Unable to ping eSXI guest OS from my local host computer

[sb838ailey]

Hi all, I am trialing eSXI as a solution for our server. I work in industrial automation doing controls. Our goal is to have a server that we store specific VMs and other software on, as well as being able to create VMs quickly that can act as human machine interfaces(HMI) clients based on our project needs. Our thoughts were that we could install a server OS, then VMware workstation and host an eSXI instance without storing any of our valuable information directly inside of a VM.

I created a VM on my laptop that is running eSXI. I was able to access everything through the web browser and that worked flawlessly. see below for topology of the network. I only have one VM setup that I am trying to communicate with.

From my laptop that is running the eSXI VM:

     I can ping the eSXI host on the management network.

    

     I can't ping the individual guest OS created within eSXI on the virtual machine network.

    

     I've confirmed that the IP address of the Guest OS is 192.168.49.139

    

From inside the eSXI guest OS VM:

     I'm able to ping the management network, as well as get internet connection from inside the guest OS.

    

     I'm also able to ping my laptop from inside the eSXI guest os, which is confusing to me. This confirms that they are on the same network, right?

For eSXI to be a viable solution for us I need to be able to communicate with each of the VMs that are created within eSXI from a central point, such as a PLC. has anyone seen this before, I'd love to be able to communicate from the outside to each individual VM created within eSXI.

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the Community,

Did you configure the guest OS firewall to allow ICMP (ping) traffic? This is blocked with newer Windows versions by default.

Please allow me one more question: What exactly are you trying to achieve with the nested setup? I ddin't get the point why you want to do this, as it puts unnecessary overhead on the system, resulting in much slower nested guest OS performance.

André

[Gidrakos]

I'm with a.p. on the default Windows firewall settings - this is a fairly recent change they made and is a good "gotcha"

You can enable it through the Advanced Firewall Settings under "File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request)"

A.P., I believe he's just using his laptop as a playground for vCenter to see if it's a viable solution before (likely) purchasing the hardware to run it on directly.

[sb838ailey]

Thanks for the answer André,

your ICMP idea worked, amazing! I can now communicate with the guest OS, thank you!

As for the nested architecture, let me start by saying by no means am I an expert with this. This is the first server that I am "responsible" for. For testing purposes on my laptop it has worked just fine, but when we move to configuring the actual server I'm not sure its the best option.Lots of people with more experience than I have doubts about storing crucial information inside of VMs so the thought of having our information on a server inside a VM led to the nested structure idea

Really, we just need a safe place to store software, preconfigured VMs, and whatever other documents we see fit. This needs to be accessible from about 10 people, not all at the same time. is it safe to configure eSXI with one guest OS as windows server for example, and the rest of the guest OS VMs with whatever OS we need?

any thoughts or comments on the architecture of the system would be very helpful.

Thanks again for your help already André.

-Steve

[sb838ailey]

Yes, my laptop is merely a playground, however with that being said, I am by no means an expert with system architecture.

Ideally what we need is as follows:

a place to store files, pre-configured VMs, etc, and the ability to spin up new VMs based on project needs to act as clients.

is it safe to use eSXI, create a VM with a guest OS of windows server, and then create other Vms with a windows 10 Guest OS?

how would you design a system like this?

Thanks for your reply

-Steve

[a_p_]

Assuming that you use supported hardware, you can safely run VMs on ESXi.

Like with physical operating system installations, the environment requires a proper backup. With the virtual setup, you can even implement a VM based backup solution, that allows you to restore a complete VM (in case it's needed) rather than just files.

Please feel free to ask for suggestions about hardware/sizing/backup here on VMTN if you want.

André

[sb838ailey]

Hi Andre,

is this the compatibility tool you had in mind? VMware Compatibility Guide - System Search

[a_p_]

That's the Compatibility Guide, which lists supported hardware. However, in addition to select supported hardware, virtualization requires planning regarding redundancy (uptime requirements), networking, backup, ... in order to have a properly designed, and working solution at the end of the day.

What I meant is that - in case you do not have a consulting partner - you are welcome to ask for help here in the communities.

André

[sb838ailey]

Thank you. I inherited a server for this project. According to that tool I linked I do not believe it is compatible with anything..

Thank you for all your help. in the future I will be making another thread to get some help.

-Steve