Differences in Supported Networking Features Between ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i

Some networking features are not fully available in ESX Server 3i, primarily those requiring configuration through the service console.  The following features available in ESX Server 3.5 have limited availability in ESX Server 3i.

 

Refer to the ESX Server 3.5 release notes for detailed explanations of each feature.

 

 

For ESX Server 3i and ESX Server 3.5, CDP is enabled by default and enables the VirtualCenter and the VI Client GUID to identify the physical switch's properties such as switch name, port number, port speed/duplex settings, and so on.

 

On ESX Server 3.5 only, it is additionally possible to configure CDP so that information about the physical NIC (vmnic) name and ESX Server host names are passed upward to Cisco switches. This configuration is not supported on ESX Server 3i.

 

 

For ESX Server 3.5, jumbo frames are supported in both the guest operating system and in the ESX Server kernel TCP/IP stack. While 3i supports jumbo frames in the guest operating system, it does not include support for jumbo frames in the ESX Server kernel TCP/IP stack.

 

 

NetQueue, a performance technology for 10 Gigabit Ethernet virtual environments supported on ESX Server 3.5, is not supported on ESX Server 3i.

 

 

InfiniBand Host Channel Adapters (HCAs) from Mellanox Technologies are not supported on ESX Server 3i.