For more information about the VMware Management Interface, go to www.vmware.com/support/gsx3/doc/.


Creating Network Labels
Creating Network Labels

If VMware VirtualCenter manages the virtual machines on your GSX Server hosts, you must create labels for each virtual network adapter. VirtualCenter uses labels to identify which virtual network adapter is associated with which physical network.

Note: The Network Connections link appears on the Options tab only when the GSX Server host has been discovered by VirtualCenter.

Each virtual network adapter needs a label:

  • To avoid confusion in a multiple-host, multiple-network environment. This is the typical VirtualCenter environment. VirtualCenter can manage virtual machines on multiple GSX Server hosts.

  • So you can migrate virtual machines between VirtualCenter hosts. Virtual machines can be migrated from hosts on the same network only. The label ensures that VirtualCenter knows to which network the virtual machine is connected.

  • So you can create virtual machines on the VirtualCenter server.

  • So you can edit the virtual network configuration of an existing virtual machine on the VirtualCenter server.

    Note: If you configure virtual machines from the VirtualCenter server, you cannot take advantage of GSX Server features like snapshots.

    If the adapter has no label, VirtualCenter cannot recognize the adapter. If a virtual machine is configured for a network name that does not exist, the virtual network adapter is disconnected when you power on the virtual machine.

    You can create labels for the existing default virtual network adapters — like VMnet0, the default bridged network adapter, or VMnet8, the default NAT adapter. You configure the adapters in GSX Server. You can configure each adapter with bridged, host-only, NAT or custom networking. The type of networking configuration is irrelevant to VirtualCenter. VirtualCenter is concerned with the network label only.

    Note: If you intend to create and manage all your virtual machines on the VirtualCenter server, you should assign unique labels to each host-only adapter on a GSX Server host. This way, you can easily identify on which host each host-only network resides. However, if you have a GSX Server host where all the virtual machines use host-only networking, you could decide to not give the host-only adapter a network label.

    For information on configuring new virtual network adapters, see Configuring a Virtual Machine's Virtual Network Adapters.

    For more information on managing GSX Server virtual machines with VirtualCenter, go to www.vmware.com/support/vck2/doc/gsxjump.html.

    Once your virtual network adapters are configured to your liking, create labels for each adapter so VirtualCenter can correctly manage the virtual machines on the host. To create network labels for virtual machines managed by VirtualCenter, complete the following steps.

    1. Log in to the VMware Management Interface as the Administrator (GSX Server for Windows hosts) or root user (GSX Server for Linux hosts).
    2. On the Status Monitor page, click the Options tab. The Options page appears.
    3. Click Network Connections. The Network Connections page appears.

      Note: If the Network Connections link does not appear on the Options page, then the GSX Server host has not been discovered by VirtualCenter. For information on adding a SX Server host to VirtualCenter, see your VirtualCenter documentation.

    4. For each network adapter, add a label in the corresponding field under Network Label. If an adapter is configured for host-only or NAT networking, its networking type is indicated next to the adapter name.
    5. Click OK to save your changes.