Testing VMkernel network connectivity with the vmkping command
Purpose
For troubleshooting purposes, it may be necessary to test VMkernel network connectivity between ESX Servers in your environment. This article provides you with the steps to perform a vmkping test between your ESX Server hosts.
Resolution
The vmkping command sources a ping from the local VMkernel port.
To initiate a vmkping test from the console of an ESX Server host:
Log in to your ESX host as root from an SSH session or directly from the console of the server.
In the command shell type vmkping <server> , where <server> is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping.
Press Enter.
A successful ping response is similar to:
[root@server]# vmkping server PING server(10.0.0.1): 56 data bytes 64 bytes from 10.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=10.245 ms 64 bytes from 10.0.0.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.935 ms 64 bytes from 10.0.0.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.926 ms
--- server ping statistics --- 3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0% packet loss round-trip min/avg/max = 0.926/4.035/10.245 ms [root@server]#
An unsuccessful ping response is similar to the following:
[root@server]# vmkping server PING server (10.0.0.2) 56(84) bytes of data.
--- server ping statistics --- 3 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 3017ms
[root@server]#
Note: If you see intermittent ping success, this might indicate you have incompatible NICs teamed on the VMotion port. Either team compatible NICs or set one of the NICs to standby.
Note: If you do not see a response when pinging by the hostname of the server, initiate a ping to the IP address. Initiating a ping to the IP address allows you to determine if the problem is a result of an issue with hostname resolution. If you are testing connectivity to another VMkernel port on another server remember to use the VMkernel port IP address because the server's hostname usually resolves to the service console address on the remote server.
