Configuring Port Bonding in VMware ESXi

This section uses VMware ESXi 6.0 as an example. For details about the configuration on other OSs, see the OS documentation provided by the OS vendors.

To configure port bonding in VMware ESXi 6.0, perform the following steps:

You have installed ESXi 6.0 on the compute node with the MZ520 and the vSphere Client on a PC (management terminal).

1. On the System Customization screen, select Configure Management Network. On the Configure Management Network screen, select Network Adapters. The physical ports on the MZ520 are displayed.
   Figure 4-255 MZ520 physical ports displayed in VMware ESXi
   

2. On the Network Adapters screen, select the four vmnics, which map to the four physical ports on the MZ520 respectively, and specify a vmnic for connecting to the management network, as shown in Figure 4-256. In Figure 4-256, [X] indicates that the two vmnics can all be used to connect to the management network. The hypervisor (ESXi) chooses a vmnic as the default management network port for connecting to the management network. The management network port is changeable. Press Enter to confirm the settings, and return to the Configure Management Network screen.

   The management network refers to the PC running the vSphere Client. Actually, the vmnic is also used to connect to the service network.

   Figure 4-256 vmnics of the physical ports on the MZ520
   

3. On the Configure Management Network screen, select IPv4 Configuration. On the IPv4 Configuration screen, set an IP address for the MZ520 port. The IP addresses are assigned to the default vmnics first, for example, vmnic 0 and vmnic 1. The IP addresses must be on the same network segment as the IP address of the NIC on the PC so that ESXi can communicate with the vSphere Client. Press Enter to confirm the settings, and return to the Configure Management Network screen.
   Figure 4-257 Setting an IP address for the vmnic to connect to the management network
   

   VLAN (Optional) on the Configure Management Network screen is an optional parameter. Configure a VLAN for the vmnic, which is to assign a PVID to the MZ520 port. You do not need to configure a VLAN for the management network connection.

4. Run the vSphere Client, click the Configuration tab, click Network, and then click Properties. The vSwitch0 Properties window is displayed. Click the Ports tab, select vSwitch, and then click Edit. Click the NIC Teaming tab, set Load Balancing, Network Failover Detection, Notify Switches, and Failback, configure active and standby adapters and click OK. See Figure 4-258.
   Figure 4-258 Configuring vmnic bonding
   

   If NPAR is enabled for the MZ520, the bonding mode of NIC PFs cannot be 802.3ad or LACP, because the NIC PFs of the MZ520 do not support link aggregation.

   If FCoE is enabled for the MZ520, the bonding mode of ports cannot be 802.3ad or LACP, because the FCoE PFs of the MZ520 do not support link aggregation; otherwise, the FCoE link is disconnected.