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ctivuser
Contributor
Contributor

How to create a VM on a different network

Bottom line question is: how do I add a VM that is on a different LAN and different subnet than the other VMs on the ESXi server?

Server details:

  • I have a Dell server running ESXi v5.5.
  • The server has 2 NICs each with 2 network ports.
  • Dual 6 core Xeon CPU's with 32 GB RAM.

Network details

  • There are 2 different LANs: the "business LAN" and the "industrial LAN".
  • The bLAN has a subnet of 10.0.0.*
  • The iLAN has a subnet of 192.168.1.*
  • The server is physically located in a rack with both sets of firewalls and switches easily accessible.
  • The server is currently connected only to the iLAN.
  • 2 Ethernet cables connected to the iLAN are connected to the server (for redundancy).

ESXi Details:

  • ESXi network settings has labeled the network ports as port 0 - 3.
  • Currently, port 0 and port 2 are used., ie. the first port on each card.

I have seen some options and settings in both ESXi network settings and in the vSphere Client related to "vSwitch0".

What I am assuming is:

  1. There is a way to create a second switch that uses one of the other network ports, say port 3.
  2. I can connect that port to the bLAN.
  3. Then assign new VMs to "vSwitch1".
  4. Those VMs will be on the bLAN instead of the iLAN.

But I 1) am not sure this is correct, and 2) if it is, I am not sure how to do it.

Your help is appreciated! Even some links to resources that can guide me through the process would be great.

I am new to ESXi and vSphere, and I am still trying to get my bearings on good documents, websites, resources, etc to have access to.

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4 Replies
UmeshAhuja
Commander
Commander

Hi, Is you bVLAN connect to ESXi or you will connect physically to get the port 3 in use

Thanks n Regards
Umesh Ahuja

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ctivuser
Contributor
Contributor

UmeshAhuja wrote:

Hi, Is you bVLAN connect to ESXi or you will connect physically to get the port 3 in use

The "industrial LAN" (or iLAN) is the only LAN wired to the ESXi server at this time.

To do what I want, I will need connect an Ethernet wire from the "business LAN" (or bLAN) Cisco switch to the ESXi server. I plan to use port 3 for that.

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blabarbera
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Are these physically separate networks, or are you using VLAN's?

If it's just physical separation then create a new vSwitch, select the appropriate vmnic (physical adapter) connected to your bLAN network and there you go.

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ctivuser
Contributor
Contributor

blabarbera wrote:

Are these physically separate networks, or are you using VLAN's?

If it's just physical separation then create a new vSwitch, select the appropriate vmnic (physical adapter) connected to your bLAN network and there you go.

Thank you for the suggestion. I found this page with a video tutorial on how to do what you suggested: http://www.mikelaverick.com/2013/12/back-to-basics-creating-standard-vswitches/

So far, I have created the vswitch, added the NIC, created the management interface to connect to the bLAN, connected the Ethernet cable, and created a new VM. The vswitch shows that the NIC is online and connected to the network. I am still working on installing the guest OS (Win 7 Pro in this case). I'll update later with how it turns out.

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