question about vMotion setup

[april14507]

Forgive me if I ask a very silly question. This is the first time I set up vMotion.

I understand that in order to be able to use vMotion, I will have to set up VMKernel for vMotion on both target host and source host. I noticed that VMkernel adapter already exists in vsphere client for the host but just vMotion is not enabled. My goal is to be able to use vcenter to migrate a vm from one host to another but with no shared storage. Currently the esxi host is running version 6u3 due to the limitation of the hardware and vcenter is running version 6.5.

My questions are:

1. Shall I just enable vMotion on the existing VMkernel adapter which is labeled as management network and vSwitch0 as the default switch or shall I need to create a separate VMkernel for vMotion and assign a different ip?

2. Does each host have to assign a different ip address for VMkernel vMotion from the host ip address?

Please advise! thank you very much!

[daphnissov · Accepted solution]

1. Shall I just enable vMotion on the existing VMkernel adapter which is labeled as management network and vSwitch0 as the default switch or shall I need to create a separate VMkernel for vMotion and assign a different ip?

Generally speaking, it's best to use a separate vmnic (physical interface on ESXi) to segregate vMotion traffic from other kernel services and VM traffic.

2. Does each host have to assign a different ip address for VMkernel vMotion from the host ip address?

Yes, every ESXi host which participates in vMotion must have a separate IP address assigned to the vmkernel port tagged for vMotion.

[april14507]

Thank you very much for your response. One more question: Do I have to set up vMotion to be able to migrate virtual machine from vcenter? I notice the option is already available. I am a little confused.

[daphnissov]

Yes, you still have to configure vMotion appropriately. The Migrate option being visible does not indicate it will work.

[april14507]

Ohh. got you. Thank you again!!!!