management, and greater return on investment are wasted efforts if production systems are not available. In this chapter you will learn to:
♦ Identify the components of virtual networking
♦ Create virtual switches and virtual switch port groups
♦ Create and manage NIC teams
♦ Create and manage virtual LANs (vLANs)
♦ Configure virtual switch security policies
Virtual Networking Components
When it comes to constructing the virtual networking infrastructure of your ESX Server hosts, you will notice some similar components and some not-so-similar components. The following list defines the various components involved in a virtual network architecture:
Virtual switch A switch that resides in the VMkernel and provides traffic management for virtual machines.
Port/port group A logical object on a virtual switch that provides specialized services for the Service Console, VMkernel, or hosted virtual machines. A virtual switch can contain a Service Console port, a VMkernel port, or a virtual machine port group.
Service Console port A specialized virtual switch port type that is configured with an IP address to allow access to the Service Console at the respective address. A Service Console port is also referred to as a vswif.
VMkernel port A specialized virtual switch port type that is configured with an IP address to allow VMotion, iSCSI storage access, or NAS/NFS storage access. A VMkernel port is also referred to as a vmknic.
Virtual Machine port group A specialized virtual switch port that is representative of a switch-to-switch connection and that allows virtual machines to access physical networks.
Virtual LAN (vLAN) A logical LAN configured on a virtual or physical switch that provides efficient traffic segmentation, security, and efficient bandwidth utilization by providing traffic only to the ports configured for a respective vLAN.
Trunk port (trunking) A trunk port on a switch is a port that listens for and knows how to pass traffic for all vLANs configured on the switch.
NIC team The aggregation of physical ports to form a single logical communication channel.
vmxnet adapter A virtualized network adapter operating inside a guest operating system. The vmxnet adapter is a high-performance virtual network adapter that operates only if VMware Tools have been installed. The vmxnet adapter is identified as "flexible" in the virtual machine properties.
vlance adapter A virtualized network adapter operating inside a guest operating system. The vlance adapter is the default adapter used until the VMware Tools installation has been completed.
e1000 adapter A virtualized network adapter that emulates the Intel e1000 network adapter. The e1000 network adapter is most common in 64-bit virtual machines.
Figure 3.1 Successful virtual networking is a blend of virtual and physical network adapters and switches.
The networking architecture of ESX revolves around the creation and configuration of virtual switches. Virtual switches are created and managed through the Service Console, but they operate within the VMkernel. Virtual switches provide the connectivity to provide communication:
♦ between virtual machines within an ESX Server host
♦ between virtual machines on different ESX Server hosts
♦ between virtual machines and physical machines on the network
♦ for Service Console access
♦ for VMkernel access to networks for VMotion, iSCSI, or NFS
Figure 3.1 details the various communication channels provided by virtual network adapters through virtual switches created in the VMkernel. The VMkernel then manages the virtual switch communication through a physical network adapter to connect the virtual and physical networking components.
As the virtual network implementation makes virtual machines accessible, it is essential that virtual switches be configured in a manner that supports reliable and efficient communication around the different network infrastructure components.
Creating Virtual Switches and Port Groups
The answers to the following questions are an integral part of the design of your virtual networking:
♦ Do you have a dedicated network for Service Console management?
♦ Do you have a dedicated network for VMotion traffic?
♦ Do you have an IP storage network? iSCSI? NAS/NFS?
♦ How many NICs are standard in your ESX Server host design?
♦ Is the existing physical network comprised of vLANs?
♦ Do you want to extend the use of vLANs into the virtual switches?
As a precursor to the setup of a virtual networking architecture, the physical network components and the security needs of the network will need to be identified and documented.
Virtual switches in ESX Server are constructed and operated in the VMkernel. Virtual switches (also known as vSwitches) are not managed switches and do not provide all the advanced features that many new physical switches provide. These vSwitches operate like a physical switch in some ways, but in other ways they are quite different. Like their physical counterparts, vSwitches operate at Layer 2, support vLAN configurations, prevent overdelivery, forward frames to other switch ports, and maintain MAC address tables. Despite the similarities to physical switches, vSwitches do have some differences. A vSwitch created in the VMkernel cannot be connected to another vSwitch, thereby eliminating a potential loop configuration and the need to offer support for Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). In physical switches, STP offers redundancy for paths and prevents loops in the network topology by locking redundant paths in a standby state. Only when a path is no longer available will STP activate the standby path.
vSwitch Looping