VMware KB: Changing the IP Address Used by the Service Console of th...

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Knowledge Base

Changing the IP Address Used by the Service Console of the ESX Server System (1919)
Details
How do I change the IP address used by the service console of my ESX Server system?

Solution
To change the IP address, follow these steps:
1. Determine the interface name (eth) and IP address used by the service console. For more information, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1921 (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1921) .
2. Edit /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth to change the IP address.
3. Edit /etc/hosts to update the new IP address there. For more information, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/861 (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/861) .
4. Edit /etc/sysconfig/network if the hostname or gateway needs an update. Again, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/861 (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/861) .
5. Search for any additional configuration files with this IP address hardcoded and edit any you find. For more information, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1922 (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1922) .
6. Finally, restart the network service by running one of the following commands:
service network restart
or
/etc/init.d/network restart
Alternatively, reboot the ESX Server machine.
Important: Even though your version of the service console may include the standard Red Hat Linux command netconfig, VMware advises you not to use this command because it is considered not safe.
Keywords
1919

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KB: 1919
Updated: Jul 31, 2014
Languages:
English
Product(s):
VMware ESX
Product Version(s):
VMware ESX 2.0.x
VMware ESX 2.1.x
VMware ESX 2.5.x

31/10/2014 2:42 PM

VMware KB: Configuring or restoring networking from the ESX service c...

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Knowledge Base

Configuring or restoring networking from the ESX service console using console-setup (1022078)
Purpose
This article provides steps to configure or restore networking for an ESX host when you only have access to the service console.

Resolution
As of ESX 4.0 Update 2 a new command-line tool, console-setup, has been included to simplify the process of creating or restoring networking in the ESX service console.
VMware recommends that you use the physical console of the server rather than connecting via SSH as changing the network configuration might cause a disconnection, which can leave the server unreachable.
The tool allows you to perform the most common steps required to restore the ESX server's network connectivity via simple menu items, such as changing or correcting:
IP address
Net mask
Default gateway
VLAN ID
Physical uplink (vmnic)
The tool does not currently support configuring the service console interface via DHCP. For this case, see Configuring networking from the ESX service console command line (1000258) (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1000258)
.
The command console-setup on the Service Console is menu-driven, and is to be run as user root.
Menu options include:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Show Current Service Consoles (vswif)

Show Network Adapters
Show vSwitch/vDS Information
Delete Service Console
4.1 Select the interface to delete, defaults to vswif0

5. Configure Service Console

5.1 vswif ID, default to vswif0
5.2 Name of service console port group: default to Service Console
5.3 vSwitch for service console, default to vSwitch0
5.4 IP Address:
5.5 Subnet mask:
5.6 Default gateway:
5.7 VLAN ID: default to 0
5.8 vmnic to use for the service console
5.9 Save Changes
5.10 Return to Menu
6. Exit
Use:
Options 1,2 and 3 for display current information
Option 4 to remove an existing service console interface (vswif). You may also do this, if you want to recreate it.
Option 5 to change the configuration of an existing vswif interface, or for creating a new one.

See Also
Unable to connect to an ESX host using Secure Shell (SSH) (1003807) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003807)

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31/10/2014 2:40 PM

VMware KB: Configuring VMware ESXi Management Network from the ...

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Knowledge Base

Configuring VMware ESXi Management Network from the direct console (1006710)
Symptoms
Loss of connectivity to ESXi host.
If you change the host Management Network IP address, ESXi disconnects from the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and vCenter Server/VirtualCenter

Purpose
This article provides instructions to configure the ESXi host Management Network from the direct console.
Note: If you are changing the IP address of an existing host which is part of HA cluster, place the host in maintenance mode before implementing changes to the IP address.

Resolution
Note: To perform the steps in this section, connect to ESXi using the remote access console tools (such as iLO, DRAC, RAS etc.) or KVM attached to the physical server hardware.

Configuring static IP settings from the console

To configure static IP settings from the console:
1. Press F2 to examine the default configuration.
2. Press the down-arrow key to select Configure Management Network and press Enter.
3. Press the down-arrow key to choose IP Configuration and press Enter.
4. Press the down-arrow key to choose Set static IP address and network configuration and press the spacebar.
5. Press the down-arrow key to choose IP Address.
6. Press the backspace key to clear the current IP address, then enter a new IP address.
7. Press the down-arrow key to choose Subnet Mask.
8. Press Backspace to delete the current Subnet Mask.
9. Enter a new Subnet Mask.
10. Press the down-arrow key to choose Default Gateway.
11. Delete the existing Default Gateway.
12. Enter a new Default Gateway.

Configuring DNS settings

When you configure DNS settings, you can choose either manual or automatic Domain Name System (DNS) configuration of the ESXi host. By default, DNS configuration is automatic. The automatic setting
enables a DHCP server to acquire DNS information. For automatic DNS to work, your network environment must have a DHCP server and a DNS server. In network environments where automatic DNS is not
available or not desirable, you can configure static DNS information, including a host name, a primary name server, a secondary name server, and DNS suffixes. If you configure static IP address networking for
your ESXi host, you also need to configure static DNS information.
If you are local to the host, use the direct console to configure DNS information. If you are not local to the host, use VI Client to configure DNS information.
To configure DNS settings from the console:
1. Press the down-arrow key to choose Configure Management Network and press Enter.
2. Press the down-arrow key to choose DNS Configuration and press Enter.
3. Press the down-arrow key to choose Use the following DNS server addresses and hostname and press the spacebar.
4. Delete the current primary server, alternate server, and host name.
5. Enter a static primary server, alternate server, and host name.
6. Press Enter.
To configure DNS suffixes from the console:
Note: By default, DHCP acquires the DNS suffixes.
1. Press the down-arrow key to choose Configure Management Network and press Enter.
2. Press the down-arrow key to choose Custom DNS Suffixes and press Enter.
3. Press Backspace to delete the current DNS suffixes.
4. Enter new DNS suffixes.
5. Press Enter.
To configure DNS settings from the vSphere/VI Client:
1. From the vSphere/VI Client, choose the host in the inventory.
2. Click the Configuration tab.
3. Click DNS and Routing.
4. Click Properties on the top right corner.
5. In the DNS Configuration, specify the Preferred and Alternate DNS server.

31/10/2014 2:39 PM

VMware KB: Configuring VMware ESXi Management Network from the ...

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6. Click OK.

Additional Information
For more information on:
your version of ESXi, see the Getting Started Guide (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs) .
changing an existing IP address, see Configuring networking from the ESX service console command line (1000258) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1000258) .
To be alerted when this article is updated, click Subscribe to Document in the Actions box.

See Also
Configuring networking from the ESX service console command line (1000258) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1000258)
Configurar ESXi Management Network desde la consola directa (2035293) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2035293)
Como configurar o ESXi Management Network a partir do console direto (2037202) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2037202)

ESXi (2078648)
VMware ESXi (2087008)

( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2078648)

( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2087008)

Update History
07/26/2012 - Updated for 5.x

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Permalink to: Configuring VMware ESXi Management Network from the direct console (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006710)
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KB: 1006710
Updated: Mar 28, 2014
Categories:
Troubleshooting
Languages:
English
Product(s):
VMware ESXi
Product Version(s):
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 5.0.x
VMware ESXi 5.1.x
VMware ESXi 5.5.x

31/10/2014 2:39 PM

VMware KB: Moving a managed ESXi/ESX host from one VirtualCenter ...

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Knowledge Base

Moving a managed ESXi/ESX host from one VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server to another Virtual Center Server/vCenter Server
(1004775)
Purpose
This article provides instructions to move an ESXi/ESX host from one VMware VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server to another VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server when using standard virtual switches on all
ESXi/ESX hosts.
When moving a managed ESXi/ESX host from one VirtualCenter/vCenter Server to another, VMware recommends that you move the virtual machines and management kernel back to a Virtual Switch (vSwitch)
from a Virtual Distributed Switch (vDS); then perform the migration. After the migration, recreate the vDS. If you are using vCenter Server 5.1 or later, you can use the export/import functionality of the vDS to
move your existing vDS configuration. For more information, see Exporting/importing/restoring Distributed Switch configs using vSphere Web client (2034602) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&
docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2034602) .

Resolution
To move an ESXi/ESX host from one VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server to another, remove the host from VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server, then add the host to a new VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server.
This operation will not affect the state of any virtual machines running on the ESXi/ESX, the historical performance data of both the ESXi/ESX and its virtual machines will however be purged.

Removing the ESXi/ESX host from VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server

To remove the ESXi/ESX host from VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server:
1. If the managed host is in a cluster, right-click the cluster. Set the Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) mode to manual and disable VMware High Availability by deselecting
Configure HA.
2. Click OK and wait for the reconfiguration to complete.
3. Click Inventory in the navigation bar, expand the inventory as needed, and click the appropriate managed host.
4. Right-click the managed host icon in the inventory panel and choose Disconnect (wait for the task to complete).
5. Right-click the managed host icon in the inventory panel and choose Remove.
6. Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the managed host and all its associated virtual machines.

Adding the ESXi/ESX host to a new VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server

To add the ESXi/ESX host to a new VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server:
1. Connect VMware Infrastructure Client/vSphere Client/vSphere Web Client to the new VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server.
2. Click Inventory in the navigation bar.
3. Expand the inventory as needed, and click the appropriate datacenter or cluster.
4. Click File > New > Add Host.
5. In the first page of the Add Host wizard, enter the name or IP address of the managed host in the Host name field.
6. Enter the username and password for a user account that has administrative privileges on the selected managed host.
7. Click Next.

See Also
Exporting/importing/restoring Distributed Switch configs using vSphere Web client (2034602) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2034602)
1

VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server Virtual Center Server/vCenter Server ESXi/ESX (2093349)

( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2093349)

Update History
10/18/2013 - Added ESXi 5.5 and vCenter Server 5.5 to Product Versions.

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31/10/2014 2:34 PM

VMware KB: Removing an ESX host with running virtual machines from V...

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Knowledge Base

Removing an ESX host with running virtual machines from VirtualCenter (1002314)
Details
In the event that you need to remove an ESX host from VirtualCenter with out entering maintenance mode or affecting the running virtual machines you have to manually remove the rpms
associated with the registration of an ESX host to VirtualCenter.

Solution
To remove the ESX host from VirtualCenter without affecting the running virtual machines you must:
1. Right-click the ESX host in the VirtualCenter inventory.
2. Choose Disconnect.
3. Right-click on the ESX host and select Remove. The ESX host is safely removed from VirtualCenter.
VMware recommends removing the VirtualCenter management agent and VMware HA services afterward. This can be done from the ESX Service Console by running the following commands:

export LGTO_AAM_VMWARE_REMOVAL=1
rpm -e LGTOaama
rpm -e LGTOaamvm
rpm -e VMware-vpxa
At this point, the ESX host may be added to another VirtualCenter server for management or be used as a standalone server.

Additional Information
For translated versions of this article, see:
Espaol:
Portugus:

: ESX VirtualCenter (2078899)

: VirtualCenter ESX (2062164)

(/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2078899)

(/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2062164)

Tags
removing-esx-host-from-vcenter-server

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Permalink to: Removing an ESX host with running virtual machines from VirtualCenter (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1002314)
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KB: 1002314
Updated: Sep 2, 2014
Categories:
Best Practices
Languages:
English
Product(s):
VMware ESX
VMware VirtualCenter

31/10/2014 2:33 PM