If you need to change your vswitch and port group settings using the service console, esxcfg-vswitch is what you need to use.
If you were "tweaking" ESX network settings via VI Client and lost connectivity you will find these commands very useful.
List all virtual switches and the port group information:
esxcfg-vswitch -l
Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vSwitch0 64 9 64 1500 vmnic2,vmnic0
vSwitch0 64 9 64 1500 vmnic2,vmnic0
PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks
Server Network 41 5 vmnic0,vmnic2
Server Network 41 5 vmnic0,vmnic2
Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vSwitch1 64 6 64 1500 vmnic3,vmnic1
vSwitch1 64 6 64 1500 vmnic3,vmnic1
PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks
Service Console 35 1 vmnic1,vmnic3
VMkernel 35 1 vmnic1,vmnic3
Service Console 35 1 vmnic1,vmnic3
VMkernel 35 1 vmnic1,vmnic3
Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vSwitch2 64 1 64 1500
vSwitch2 64 1 64 1500
PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks
Internal 0 0
Internal 0 0
Delete a port group from a vswitch:
/usr/sbin/esxcfg-vswitch -D "Service Console" vSwitch1
Add a port group to a vswitch:
/usr/sbin/esxcfg-vswitch -A "Service Console" vSwitch1
Set the VLAN ID of a port group:
/usr/sbin/esxcfg-vswitch -p "Service Console" -v35 vSwitch1
Check if virtual switch already exists:
esxcfg-vswitch -c vSwitch2
Create a virtual switch:
esxcfg-vswitch -a vSwitch2
Check if a port group on a virtual switch already exists:
esxcfg-vswitch -C VMotion
Create a port group on a virtual switch:
esxcfg-vswitch -A VMotion vSwitch2
Link a virtual switch to a physical nic:
esxcfg-vswitch -L vmnic2 vSwitch2
Command Options:
/usr/sbin/esxcfg-vswitch
esxcfg-vswitch [options] [vswitch[:ports]]
-a|--add Add a new virtual switch.
-d|--delete Delete the virtual switch.
-l|--list List all the virtual switches.
-L|--link=pnic Set pnic as an uplink for the vswitch.
-U|--unlink=pnic Remove pnic from the uplinks for the vswitch.
-M|--add-pg-uplink Add an uplink to the list of uplinks for a portgroup
-N|--del-pg-uplink Delete an uplink from the list of uplinks for a portgroup
-p|--pg=portgroup Specify a portgroup for operation
Use ALL to set VLAN IDs on all portgroups
-v|--vlan=id Set vlan id for portgroup specified by -p
0 would disable the vlan
-c|--check Check to see if a virtual switch exists.
Program outputs a 1 if it exists, 0 otherwise.
-A|--add-pg=name Add a new portgroup to the virtual switch.
-D|--del-pg=name Delete the portgroup from the virtual switch.
-C|--check-pg=name Check to see if a portgroup exists. Program
outputs a 1 if it exists, 0 otherwise.
-B|--set-cdp Set the CDP status for a given virtual switch.
To set pass one of "down", "listen", "advertise", "both".
-b|--get-cdp Print the current CDP setting for this switch.
-m|--mtu=MTU Set MTU for the vswitch. This affects all the nics attached on the vswitch.
-r|--restore Restore all virtual switches from the configuration file
(FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY).
-h|--help Show this message.
NOTE: Useful to remember for esxcfg-vswitch use lower case switch for the switches. Upper case switch for port groups.
Share this blog post on social media:
Tweet
Latest Blog Posts
- vSphere 7 U1 - Part 3 - Creating a Datacenter, HA/DRS Cluster and Adding a Host
- vSphere 7 U1 - Part 2 - Deploying vCenter 7.0 U1 VCSA
- vSphere 7 U1 - Part 1 - Installing ESXi 7.0 U1
- Veeam CBT Data is Invalid - Reset CBT Without Powering Off VM
- View Administrator Blank Error Dialog/Window After Upgrade