Configuring networking from the ESX service console command line

To configure networking from the ESX service console command line:

1. Ensure the network adapter you want to use is currently connected with the command:
   
   [root@server root]#  esxcfg-nics –l
   
   The output appears similar to:
   
   Name    PCI      Driver      Link Speed    Duplex Description
   vmnic0  06:00.00 tg3         Up   1000Mbps Full   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5721 Gigabit Ethernet
   vmnic1  07:00.00 tg3         Up   1000Mbps Full   Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5721 Gigabit Ethernet
   
   In the Link column, Up indicates that the network adapter is available and functioning. 

2. List the current virtual switches with the command:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswitch –l
   
   The output appears similar to:
   
   Switch Name    Num Ports   Used Ports  Configured Ports  Uplinks
   vSwitch0       32          3           32                vmnic0
   
     PortGroup Name      Internal ID    VLAN ID  Used Ports  Uplinks
     VM Network          portgroup2     0        0           vmnic0
   
   In the example output, there exists a virtual machine network named VM Network with no Service Console portgroup. For illustration, the proceeding steps show you how to create a new virtual switch and place the service console port group on it.
   
   
3. Create a new virtual switch with the command:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswitch –a vSwitch1
   
   
4. Create the Service Console portgroup on this new virtual switch:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswitch –A “Service Console” vSwitch1
   
   Because there is a space in the name (Service Console), you must enclose it in quotation marks.
   
   Note: To create Service Consoles one at time, you may need to delete all previous settings. For more information, see Recreate Service Console Networking from the Command Line (1000266).
   
   
5. Up-link vmnic1 to the new virtual switch with the command:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswitch –L vmnic1 vSwitch1
   
   
6. If you need to assign a VLAN, use the command:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswitch -v <VLAN> -p “Service Console” vSwitch0
   
   where <VLANID> is the VLAN number. A zero here specifies no VLAN.
   
   
7. Verify the new virtual switch configuration with the command:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswitch –l
   
   The output appears similar to:
   
   Switch Name    Num Ports   Used Ports  Configured Ports  Uplinks
   vSwitch0       32          3           32                vmnic0
   
     PortGroup Name      Internal ID    VLAN ID  Used Ports  Uplinks
     Service Console     portgroup5     0        1           vmnic0
   
   Switch Name    Num Ports   Used Ports  Configured Ports  Uplinks
   vSwitch1       64          1           64                vmnic1
   
     PortGroup Name      Internal ID    VLAN ID  Used Ports  Uplinks
     Service Console     portgroup14    0        1           vmnic1
   
   
8. Create the vswif (Service Console) interface. For example, run the command:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswif –a vswif0 –i 192.168.1.10 –n 255.255.255.0 –p “Service Console”
   [‘Vnic’ warning] Generated New Mac address, 00:50:xx:xx:xx:xx for vswif0
   
   Nothing to flush.
   
   
9. Verify the configuration with the command:
   
   [root@esx]# esxcfg-vswif –l
   Name     Port Group          IP Address    Netmask          Broadcast      Enabled   DHCP
   vswif0   Service Console     192.168.1.10  255.255.255.0    192.168.1.255  true      false
   
   
10. Verify the networking configuration on the ESX host. See Verifying ESX Server host networking configuration on the service console (1003796) .