Help with multiple networks! going out of my mind!

[DavidJBlythe]

I'm at witts end!

I have 5 servers on a 192.168.49.0 network all talking and communicating GREAT in Virtual center.

I have a switch thats one level higher in our network that is on the 192.168.2.0 network. Both networks have routing enabled and can see eachother just fine.

I installed ESX on a box and put it on this .2 network as 192.168.2.10. Now in Virtual center, I added the host with no problems. But after about 1 minute it changes state to "Not Responding." I have to constantly disconnect and reconnect it.

My license server is 49.25. When I log into the 2.10 ESX box I can ping everything on the .49 network including the license server. BUT when I try to add that license server to the .2.10 host using virtual center, it tells me that there is no such server! Then after another few seconds, the box dies in VC! Rinse and repeat!

Do I have to do anything on the VM Network to allow my .2.10 box to talk with all my other .49.xx boxes? What causes a box to just go unresponsive in VC after a minute? BTW the license server and the VC server are both on .49.25.

So if VC can see the box for one minute at a time, why can't the box see the license server?

I'm really pulling my hair out here.

Please help.

Message was edited by:

DavidJBlythe

[oreeh]

FYI: this thread has been moved to the ESX Server 3.x Configuration forum.

Oliver

[url=http://www.vmware.com/community/ann.jspa?annID=84

]VMTN User Moderator[/url]

[conradsia]

I have had such bad experience using the licensing server for my hosts that I always use host based licensing for the ESX hosts themselves. I don't have an answer as to why but my solution has always been to change the licensing from server to host based for \*only* the esx host itself and let the licensing server handle the add-ons.

[bggb29]

Do you have a firewall between your two networks ?

Just because the esx server is not picking up a license will not prevent the network from working. Not having a license will prevent you from powering up guests.

Can you ssh into te esx server when vc says the server is not responding.

Have you checked your dns to verify that it has the host A and ptr records created propery for both the esx server and virtual center server

[RParker]

Sometimes you have to implicitly give the port of the license server.

So maybe you could try putting 27010@192.168.49.25 as the license server.

[christianZ]

Just simple question here, have you enough licences (VC agent) - check the status of your license server.

[DavidJBlythe]

I have tried the above recommendations, but none have worked. There is a new Cisco Pix firewall we just installed between the .2.x and .49.x networks. I figured that if I could ping through it and use the internet through it, it should work... maybe?

I checked my license server (27000@192.168.49.25) and it says that I have more licenses avaliable.

I am wondering about the new firewall now..,.

[DavidJBlythe]

Is there a specific port that VMware uses to talk between the box and the VC server?

any thing we need to do on the pix?

[Jim_Kelly]

This really sounds like a routing issue to me, this is based off the assertion that the nothing is able to see the .2 network from the .49 network.

Can you ping .2.10 from .49 network?

Can you ping anything on .2 from the 49 network?

Can you ping anything off of the .49 network from the .2 network?

I think the answers to these questions will point you in the right direction.

[Jim_Kelly]

I also have this port table for you to see, for your firewall stuff

vi client to ESX server 902 tcp in / udp out

vi client and VC 902 tcp in / udp out

vi web access and VC 80 / 443 tcp in

vi web access and ESX 80 / 443 tcp in

ESX and License server 27000 in / 27010 out tcp in / tcp out

VC and ESX 902 tcp in / udp out

Hope that helps. It coulp probably be formatted better.

[bggb29]

Ok you have a pix in between where exactly.

is the .49 network on the inside interface and the .2 on the outside interface, are both interfaces on the inside with a third interface on the outside.

If you look at the pix can you see connections being denied.

[lhedrick]

Download this

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_server_config.pdf

Check the picture (figure 10-1) on page 183.

Make sure you have the required ports opened up. You may also want to enter both the host name as FQDN in the hosts file.

such as

1.2.3.4 myserver001.mydomain.com myserver001

also make sure the license server is in DNS if that is how you are entereing it. You can also put that in the hosts file as well.

[DavidJBlythe]

Everything was ok in the end. The problem was the PIX firewall.

Thanks for the help.

[RaniBaki]

Can you please tell me exactly what the problem was on the pix firewall? I have exactly the same problem.

Thanks