VMware recommendations

I haven't seen this recommendation. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! Do you have a link that you could share?

I think that if you are not doing high amounts of network traffic to the service console - it is a waste to dedicate a NIC to it. So at a minimum you could share a NIC with VMotion and the service console.

I agree that if you are going to do iSCSI, then you should have 2 NICs for iSCSI, but if you are doing fibre channel you don't need these. So this would make the 6 NIC recommendation that you have referenced here basically the same as the 4 NIC recommendation / requirement that we had with ESX 2.5 - as most people were doing fibre channel back then.

Todd

I did a little bit of searching and I couldn't find a VMware recommendation for number of NICs with ESX 3.5 - but I would still like to be proven wrong. So post a link if you can find it.

I did find a blog entry that talks about why you want to have redundancy for the service console NIC - http://vmwareworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/host-currently-has-no-management.html

The point is well taken that it is good idea to have redundacny in your connection to the service console so that you can continue to manage the server in the event of a network failure on a single port/cable/NIC.

I would also point out here that it is recommended by Dell to have Dell Remote Access Cards (DRAC) in all servers so that you can remotely control the server in the event that something goes wrong. This would provide another layer of redundancy in being able to access the system in the event of a failure.

Todd

All the books I see is that ESX requires a minimum of 6 NICs + 2 for iSCSI.
2 Production Network
2 iSCSI Network
2 Service Console
2 HA/DRS/VMotion

My company looking for get M600 blades + iSCSI SAN but those blades max out on 2 motherboard NICS, and 2xdual ported NICs, which brings total to 6. But we also have a Dell/EMC FC SAN, so HBA would take up 1 expansion slot. so out configuration would be either 6 NICS or 4 NICs and dual ported FC HBA..

My concern/question.. Which 4 NICs be suffient to confifure ESX 3.5/VC 2.5 and would would be the way, if YES? 2 active/passwive NICs for iSCSI/production Network and 2 active/passive for SC/HA/Vmotion/DRS?
will I need a second set of redundant switches for ethernet? about 50 VMs in use currently..

Six or Eight NICs for ESX as you have described here is a best practice or high availabilty configuration. It is not a requirement. I would agree that you need 2 for iSCSI Network and 2 for Production Network. Depending on what you are going to do through the service console - it is most likely going to be low network traffic volume. You could have the service console share the same NICs as your producion network. The same can be true for VMotion - do you anticipate doing lots of Vmotion?

The sticky part is that you are going to have fibre channel as well as iSCSI needs on the same blade servers. Things would be better if you could somehow get everything onto one type of storage. Are you using the Dell|EMC combo arrays that can do FC or iSCSI?

50 VMs per server or 50 across a number of blades?

Todd

35-50 VMs total across 8 1955 blades..
Currently everything is FC, but iSCSI @ both locations (DR and primary site) would be good for budget, EMC @ DR is too much $$$.

4 + iSCSI is all we do

2 for server LAN
2 for SC/Vmotion (teamed within ESX, one is primary on NIC1 and secondary on NIC2 and vice versa for the other)

I've only done FC ESX up until now but will be configuring ESX with an MD3000i over the next few days. The way I understand it I need 4 vmnics for redundant iSCSI on this as it appears to have two iSCSI subnets when in redundant mode? The ESX will sit on PE2950's with 2 x quad-port NICs so using 8 physical connections in total (4 as standard for ESX + 2 for iSCSI A and 2 for iSCSI B. I hope I'm not going to end up in a mess :p