Difference between revisions of "Managing VMware Virtual Networks and Adapters"

Revision as of 14:52, 14 October 2008

As outlined in the chapter entitled VMware Server Virtual Network Architecture, VMware Server provides two types of virtual network adapter. Virtual network adapters are installed into virtual machines and provide a mechanism for guest operating systems to establish network communications. Host virtual adapters, on the other hand, are installed in the host operating system and are used to establish communication between the host operating system and virtual machines running in VMware Server based NAT and HostOnly based virtual networks.

This chapter covers the creation, removal and configuration of both virtual network adapters and host virtual adapters.

Adding a New Virtual Network Adapter to a Virtual Machine

VMware Server 2 increased the number of virtual network adapters that can be added to a virtual machine from 4 to 10. Although the VI Web Access new virtual machine wizard allows virtual network adapters to be added to configured into a virtual machine it is quite common to need to add additional adapters later in the lifecycle of the virtual machine. Fortunately, VMware Server makes the addition of virtual network adapters quick and easy to achieve.

The first step in the process is to log into the VI Web Access management interface (details of which covered in the A Guided Tour of the VMware Server 2.0 Infrastructure Web Access Interface chapter of this book). Once logged in, identify and select the required virtual machine from the Inventory panel. Just as a physical computer system needs to be shutdown and powered off before the cover is removed and a new network adapter card installed, the virtual machine must be powered off before a new virtual network adapter can be added. The currently select virtual machine may be shutdown by clicking the power off button in the VI web Access toolbar, or by selecting the Power off link in the Commands panel of the workspace.

Once the virtual machine status panel indicates that the virtual machine has been successfully powered off, click on the Add Hardware link in the Commands panel to invoke the VMware Add Hardware Wizard. The wizard is generic in that it allows a variety of different virtual hardware devices to be added to a virtual machine in addition to a virtual network adapter. To proceed with the device installation click on the link labeled Network Adapter to proceed to the network adapter properties screen as illustrated in the following figure:

In order to be of use to the guest operating system, the virtual network adapter must be connected to a virtual network. The Network Connection drop down menu provides a list of virtual networks currently configured within the VMware Server environment. These were either selected during the Vmware Server installation process, or subsequently configured by an administrator. If all virtual network options were configured during installation then NAT, HostOnly and Bridged virtual networks should be available for the virtual network adapter to connect to. In the absence of a required virtual network on Linux systems, run the vmware-config.pl script as super-user and configure the missing virtual network type. Assuming the required virtual network is listed in the connections menu, select it and then choose whether the new virtual network device is to be automatically connected to the virtual machine at power on.

Finally, click Next to proceed to the Ready to complete screen and review the configuration summary information listed. if the virtual machine is to be power on automatically immediately after the new virtual network adapter has been added, set the Power on your vietual machine now option before clicking on the Finish button. The new virtual machine subsequently power up with the new virtual network adapter installed and, subject to the configuration settings, connected to the selected virtual network. The new adapter will also be listed in the Hardware panel of the selected virtual machine, together with the name of the network to which it is currently connected.

Removing Virtual Network Adapters