Verify ESX host networking configuration on the service console
search cancel

Verify ESX host networking configuration on the service console

book

Article ID: 340476

calendar_today

Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to verify the networking files on your ESX host.

Environment

  • VMware ESX 4.0.x
  • VMware ESX 4.1.x
  • VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
  • VMware ESX Server 3.0.x

Resolution

To verify that the current networking configuration is valid and correct:
 
Note: ESX 4.0 Update 2 introduces a tool that simplifies the process of creating or restoring networking in the ESX service console. For more information, see Configuring or restoring networking from the ESX service console using console-setup (1022078).
  1. To verify the format and content of /etc/hosts , run the command:

    [root@server root]# cat /etc/hosts


    Here is an example of the hosts file:

    127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
    192.168.1.10 server.domain.com server

     
  2. To verify the contents of /etc/sysconfig/network , run the command:

    [root@server root]# cat /etc/sysconfig/network

    Confirm that the proper values for your environment exist for the fully qualified hostname and gateway. Consult your network administrator if you are unsure of the proper values.


    Here is an example of the network file:

    NETWORKING=yes
    HOSTNAME=server.domain.com
    GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
    GATEWAYDEV=vswif0

     
  3. To verify that /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-vswif0 has the correct settings for IP address (IPADDR), subnet mask (NETMASK), and network (NETWORK), run the command:

    [root@server root]# cat /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-vswif0

    Consult your network administrator if you are unsure of the correct settings.

    Here is an example of the ifcfg-vswif0 file:


    DEVICE=vswif0
    BOOTPROTO=static
    BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
    IPADDR=192.168.1.10
    NETMASK=255.255.255.0
    NETWORK=192.168.1.0
    ONBOOT=yes
    PORTGROUP="Service Console"
    MACADDR=##:##:##:##:##:##

     
  4. To display the routing table, run the command:

    [root@server root]# route –n


    The output looks similar to:


    Kernel IP routing table
    Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
    192.168.1.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 vswif0
    169.254.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.0.0 U 0 0 0 vswif0
    0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 vswif0


    Ensure that the second column of the row flagged with UG matches the gateway address for your environment.
     
  5. To verify that the DNS information in /etc/resolv.conf is correct for your environment, run the command:

    [root@server root]# cat /etc/resolv.conf

    Here is an example of the resolv.conf file:


    search domain.com
    nameserver 192.168.1.2
    nameserver 192.168.1.3

    Note: By default, up to three nameservers can be added to resolv.conf. The compile time parameter MAXNS defines how many nameservers can be used.
  6. Verify network connectivity between systems. For more information, see Testing network connectivity with the Ping command (1003486).
Note: Changes to the network and ifcfg-vswif0 files require a restart of the network service. To restart the network service, run the following command and press Enter:
 
[root@server root]# service network restart

Additional Information