Steps to Modify the Settings of VNIC on Various Guest OS

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article elaborates on how we can modify VNIC settings based on the needs. This would make the process convenient for everyone.

Environment

VMware ESXi 5.0.x

Resolution

Vmxnet3 is supported on different Guest Operating Systems.

Depending on the OS used in the VM, The steps to modify VNIC settings are different. 
 

Windows GUI  

• Click Start > Control Panel > Device Manager.
• Right-click vmxnet3 in Network Adapters 
• Click Properties.
• Click Advanced tab.
• Click for the required setting and set the appropriate value.

Example: You can increase or decrease the Rx Ring1 size to what is required (Maximum value is 4096) by changing value of "Rx Ring #1 Size" in the GUI.
 

Windows PowerShell 
In Windows PowerShell, Use Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty to modify VNIC settings.

Example: To change the vmxnet3 ring size settings, run the following command and change the Display Value according to your needs. 

Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name <Interface name> -DisplayName "Small Rx Buffers" -DisplayValue "8192" –NoRestart -Verbose 

Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name <Interface name> -DisplayName "Rx Ring #1 Size" -DisplayValue "4096" –NoRestart  -Verbose 

Linux  

In Linux, You can use ethtool to query an ethernet device's settings and change them. 

Example: To change the ring size you can use following command:

ethtool -G ethX rx value  

 

Where, 

• "-G --set-ring"  Changes the Rx/Tx ring parameters of the specified ethernet device.
• X refers to the Ethernet interface ID in the guest operating system, and value refers to the new value for the Rx ring size. 

For other options refer to ethtool(8)-Linux Manual page