"Ghost vNIC" VMWare Tools and Virtuasl Hardware V4 to V7 upgrade.

[vmproteau]

I have recenetly upgraded ESX 3.5.0 (build 163429) to ESX 4.0 (build 175625) I am beginning VMware Tools and then Virtual Hardware upgrades from V4 to V7.

I'm aware that a new vNIC is created and the setting copied over from the old. It also appears it renames the vNIC as a result. All appear normal behavior for the upgrade. However, I see another anamoly that I'm unsure is expected behavior. If not expected what am I doing to cause this:

Every Windows guest I have upgraded VMware Tools on Viirtual Hardware on works fine technically but, when I go into the TCP/IP properties of the new vNIC and then just click "OK" to get out, I get this dialog box (NIC TCP-IP message.jpg attached).

I understand this is a result of the old "Ghost vNIC" and I understand how to remove it to eliminate the message but, if this isn't normal, I'd like to find out what I'm doing to cause this and if it can be avoided. If specific to my environment or upgrade process, I'd like to understand more before proceeding.

[kri-2]

Hi,

we see exactly the same behaviour on every vm when we upgrade from the e1000 to vmxnet3. So your upgrade process seems to switch the old vnic to a newer one and the IP adress is hold by the old one in the registry.

Did you allready read this one?

http://www.vadapt.com/2009/05/vmxnet3/

Chris

[vmproteau]

Thanks for the link Chris,

I can't seem to find any documented cases of this in KBs or even in these communites related specifically to upgrades. Even the VMware support engineer I'm working with said he'd never seen it from an upgrade? What you sent clearly explains what I'm seeing but, in my case, my vNIC type was "flexible" before the upgrade and shows "flexible" now.

I'd still like to hear from anyone else who has seen this as a direct result from the VMware Tools or Virtual Hardware upgrades after upgrading to ESX 4.0.

I still find it strange that it happens to every one of my WIndows guests during the upgrade but, I haven't read about others noting this. Is it just that noone goes into their TCP/IP properties? Before I proceed to our 300+ guests, I'd still like to know what percentage of people see this.

[Texiwill]

Hello,

Moved to the Virtual Machine and Guest OS forum.

Best regards,
Edward L. Haletky VMware Communities User Moderator, VMware vExpert 2009

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[continuum]

as far as I know you will get a phantom nic when this conditions match:

1. the nic uses a static IP + the mac-address changes

2. the nic uses a static IP + the driver or the PCI-slot changes

case 1 can be avoided when you take care while migrating

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VMX-parameters- VMware-liveCD - VM-Sickbay

[s1xth]

I had this same issue upgrading the virtual hardware. I am also surprised no one else has reported this as an issue. I actually havent changed my hardware version on most of my VM's because of this issue. I have static IP addresses on the VM's in the TCP/IP properties. When I upgrade the virtual hardware I have these issues with the ghost nic being left behind and interfering with the new nic. I went through a lot to get this fixed, including running scripts to clear the ghost hardware and nothing helped. I rolled back the vm to V4 (had a backup of it) and havent attempted this again.

[continuum]

I wonder if this also happens if you use e1000 nics ?

___________________________________

VMX-parameters- VMware-liveCD - VM-Sickbay

[vishy123]

same issue discovered here

http://vmtoday.com/2009/11/vsphere-upgrade-breaks-active-directory/

[vmproteau]

I was closing some old open questions and came across this one. I had posted a pdf with some suggestions fro dealing with the phantom NIC.

http://communities.vmware.com/message/1445012#1445012

[JDLangdon]

Can you tell me if the VM's that are experiencing this problem were created from scratch or were they p2v'd?

________________________________

Jason D. Langdon

[vmproteau]

The phantom NIC is a residual artifact from the virtual hardware upgrade. I was looking into this about a year ago so, I can't tell you if there have been updates included to address this or not. If it is still happening you should be able to verify with any Windows VM by upgrading from V4 to V7. Fresh build or P2V is not a factor.

Those who use DHCP for their servers may never notice because the duplicate IP address message will not appear but, I would suspect the phantom NIC is still there.

[JDLangdon]

If these are p2v'd boxes and you follow the steps in Microsoft KB article 269155, you'll find that your VM probably as a lot more phantom hardware then just vnics.

________________________________

Jason D. Langdon

[vmproteau]

Perhaps but, that isn't what this thread is speaking to. To be clear, technically the phantom NIC or any other residual device isn't by itself a problem. This thread speaks to a set of circumstances that results in the dialog generated at the beginning of this post. Anyone completely content with this message every time they go into the properties of their NICs more power to ya...it isn't harming anything however, to me and others it's irritating. The steps outlined are for those who want to be rid of the message.

[JDLangdon]

This thread speaks to a set of circumstances that results in the dialog generated at the beginning of this post.

The dialog generated at the beginning of this post does not indicate as to whether or not the VM's in question were created from scratch or if they were p2v'd from physical hardware. My inquiry was to verify which scenario best suited your environment. Having not gone through the VI to vSphere upgrade process myself, I was wondering if the phantom vnics might be a result of VM's not being cleaned up properly after a p2v migration.

I posted in another thread asking if phantom hardware left behind after a p2v migration had the potential to cause problems during a V4 to V7 upgrade and was informed that it would not. I've spoken to several VMware employees about the VI to vSphere upgrade process and this is the first I've of this issue. I can't help but to wonder why VMware tech support isn't making this issue know as part of the upgrade process?

________________________________

Jason D. Langdon

[vmproteau]

That was the confusing part for me as well. Seemed like it warranted at least a release notes mention. I recall it taking a while for VMware to determine cause (not sure they did before I found the information). This lack of information was making me a bit paranoid that I had some underlying deficiancy in my environment. Without this community forum I'm sure my frustration and confusion would have persisted.