Networking performance data is missing when the VMXNET3 adapter is used

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• The Networking panel is missing in the Performance tab of a virtual machine when a guest is using a VMXNET Generation 3 adapter.
• If a virtual machine has a mix of virtual adapters, the Networking panel for adapters of a type other than VMXNET3 is displayed.

Environment

VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform one of these options:

• Install one of these patches, depending on your version of ESX/ESXi:
  • VMware ESX 4.0, Patch ESX400-200911201-UG: Updates Core (1014792)
  • VMware ESXi 4.0, Patch ESXi400-200911201-UG: Updates Firmware (1014886)
    
    
• Upgrade to ESX 4.0 Update 1 or ESXi 4.0 Update 1

If you cannot upgrade or install above patches, work around this issue by using one of these instead of the VMXNET3 adapter:

Caution: VMXNET3 has features such as multiqueue support (also known as Receive Side Scaling in Windows), IPv6 offloads, and MSI/MSI-X interrupt delivery. If you are using any of these features, do not implement the workaround.

• VMXNET2 (Enhanced VMXNET) virtual adapter
• VMXNET virtual adapter

Additional Information

For related information, see Choosing a network adapter for your virtual machine (1001805).