When configuring networking on an ESX/ESXi server it is important that you plan and configure it correctly.

Doing so will ensure you get the best reliability, performance and security within your virtual network.

Depending on your requirements the configuration will vary slightly. For example if network storage such and iSCSI and NFS will be used the setup will need to plan for this.

I will explain the different setups for these needs.

The following setup is the best for a server with 6 physical networks cards. This setup would be implemented if network based IP storage is being used to ensure reliability, performance and security.

Configuration for a server without network based IP storage:

vmnic0                        vSwitch0                      Service Console

vmnic1                        vSwitch0                      Service Console

vmnic4                        vSwitch2                      VM Network

vmnic5                        vSwitch2                      VM Network

Configuration using network based IP storage:

Ideally VLANs should be used to seperate these networks.