vMotion Network Configuration

[Dore Moree]

vMotion Network Configuration and IP Address Verification in ESXi 8u3 and vCenter 8u3 Infrastructure

I have reviewed the vMotion network configuration in an environment with 5 ESXi 8u3 hosts and 1 vCenter 8u3 instance. However, I was unable to identify the specific configuration of the vMotion network and its IP address. It appears that the IP addresses for both the ESXi management and vMotion networks may be configured the same, but I am not certain. How can I verify if the IP addresses of the ESXi management and vMotion networks are the same?

What to Do if the IP Addresses are the Same:

If I confirm that the IP addresses for the ESXi and vMotion networks are indeed the same, what steps should be taken to resolve this issue? 

I am attaching a few images related to my infrastructure

[RajeevVCP4]

whats the out put of VMkernel adapters tab, or click on IPV6 config check is there IPV4

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Regard
Rajeev
VCIX-DCV, VCF Sr. Consultant
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[tayfundeger]

Could you try deleting the vMotion tab in the TCP/IP Configuration section? Also, are you using a hyperconverged architecture?

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https://www.tayfundeger.com
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[a.tinivelli]

hi, check the VMkernel adapters: probably there is one vmk that has two enabled services, like this one in my lab

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Alessandro Tinivelli | blog.tinivelli.com | www.revobyte.it | VMCE 2024 | Veeam Legend | VCP-DCV 2023 | VVSPHT 2023 | vExpert 2024
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[ggathagan]

I seem to recall that best practices recommended separating vMotion traffic from other traffic.

Depending on how you set up vMotion, you would either see the properties as displayed by Alessandro or a separate VMkernel adapter with its own physical adapter and  ip address on a different subnet.

This doesn't show up at the datacenter level for networking, but in the host server's configuration section for networking.
Further segmentation can be created by use of VLANs on the physical switch used by the host servers.

[Sriram ChunchankatteMelukote]

Hello,

Most of this post is already answered but to just add another point. As per VMware best practices its always recommended to have separate VLANs and separate subnets for both the Management and vMotion networks for the ESXi hosts. For best performances in VM migrations its best to have dedicated networks for vMotion with the recommended NIC cards as per the ESXi release builds being used.

Regards

[vmotiontheinfo]

Glad that you have put in the screen capture. I see both vMotion as well as Management services are enabled. As per the best practices guide from VMware, it is recommended to **** both (Management as well as vMotion) types of traffic. If it's just a lab setup, then you should be good with the current config, however, in production setup it is not recommended.

I am answering each of your questions below

>> How can I verify if the IP addresses of the ESXi management and vMotion networks are the same?

A. If the output of the below command is only 1 vmkernel adapter then IP address of the ESXi management and vMotion networks are the same.

esxcfg-vmknic -l | grep -iv ipv6

B. In the hostd logs you will see an excerpt like below

VMotionPrepare (<unique-id>): Sending 'to' srcIp=<vMotion-vmk-on-source-host> dstIp=<vMotion-vmk-on-destination-host>, type=1, encryptedVMotion=true, remoteThumbprint=<>, srcLoggingIp=, dstLoggingIp=, ftPrimaryIp=, ftSecondaryIp=, srcMgmtIp=<Management-ip-of-vmk-on-source-host>, dstMgmtIp=<Management-ip-of-vmk-on-destination-host>

>> What to Do if the IP Addresses are the Same:

As mentioned earlier, Nothing if it is a lab. If it is prod setup then deselect vMotion from the vmk0 settings and then create another vmk1 which has IP Address from a different IP Range / VLAN for traffic segregation.

If I confirm that the IP addresses for the ESXi and vMotion networks are indeed the same, what steps should be taken to resolve this issue? 

Already answered above.

Hope this response covers/addresses all your questions/doubts. 

Cheers