Knowledge Base

Overview

• 802.1Q VLAN trunking driver is required inside the virtual machine.
• 64bit windows guest operating system automatically loads 802.1q E1000 driver.
• 32bit guest operating system – requires manual configuration of the VMX file to point to E1000 driver.
• Physical switch is set to trunk mode by using VLAN ID 4095.
• Windows: Only 64bit Windows ships with  E1000 Drivers.

• Linux: Use dot1q module.

Configuration of VirtualSwitch (vSwitch)

To set vSwitch in trunk mode:

1. Edit host netwokring via the Virtual infrastructure Client.
2. Click Host > Network > vSwitch_Properties.
3. Click Ports > Portgroup > Edit.
4. Click the General tab.
5. Set the VLAN ID to 4095. VLAN ID 4095 stands for Trunk mode in ESX 3.x.
6. Click OK.

Configuration of Windows TCP/IP

1. Download the e1000 NIC drivers  from the Intel website into the 32bit Windows virtual machine.
2. Power off the virtual machine.
3. Configure the virtual machine to use the e1000 virtual NIC. Enter a new line (or replace the existing virtual NIC) in the VMX file of the virtual machine:
   
   Ethernet[0].virtualDev = "e1000"
   
   Increment the number in brackets if multiple virtual NICs are needed.
   
   
4. Power on the virtual machine
5. Configure the e1000 network connection.