By default, vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) is supplied only with one preconfigured vNIC. However, there are scenarios, in which VMWare vCenter Server has to be connected to different networks (VLAN), for example, to an isolated, backup or replication network. Let’s consider how to add and configure an additional vNIC network card in VCSA.
It has to be noted that adding the second vNIC in vCenter Appliance 5.5 and 6.0 is a bit different.
Adding the Second Network Card (NIC) in vCenter Appliance 5.5
The easiest way to configure network parameters of VMWare vCenter Appliance 5.5 supposes using the web interface, but this interface is very truncated and doesn’t suit more complex scenarios. In particular, it allows to configure only one network card with the IPv4 address. Let’s add the second network card to a VCSA virtual machine using the interface of the VSphere client and place it to the virtual network with the specific VLAN.
Go back to vCenter Appliance web interface. As you can see, the additional network card has not appeared, and there are no buttons to add or configure it.
To configure the IP address of the second network card, we’ll have to connect to the console of VCSA virtual machine as root.
Go to the /inst-sys folder, in which YaST2 (Yet Another Setup Tool) has to be started. Go to Network Devices->Network Settings.
You can see a network card with the status ‘Not configured‘ in the list.
Let’s configure the static IP address for the new interface. Enter IP address, mask and name of the host in the corresponding fields and press F10.
To save the changes, press F10 again. Wait till the network settings are applied.
Go back to the VCSA console. Make sure that eth1 interface with the specified IP settings has appeared in the Network tab.
If necessary, the settings of both vNICs can be configured in the Address tab.
Adding the Second NIC in vCenter Appliance 6.0
In VCSA 6.0 Update 1, it has become easier to add another network card. You can configure it directly in VMware Appliance Management Interface (VAMI).
- First of all, as earlier a new network card is added in the settings of a VCSA virtual machine, the necessary network and VLAN are selected
- Then open VCSA Appliance (https://IP_Address_VCSA :5480) web interface
- In the left panel, go to the Networking tab. The new network card nic1 will appear in the list of networking interfaces (Networking Interfaces).
- Click Edit, and configure the IP address of the new network card nic1 in the window that appears.
In the same way, you can add and configure the third and more network cards in VCSA.