ESXi

Hi all,

I have a Dell 1950 with two Intel Pro 1000 MT connections. I have teamed them on both the vSwitch and the VM Network using "Route based on the originating virtual port ID" option. My understanding is that this will provide out going load balancing and fail over.

My question is:

What do I have to do to implement this functionality in my VMs? Each vm is currently assigned only one adapter. Is this right or should I be using both adapters and then implamenting teaming in my FreeBSD and Windows 2008 virtual machines?

I have installed the Intel Pro Driver and teamed the nics in one of my 2008 vm's. Not sure what to do, if anything, next.

Thanks!

John Ullom

"Route based on the originating virtual port ID"

My understanding is that this will provide out going load balancing and fail over.

This is not really a "load balancing", it's actually a "Round Robin" assignment.

When a VM is started the physical NIC is assigned based on the portID of the port group to which the VM is assigned. In case this physical NIC fails, ESX(i) fails over to another physical NIC on the vSwitch.

Usually you don't need multiple virtual NICs in your VM, unless you need multiple IP addresses.

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/virtual_networking_concepts.pdf explains this in detail.

André

Hi John,

You have already done what was necessary. Network redundancy is provided by the host. The VM is not aware of this feature and only needs to have a single virtual network card.

Regards

Franck