What would keep my VMs from getting IP addresses from the DHCP server?

[alfa147x]

Backstory:
Getting ready to do an implementation at a client site so I've installed ESXI 5.5 on my Mac Mini as a test environment. The Mini houses:

• 3 job severs (2x RHEL 6 and the other is SLES 11)
• Oracle DB server (RHEL 6)

The only way I can get them IP addresses is by having them plugged into my laptop and my laptop NAT and dish out IP addresses to them which is a problem because now my co-workers can't access my job servers to run test scripts.

I asked our "system admin" and he was puzzled (he spent 5 mins looking at before departing on his vacation). He told me to set them up for VLAN 100. Which I tried but then lost my management console and it's IP address. I think we have HP switches.

I also can't bridge my VMs on my computer. They won't get IP addresses either.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Alfa

 

[xSauronx]

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Alfa

sounds like you guys may need to delay doing this sort of thing at a client if you cant get VMs on your own network. even for a small implementation you need to know how to configure an esxi host (or a couple of hosts) correctly. if nothing else you'll also want some notifications and power management features configured. i assume you will have to support this later?

i assume you could ping/manage the esxi/mac host on your network?
are the VMs bridged to the nic?
did you change any of the vmware network settings?
--is is set to use a static ip/dns/gateway or does the host get DHCP too?
did you install vmware tools in the VMs yet?
are there MAC limits on your switch ports?
how did you lose the management IP?
--[you can plug in a monitor and see it]

 

[imagoon]

Sounds like you are emulating an emulation environment. You need to bridge the lower layer NIC to the vnic and then attach that vnic to your vSwitch.

 

[alfa147x]

I spoke with our backup system admin guy today at gathering. He said he'll remote in to the office in the morning and take a look. Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep you updated.

Sounds like you are emulating an emulation environment. You need to bridge the lower layer NIC to the vnic and then attach that vnic to your vSwitch.

I'm pretty sure that's what I'm doing. I'll post a screenshot tomorrow.

sounds like you guys may need to delay doing this sort of thing at a client if you cant get VMs on your own network. even for a small implementation you need to know how to configure an esxi host (or a couple of hosts) correctly. if nothing else you'll also want some notifications and power management features configured. i assume you will have to support this later?

i assume you could ping/manage the esxi/mac host on your network?
are the VMs bridged to the nic?
did you change any of the vmware network settings?
--is is set to use a static ip/dns/gateway or does the host get DHCP too?
did you install vmware tools in the VMs yet?
are there MAC limits on your switch ports?
how did you lose the management IP?
--[you can plug in a monitor and see it]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No. I've created switches but that's about it.
4. No. Host gets DHCP perfectly fine
5. Yes
6. I'll ask in the morning
7. I lost mgnt IP when I set the VLAN on Virtual Machine Switch (withen ESXI) to 100

We won't be doing any of this type of work. We'll have boxes (not VMs) setup with the OS installed and with the network configured. I'll just install software and connect it to 11g and LDAP. This is my test environment that I would like to get working.

I'm guessing the MAC limits are keeping the ports from having more than one machine on them?

 

[alfa147x]

Sounds like you are emulating an emulation environment. You need to bridge the lower layer NIC to the vnic and then attach that vnic to your vSwitch.

Also the Mac Mini is not running OS X (VMware fusion and then ESXI) it's running only ESXI.

 

[imagoon]

I spoke with our backup system admin guy today at gathering. He said he'll remote in to the office in the morning and take a look. Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep you updated.



I'm pretty sure that's what I'm doing. I'll post a screenshot tomorrow.

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No. I've created switches but that's about it.
4. No. Host gets DHCP perfectly fine
5. Yes
6. I'll ask in the morning
7. I lost mgnt IP when I set the VLAN on Virtual Machine Switch (withen ESXI) to 1000

We won't be doing any of this type of work. We'll have boxes (not VMs) setup with the OS installed and with the network configured. I'll just install software and connect it to 11g and LDAP. This is my test environment that I would like to get working.

I'm guessing the MAC limits are keeping the ports from having more than one machine on them?

Are you trunking vlan 1000 to the mac mini then? Setting it to 1000 means that nic is exporting tagged frames which only a managed switch with the vlans assigned to that port would pay attention to.

 

[alfa147x]

Are you trunking vlan 1000 to the mac mini then? Setting it to 1000 means that nic is exporting tagged frames which only a managed switch with the vlans assigned to that port would pay attention to.

That was a typo. It was suppose to be vlan 100.

 

[alfa147x]

Currently I've only started my OracelBox but that's where all my VMs show up. This time I didn't add my Management Network to VLAN 100.

I do have the ability to add another gigabit ethernet NIC to the Mini if that would help.

Thanks again for the help,
Alfa

 

[imagoon]

Currently I've only started my OracelBox but that's where all my VMs show up. This time I didn't add my Management Network to VLAN 100.

I do have the ability to add another gigabit ethernet NIC to the Mini if that would help.

Thanks again for the help,
Alfa

What is happening there is the vSwitch is exporting your VM's network frames as tagged vlan 100 frames. If the switch in the wall doesn't have a vlan 100 they will be discarded. If there is a vlan 100 but no dhcp server, they won't get dhcp etc. It sounds like vlan100 doesn't exist so it is not much different than plugging the network cable in a switch with no other cables / ports in use.

What is the configuration of the switch that the mac is plugged in to?

 

[alfa147x]

What is happening there is the vSwitch is exporting your VM's network frames as tagged vlan 100 frames. If the switch in the wall doesn't have a vlan 100 they will be discarded. If there is a vlan 100 but no dhcp server, they won't get dhcp etc. It sounds like vlan100 doesn't exist so it is not much different than plugging the network cable in a switch with no other cables / ports in use.

What is the configuration of the switch that the mac is plugged in to?

I see. I don't have authorization to get into the switch. I'll get our backup system admin to look at it. Just hooked up a 2nd NIC to the Mini and have it hooked up to my MacBook Pro for DHCP / NAT.

 

[kevnich2]

Since you seem to be new to vmware, I'd recommend getting a "sandbox" system up just to setup and test all the functions to see how everything works. Virtualization and vmware is a very nice system, but...compared to managing things physically, virtualization is a industry game changer. The rules are different. Once you get the knack with how it actually works, everything works together.

If your setting this up for a client, however, and not fully knowing how vmware works and how the SDN works internally, how are you going to troubleshoot issues with it later on when something doesn't work. Sorry but that WILL happen.

My recommendation for this specific issue - remove the system from vlan 100 and go into one of the VM's and renew the IP and see what it gets. Then when you have someone that has access to the switch port that the vmnic0 physical adapter is connected to, make sure that switch port is on a trunk port or general port with vlan 100 tagged, then once you set your VM port group back to vlan 100, it should work as designed for your vlan 100. Just make sure you have a DHCP server or you will have to set some static IP's for those systems.

 

[alfa147x]

Since you seem to be new to vmware, I'd recommend getting a "sandbox" system up just to setup and test all the functions to see how everything works. Virtualization and vmware is a very nice system, but...compared to managing things physically, virtualization is a industry game changer. The rules are different. Once you get the knack with how it actually works, everything works together.

If your setting this up for a client, however, and not fully knowing how vmware works and how the SDN works internally, how are you going to troubleshoot issues with it later on when something doesn't work. Sorry but that WILL happen.

My recommendation for this specific issue - remove the system from vlan 100 and go into one of the VM's and renew the IP and see what it gets. Then when you have someone that has access to the switch port that the vmnic0 physical adapter is connected to, make sure that switch port is on a trunk port or general port with vlan 100 tagged, then once you set your VM port group back to vlan 100, it should work as designed for your vlan 100. Just make sure you have a DHCP server or you will have to set some static IP's for those systems.

Thanks. Working on doing just that right now.

The actual install will not be virtualized at all. This is just so I can test a few things with the software.

 

[alfa147x]

I have discovered that all of our switches have a port security setting that limits each port to two IP addresses. This setting can be changed. If you are having issues connecting, please let me know and I will update the port security setting for your device.

Sweet. We figured it out