VM /ETC

Changing the ip address of your ESX host, or specifically the ip address of the ESX Service Console, can be done on the console using the esxcfg commands. The esxcfg- utilities are the console commands for many ESX configuration options. To see all these commands at the console prompt simply enter “esxcfg-” and hit the tab button.

To change the IP address of the ESX 3.x host, you need to use the esxcfg-vswif command. To see the options and syntax of the esxcfg-vswif command you can enter:

#esxcfg-vswif -?

To change the ip address of the ESX host:

First list your vswifs:

#esxcfg-vswif -l

We will assume that vswif0 is the ESX console vswif for the rest of this post.

#esxcfg-vswif -p Service\ Console -i 10.1.1.1 -n 255.255.255.0

In the command above, the \ in the Service\ Console is deliberate, the -i is the new ip address and the -n is the new netmask.

You now need to change your default gateway, you can do this by editing the network file located at /etc/sysconfig/network. To do this at the command prompt with nano (I am “vi challenged” but you could use vi too):

#cd /etc/sysconfig
#nano network

Using nano, go to the location of the default gateway using the arrow keys and make the change. Hit ctrl + x, say yes when prompted to save and overwrite.

It’s best to restart the ESX host after these changes. Some other things to consider:

• Make sure you’ve updated your DNS A records for all ESX hosts that ip address has changed.
• Make sure you’ve updated the /etc/host files of all ESX hosts to reflect the changed ip addresses.
• Check the Virtual Center Management Server. You will probably have to reconnect the host, or in a worst case scenario remove it from VC and add it again.
• Once the host is connected in Virtual Center you may need to change the vmotion ip address (depending on your network). If so, you can change the ip address and subnet mask using the VI Client from the propoerties of the virtual switch with the VMKernel port group.

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