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getut
Contributor
Contributor

ESXi 4.1 4 NICS load balancing

I have a question about my new server and first foray into ESXi and its virtual switched network config.

My server has 4 NICS which I have added all 4 to vSwith0 and then gone into vSwitch0 properties and edited the VM Network so that those 4 NICS are configured for Load Balancing. I have tried MAC hash method and originating virtual port ID

I have 5 servers on the box and only 2 of the NICS actually connected to a switch while I am in testing, but I am not seeing any usage of but one NIC.

Do I have to use the NIC teaming functionality in my switch also to get this working? I thought the virtual switch handled this for me, but if I was wrong it would explain what I am seeing. I have also had the whole ESXi box drop off the network once after about 3 days of usage. Restarting the management network didn't help so I am wondering if I am configuring this wrong.

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jamesbowling
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

First, what Load Balancing policy are your using now? I would recommend using "Route based on originating port ID" as it is the simplest form. You may not see both of those NICs being used in your scenario. Also, are both NICs set to Active Adapters in the vSwitch?

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jamesbowling
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Forgot to address the rest of your post, in the case of best practice, you will want to separate your management network from your VM network. So, you could do this in a 4 pNIC setup:

vSwitch0 - Management Network, vMotion - 2 pNIC

vSwitch1 - VM Network - 2 pNIC

or any other combination, keeping in mind that it is best to make sure that you have redundancy for your Management Network.

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f10
Expert
Expert

If you are using Route based on virtual port id "traffic from a given virtual Ethernet adapter is consistently sent to the same physical adapter unless there is a failover to another adapter in the NIC team.Replies are received on the same physical adapter as the physical switch learns the port association."

So what you see is expected refer to the for a better understanding about the Load Balancing options and chose the one which suits the best for your environment.

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f-10.

VCP3, VCP4, HPCP, HP UX CSA

Regards, Arun Pandey VCP 3,4,5 | VCAP-DCA | NCDA | HPUX-CSA | http://highoncloud.blogspot.in/ If you found this or other information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful".
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getut
Contributor
Contributor

I'm still not sure I have the issue resolved. Since my first post I have split the virtual machine network and management network and I am now using 3 NICs for the virtual machine network and am using the base default load balancing based on which virtual port the VM is connected to.

No one said it specifically but I think I understand you all and the PDF to say that I DON'T have to turn on any of my switches link aggregation features to use this.

If I give a virtual machine a second NIC, then I guess I still don't have to turn on any link aggregation features because VM1 with 2 virtual NICS may be using physical NICs 1 and 3 while VM2 with a single virtual NIC may be using only NIC3.

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jamesbowling
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Link aggregation is different from Load Balancing. If you are wanting to use Link Aggregation then you will want to setup the aggregation on your pSwitch and then configure your NIC Teaming Load Balancing policy to Route based on IP Hash. That policy is designed for Link Aggregation.

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mjpagan
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

If you have the physical switches that can do link aggregation I would use route based on IP hash for your VM network. It takes a little to get setup but at least then you know you'd be using all of your NICs on a more consistent basis.

Here is a link that speaks to the different types of load balancing, I have found a good reference: http://kensvirtualreality.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/the-great-vswitch-debate%E2%80%93part-3/

Mike P

MCSE, VCP3/4

Mike Pagán MCITP:EA, MCSE, VCAP5-DCA, VCAP5-DCD,VCP 5, VCP5-DT, CCNA, A+
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