ESXI/Vmware network setup, just getting started.

[pajnola]

I got 3 hosts, each have Cat5 port and a 10G fiber port.  I am new to VMware but have worked with Hyper-V for the last 5+ years.  We are moving to VMware and I am trying to get an eval system up with vsan, vsphere, vmotion and eventually VDI.  I can manage all hosts through CAT5 port which is connected to cisco 2960.  Just trying to set up the net backbone on the fiber ports.  All host see fiber port as connected.  They all connect to a cisco 4500x.  I want to separate the traffic into 6 vlans (VM, Vsan, Vmotion, mgmt., Repl, VDI) and I created these vlans on the cisco side.  Just need help getting it setup on the VMware side. Maybe I am thinking about it all wrong but I thought these could all run over the fiber port in a trunked config.  Please help guide me in the right direction

Also the fiber card is a quad port so eventually I will create a etherchannel on this.

ESXI/VMware 6.5.

[rcporto]

Since you're using your CAT5 and fiber ports, I will recommend you create a vSwitch using the CAT5 ports and use that vSwitch for management purpose, and then create a second vSwitch with your fiber ports and use that vSwitch for the remaining traffics. And avoid create Etherchannel, that will just add complexity to your environment and not much benefits, just use LBT teaming, see the following blog post for additional details about LBT x Etherchannel: Etherchannel and IP Hash or Load Based Teaming? | Long White Virtual Clouds

[pajnola]

OK great, but how do I trunk the port on the VMware side or do I need a separate physical port for each VLAN? 

Say I got a vSan VLAN.  I have assigned VMkernal port on host 1 of 192.168.0.2 on vswitch1

I got a VM Vlan.  I have assigned a VMkernal port on host 1 of 192.168.1.2 on vswitch1

On host 2 I do the same thing except the IP's are 192.168.0.3 and 192.168.1.3

Both hosts connect to a switch with 1 10g fiber port.  Both vSwitch1's have this 10g physical fiber uplink port.

I created a VLAN int on the cisco switch for each vlan/network with ip of .1

ON cisco side I trunked the 10g port.

Is this the correct way to set it up or do I need a separate physical port for each VLAN?

[rcporto]

The switch port on physical switch should be configured as trunk port to allow traffic from different VLANs, this way a single physical port can handle traffic from more than one VLAN. At VMware side, for each VLAN you will need to create a Port Group and assign the specific VLAN for each Port Group.

VMware works different from Hyper-V, in Hyper-V you assign the VLAN on network virtual adapter properties of the virtual machine, but on VMware you assign the VLAN to a Port Group, and once you connect your virtual machine to that Port Group, the virtual machine will use the VLAN assigned to the Port Group.