Introduction to Cloud Server NICs in MCP 1.0

Overview

In MCP 1.0, each Cloud Server has a single NIC associated with its corresponding Cloud Network. You cannot have multiple NIC's - that feature is only available in MCP 2.0. Each NIC has a unique MAC address so that you can positively identify the NIC within the Guest Operating System. Each NIC must be assigned a "private" IPv4 address from within the private IP range assigned to the Cloud Network. IP addresses are assigned when deploying the server and can be modified after that fact. For details, see 

• How to Deploy a Cloud Server from a Guest OS Customization Image
  • Note this function does configure the IPv4 address on the Cloud Server as part of deployment
• How to Notify CloudControl of a Change to the Private IP Address of a Server in a MCP 1.0 Data Center
  
  • Note this function updates the CloudControl record but does not affect the Guest OS. You still need to make the change to the IP address within the guest OS.

For more details on IP address ranges and restrictions on which IP addresses can be used for a Cloud Server NIC, see Introduction to IP Addressing and Routing in MCP 1.0.

Remember the actual IP addressing is done within the Guest Operating System - CloudControl will record the current NIC assignment but cannot guarantee that the Operating System is currently configured to use this IP address.

Cloud NIC Network Adapters and Supported Operating Systems

CloudControl supports five different 'Network Adapters' (also referred to as 'NIC Types') as defined by VMware in their KB article Choosing a network adapter for your virtual machine. These adapters define how the NIC will appear to the Guest Operating System. The five available types are as follows:

1. e1000 - An emulated version of the Intel 82545EM Gigabit Ethernet NIC. The advantage of this NIC is that it will work even if VMware Tools is not running.
2. e1000e - This version emulates a newer model of the Intel Gigabit NIC (number 82574) in the virtual hardware. This is known as the 'e1000e' vNIC. e1000e is available only on hardware version 8 (and newer) virtual machines in vSphere 5.
3. VMXNET3 - VMware's paravirtualized NIC designed for ideal performance. It provides better performance but does not work unless VMware Tools is running. This means that if VMware Tools stops running, all network connectivity to and from the NIC will be lost until VMware Tools is restored.
4. VMXNET2/Enhanced - The VMXNET2 adapter is based on the VMXNET adapter, but provides some high-performance features commonly used on modern networks, such as jumbo frames and hardware offloads. This virtual network adapter is available only for some Guest Operating Systems on ESXi/ESX 3.5 and later. Because Operating System vendors do not provide built-in drivers for this card, you must install VMware Tools to have a driver for the VMXNET2 network adapter available.
5. PCNET32/Flexible - The Flexible network adapter identifies itself as a Vlance adapter when a virtual machine boots, but initializes itself and functions as either a Vlance or a VMXNET adapter, depending on which driver initializes it. With VMware Tools installed, the VMXNET driver changes the Vlance adapter to the higher performance VMXNET adapter.

However, the Network Adapters available for a Cloud Server are different depending on the Operating System. In MCP 1.0, the system will automatically apply the default Network Adapter for the Operating System to the NIC. You can identify the default Network Adapter for a given Operating System by reviewing the listing in the Operating System Dashboard as described in Navigating the Supported Operating Systems Dashboard.

NIC Connection State

In MCP 1.0 Data Centers, NIC Connection state cannot be set. The NIC will always be connected.