ESXi 5.1 networking question

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wildbill001

Weaksauce
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Jun 2, 2012
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I'm not up on all the latest networking capabilities of ESXi 5.x. Let me describe my situation and maybe someone can tell me if this is do-able.

I have built an ESXi 5.0_U1 box at home. Has 2 NICs if it matters. Home network is 10.0.0.x. Built a RHEL5.4 VM system under that network with IP of 10.0.0.21. Installed software on that VM that is VERY IP dependent and it does not tolerate changing the IP address of the base-system.

Due to family issues, I'm now at my brother's place and plugged into his network which is 192.168.1.x. My application will not start now because of the new DHCP supplied IP address which is 192.168.1.141 instead of 10.0.0.21.

Is there any way to create a vlan or something with 10.0.0.x so the RH VM will get an address of 10.0.0.21 yet still be able to access the internet through my brother's 192.168.1.x network? (Hope that makes sense.)

I'd google but not even sure what the search terms would be.

I REALLY hope there is something I can do because it would be a MAJOR task to rebuild my VM with a 198.162.1.x IP.

Thanks in Advance.

Bill W
 
It can be done but you'll need something to route between 192.168.1 and 10.0.0. Wouldn't be difficult to setup with a pfsense vm.
 
Does your app need Internet access? It's easy to drop a virtual router in the middle..the problem is that your brother's cable modem/Internet router will need to know how to route back to that IP.

You could do like a pfsense firewall in between and NAT a 192.168.1.x address for the RedHat VM.
 
DOH! Thanks for the kick to the head. Of course, create a small linux system, configure as router, and I'm home free.

Thanks.

Bill W
 
Just a quick update.

It actually turned out to be easier than I thought to accomplish this. I did go through the exercise to build a RH system and configure it as a router with two nics, one for the 192.168.1 net and one for the 10.0.0 net. Then added another nic to my existing system for the 192.168.1 net. Everything worked just great

Yesterday, when I powered up everything I forgot to power up the virtual router system. BUT didn't realize that because my original system was still seeing both networks just fine! Not exactly sure why but I'm not going to question it (this is only a lab/testing system so as long as it work, who cares).

I guess it just illustrates that saying that "sometimes the simple solution is the best/easiest".
 
As the vitual adapter is still connected and I imagine the 10.0.0.21 address is statically set the piece of software can still see that address but is obviously quite happy to communicate on 192.168.1.x. Hence it still works.
 
Actually I'm curious about this software. I must be so badly designed. What's the name?
 
Hmmm. Not sure I should say as my employer may not be too happy. Ah, what the hey. It is HP's Server Automation. It is used in Data Centers to automate the life-cycle of the servers (windows and Unix). Re-IPing the package is REALLY ugly and usually doesn't work. It is usually easier and faster to just re-install. Re-install, however, can day almost all day.

This is an install in my home "lab" that I use for testing and development. Engineering is supposed to be working on an easier, more reliable method to re-IP but haven't gotten there yet.

Yes, the address is static for that VM. As mentioned earlier, the 10.0.0.0 network is my normal home network. The 192.168.1.0 net is my brother's in LA. We are staying at his place while my wife takes care of her mother who is in the hospital. I brought my "servers" with me so I could keep working.

Bill W
 
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