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hooshoo
Contributor
Contributor

Using vMotion with vDS

I am attempting to setup a vDS; first time doing so. I normally just use vSS but I have the opportunity to "play" with vDS with a new cluster I am building. One concern that i have and have not been able to get a clear understanding of is how do I setup a vMotion port? With vSS I have a dedicated nic(s) on each host. I created a dedicated "vmotion" vS' on each host for vMotion traffic.

How do I set this up on a dVS? Do I create a seperate switch for vMotion or a seperate dvPort Group? I tried a dvPort Group but when I do this, it appears that port group is attached to every NIC on the dvSwitch. the way i have this setup, it just does not appear as if the vMotion traffic will actually go out of the dedicated nic that i want it to.

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HeathReynolds
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I run a single VDS. You have options on how to deal with your vMotion traffic. You could run multiple, which might make it easier on gig.

With GIG uplinks I create a port group for vMotion, then I manipulate the standby / active NICs to segment vMotion from other traffic.

With 10G I run my uplinks converged, and have the VDS tag traffic with COS values. The upstream UCS fabric runs class based WFQ QOS and protects my other traffic. We tag vMotion with COS 1 which is considered scavenger and dropped before all other classes of traffic. We guarantee each class of traffic a specific amount of bandwidth, and it can go over that if the other classes aren't using the entire link.

My sometimes relevant blog on data center networking and virtualization : http://www.heathreynolds.com
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hooshoo
Contributor
Contributor

thanks for the reply. So, right now I have the dedicated vMotion nic adapaters (one nic per host) connected to a dedicated "vMotion" VLAN on our core network. That VLAN will remain. Am I okay with just creating one vDS and then create a portgroup for vMotion and connect the dvuplinks connected to that "vmotion vlan" to it? Hope I am making sense here.

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HeathReynolds
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Enthusiast

Yes that should work.

Here is a blog post I did on multi-NIC vMotion, but it outlines the same process you need as far as manipulating the failover of the port group.

http://www.heathreynolds.com/2014/02/multi-nic-vmotion-on-esxi-55.html

My sometimes relevant blog on data center networking and virtualization : http://www.heathreynolds.com
hooshoo
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks. Let me ask you this, if you know, what happens to all of the connectivity when using a dvSwitch if I lose the vCenter server? I have to assume, just like a standard VSS that normal networking functions will continue - less of course acess to manage the cluster.

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HeathReynolds
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Right, normal network connectivity will continue with vCenter down. If you are using the default static port binding you can reboot your existing VMs as well while vCenter is down. You just won't be able to make changes.

I believe things get more complicated with reboots during a vCenter failure with the less common port bindings like ephemeral.

My sometimes relevant blog on data center networking and virtualization : http://www.heathreynolds.com