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ESXi, vSwitches, and 802.1Q VLANs

BarryG
Hi,

I'm re-doing my network in ESXi 5.5...

Currently, I have a VLAN switch, and the UTM (Atom PC with 2 NICs, no VMs) is handling all the VLANs using a Trunk (tag) port from the switch to the UTM, and VLAN interfaces (LAN, DMZ1, DMZ2, WiFi, Hotspot) added on eth1.

The ESXi server (an HP MicroServer Gen8 with 2 NICs) will have:
vmNIC0: Internet
vmNIC1: trunk to Netgear VLAN switch

It will host the UTM as well as a FreeNAS VM and at least one dev server.

Q1. is that OK, or does one NIC need to be dedicated to managing ESXi because of the VLAN trunking, etc.?

Q2. I'm wondering if I should:
a. give the new UTM VM 2 NICs as before, and trunk (vlan 4095 in the vSwitch) from the vSwitch to the UTM
or
b. create a (virtual) NIC in the UTM for each VLAN (instead of VLAN interfaces in the UTM)

Also, I have a AP30, which is on a trunk port. I think that should be OK.

Thanks,
Barry


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  • 0
    Q1. is that OK, or does one NIC need to be dedicated to managing ESXi because of the VLAN trunking, etc.?


    A vSwitch set to trunk (4095) shouldn't need a dedicated nic for the Mgmt(vmkernel) interface. Only thing to make sure is you can access the native vlan (untagged vlan) from your management client.

    Q2. I'm wondering if I should:
    a. give the new UTM VM 2 NICs as before, and trunk (vlan 4095 in the vSwitch) from the vSwitch to the UTM
    or
    b. create a (virtual) NIC in the UTM for each VLAN (instead of VLAN interfaces in the UTM)


    I'd stick with Option A. If you're already using VLAN tagging it's simpler to manage the tagging at the UTM then at the ESXi host. Also simpler if you ever have to move hosts.
  • 0

    Hi Barry,

    I beleive you are trying to configure a similar lab environment such as what I am also aim to do. Please take a look at the logical design in my post.

    I am hoping to use a virtual router to provide the VLAN trunking to try and keep everything within the host, but I could do with your input on how you are configuring the internal UTM interface to extend to the trunk on your NetGear switch. I have configured a vSwitch without a physical NIC and connecting the internal UTM interface to a port group configured as a trunk port (4095)

     

    Mike

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