7.0

Choose Network Adapters for the Management Network
Traffic between an ESXi host and any external management software is transmitted through an
Ethernet network adapter on the host. You can use the direct console to choose the network
adapters that are used by the management network.
Examples of external management software include the vCenter Server and SNMP client. Network
adapters on the host are named vmnic N , where N is a unique number identifying the network
adapter, for example, vmnic0, vmnic1, and so forth.
During the autoconfiguration phase, the ESXi host chooses vmnic0 for management traffic.
You can override the default choice by manually choosing the network adapter that carries
management traffic for the host. In some cases, you might want to use a Gigabit Ethernet
network adapter for your management traffic. Another way to help ensure availability is to select
multiple network adapters. Using multiple network adapters enables load balancing and failover
capabilities.
Procedure
1 From the direct console, select Configure Management Network and press Enter.
2 Select Network Adapters and press Enter.
3 Select a network adapter and press Enter.
Results
After the network is functional, you can use the vSphere Client to connect to the ESXi host through
vCenter Server.
Set the VLAN ID
You can set the virtual LAN (VLAN) ID number of the ESXi host.
Procedure
1 From the direct console, select Configure Management Network and press Enter.
2 Select VLAN and press Enter.
3 Enter a VLAN ID number from 1 through 4094.
Configuring IP Settings for ESXi
By default, DHCP sets the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway.
For future reference, write down the IP address.
For DHCP to work, your network environment must have a DHCP server. If DHCP is not available,
the host assigns the link local IP address, which is in the subnet 169.254.x.x/16. The assigned IP
address appears on the direct console. If you do not have physical monitor access to the host,
you can access the direct console using a remote management application. See Using Remote
Management Applications
VMware ESXi Installation and Setup
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