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Create a vSwitch

 Perform the following steps to create the vSwitch for management (VM Network), HA (HA Network), and media (PKT0 and PKT1).

1. Log on to VMware ESXi GUI as the root user.
   1. Enter your VMware administrator user name.
   2. Enter your VMware administrator password.

2. Click Networking>Port groups.

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   0 Figure 1 Port Groups

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   Note
   If the VLAN is used for packet ports (PKT0 or PKT1), then the VLAN ID must be 4095. This method is called Virtual Guest Tagging (VGT), where the guest OS handles the VLAN tagging functionality. The VLAN can be used for either PKT0, PKT1, or both. For non-VLAN configuration, use the default value of 0.

   1. Click Add port group. Use the following table to configure the VM Network vSwitch and then click Add.

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      0 Table 1 VM Network Configuration
      Field Configuration Name VM Network VLAN ID 0 Virtual Switch vSwitch0 Security Inherit from vSwitch

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      0 Figure 1 Add Port Group - VM Network

   2. Click Add port group. Use the following table to configure the HA Network vSwitch and then click Add.

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      0 Table 1 HA Network Configuration
      Field Configuration Name HA Network VLAN ID 0 Virtual Switch vSwitch1 Security Inherit from vSwitch

   3. Click Add port group. Use the following table to configure the PKT0 vSwitch and then click Add.

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      0 Table 1 PKT0 Configuration
      Field Configuration Name PKT0 VLAN ID 4095 Virtual Switch vSwitch2 Security Inherit from vSwitch

   4. Click Add port group. Use the following table to configure the PKT1 vSwitch and then click Add.

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      0 Table 1 PKT1 Configuration
      Field Configuration Name PKT1 VLAN ID 4095 Virtual Switch vSwitch3 Security Inherit from vSwitch

      Info
      Navigate to Networking>Physical NICs to make sure that the associated NICs have a link speed of 1000Mbps, full duplex. This speed indicates that the physical NIC is up.

3. Navigate to Networking>Port groups to make sure that the vSwitches are in the correct order.

   Note
   The vSwitches and interfaces must be defined in the following order: vSwitch0 - VM Network vSwitch1 - HA Network vSwitch2 - PKT0 vSwitch3 - PKT1

   Info
   The use of vSwitch0 is not a mandatory requirement for the management interface. If a server has more than four physical NIC ports, you can assign VM Network to vSwitch1, HA Network to vSwitch2, PKT0 to vSwitch3, and PKT1 to vSwitch4.

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   0 Figure 1 Port Groups - Order

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Configure NIC Teaming

Perform the following steps to configure NIC teaming.

1. Login as user root on the VMware ESXi GUI.
   1. Enter your VMware administrator user name.
   2. Enter your VMware administrator password.

2. Click Networking>Virtual Switches.

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   0 Figure 1 Virtual Switches

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3. Click the vSwitch you want to configure, and click Edit settings.

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   0 Figure 1 vSwitch0

4. In the Uplink 1 field, select a vmnic.

   1. If there is only one uplink, click Add uplink. In the Uplink 2 field, select a vmnic.

      Info
      You can repeat this step to add more uplinks.

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      0 Figure 1 Uplink Configuration

5. Expand the NIC teaming drop-down menu. In the Failover order field,
   
   1. click Mark standby and Mark active to configure each vmnic as standby or active.

   2. click Move up and Move down to configure the order of failover.

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      0 Figure 1 vSwitch Failover Order

6. Click Save.