CipherUser
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Packet Loss on a Single VM
I have an ESXi host (5.5 U2) that is running 10 VMs. The host is lightly loaded, averaging 10%CPU usage at most points throughout the day.
One and only one VM is experiencing packet loss up to 20% when it is pinged. The OS for this VM is the IBM 4690 POS which is supported in VMware.
I have tried all the different adapters for this VM (Flexible, E1000, etc ...) with no effect. VMware tools is not installed.
I also used ESXTOP and there is no TX or RX packet loss on the vSwitch.
Here's the kicker - I always experience packet loss when pinging this VM from my laptop, even when plugged into the same switch as the ESXi host (VM is one hop away). However, if I ping this VM from one of the other VMs running on the same host, I receive no packet loss.
Does anyone have any ideas why there is packet loss when going through the pNIC and not when going straight VM to VM?
More importantly, does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of the packet loss?
Thanks in advance for your assistance!
One and only one VM is experiencing packet loss up to 20% when it is pinged. The OS for this VM is the IBM 4690 POS which is supported in VMware.
I have tried all the different adapters for this VM (Flexible, E1000, etc ...) with no effect. VMware tools is not installed.
I also used ESXTOP and there is no TX or RX packet loss on the vSwitch.
Here's the kicker - I always experience packet loss when pinging this VM from my laptop, even when plugged into the same switch as the ESXi host (VM is one hop away). However, if I ping this VM from one of the other VMs running on the same host, I receive no packet loss.
Does anyone have any ideas why there is packet loss when going through the pNIC and not when going straight VM to VM?
More importantly, does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of the packet loss?
Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
I would recommend you always use the virtualised driver and interface VMXNET3, which requires VMware Tools to be installed to support the driver.
ASKER
Andrew,
I don't see anyway to install VMware tools in the 4690 OS. Is there another option?
I don't see anyway to install VMware tools in the 4690 OS. Is there another option?
Is this a virtual appliance?
is this windows or linux ?
Please see my EE Articles on how to install VMware Tools, however VMware Tools may not be supported on your appliance/VM.
Part 8: HOW TO: Install VMware Tools for Windows on a VMware Windows virtual machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server
Part 9: HOW TO: Install VMware Tools for Linux on a VMware Linux virtual machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server
is this windows or linux ?
Please see my EE Articles on how to install VMware Tools, however VMware Tools may not be supported on your appliance/VM.
Part 8: HOW TO: Install VMware Tools for Windows on a VMware Windows virtual machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server
Part 9: HOW TO: Install VMware Tools for Linux on a VMware Linux virtual machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server
Is it IBM DOS based system or Suse or OS/2 ?
Since traffic from your laptop will traverse the physical switch, and traffic from other VMs would only traverse the virtual switch, I would suggest that you look at the physical switch to see if there's some issue with load balancing, port channel hashing, etc.
ASKER
gheist - It is a textual (DOS-like) OS that I understand is built on Linux under the engine. It looks very DOS like though.
So follow the instructions to install vmware tools on SuSE linux...
ASKER
It's been confirmed that broadcast traffic is causing this packet loss and vmware tools cannot be installed.
Experts - is there a way to isolate this VM from all the broadcast traffic from the rest of my network, perhaps using VLANs? I have created a separate vswitch with an uplink to a secondary NIC on the ESXi server. I placed the VM experiencing packet loss on this new switch. Is there a vmware way to isolate this secondary vswitch from the LAN broadcast traffic?
I know VLANs isolate broadcast traffic, but admittedly don't know much about them. Is there a way to use them here to isolate my one VM from all the broadcast traffic on my network?
Thanks for your continued assistance.
Experts - is there a way to isolate this VM from all the broadcast traffic from the rest of my network, perhaps using VLANs? I have created a separate vswitch with an uplink to a secondary NIC on the ESXi server. I placed the VM experiencing packet loss on this new switch. Is there a vmware way to isolate this secondary vswitch from the LAN broadcast traffic?
I know VLANs isolate broadcast traffic, but admittedly don't know much about them. Is there a way to use them here to isolate my one VM from all the broadcast traffic on my network?
Thanks for your continued assistance.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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If you have enough broadcast traffic to cause congestion on your network, it sounds like the problem likely extends beyond this on VM.
A VLAN has several benefits. By increasing the number of VLANs, you will increase the number of broadcast domains, but decrease their size. Best practice is to assign one IP subnet per VLAN.
Steps to achieve your goal:
Create a new VLAN on your switches.
Create a new IP subnet, make sure that your router(s) can route to the new subnet, correctly place a router interface into the VLAN.
Create the port group on your ESXi hosts.
Place the VM in the new port group.
Assign the appropriate IP address to the VM. (with default gateway, etc.)
A VLAN has several benefits. By increasing the number of VLANs, you will increase the number of broadcast domains, but decrease their size. Best practice is to assign one IP subnet per VLAN.
Steps to achieve your goal:
Create a new VLAN on your switches.
Create a new IP subnet, make sure that your router(s) can route to the new subnet, correctly place a router interface into the VLAN.
Create the port group on your ESXi hosts.
Place the VM in the new port group.
Assign the appropriate IP address to the VM. (with default gateway, etc.)