VMotion over two vSwitches

[sfikr]

Hello,

customer has 2 physical server with 6pNICs per server for testing purposes (ESX 3.5.0 build 82663 Update 1, VC 2.5, DELL 2950III). He wants set up networks following:

vSwitch0 - Service Console & VM Networks port groups (2 pNICs)

vSwitch1 - VMkernel with VMotion enabled (1pNIC via dedicated 1GBit cable aka crossover)

vSwitch2 - Service Console2 & VM Networks 2 & VMkernel with VMotion (3 pNICs with VLAN trunk)

but if I enable Vmotion on one VMkernel it's OK. But if I want enable on second (same host) the previous is unexpectedly disabled and vice versa. Both VMotion use different networks.

Folks any idea??? He argues with following: I will have only two servers so why don't use direct cable for VMotion but I want redundancy too.

Thx for suggestions.

[kjb007]

You can only have one vmkernel portgroup for vmotion. Why would you want to have more than one? If you want to have redundancy, then add a 2nd pNIC to a team, but you can't have 2 vmkernel interfaces with vmotion enabled.

-KjB

[kjb007]

Also, you have redundancy already for service console with the 2 pNIC, but you are creating two sc interfaces as well as binding two nics, I think this is unnecessarry. Use one or the other. I would shy away from crossover's unless you don't plan to ever add any new hosts.

-KjB

[sfikr]

I will be out of the office until Auust 1, 2008. Po dobu mé nepřítomnosti budu mít omezen7 přístup ke své e-mailové schránce. V naléhavých případech, prosím, kontaktujte mé kolegy.

[sfikr]

Thanks,

but as I wrote these solutions is intended only for testing, so customer doesn't plane add any new hosts and he prefer direct cable over pswitches. I'm very curious because I didn't find anywhere mention about vmotion limitation per one port group. Can you write where you found this reference?

SF

[kjb007]

I'll have to find where the reference actually exists, but I can tell you from practice, and as you've already noticed by trying it. Since the vmotion network is only used for vm migrations, you're only allowed 1 per cluster. There are other threads on the same topic.

-KjB