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NCD – Windows Server 2012 VM Network Adapter Issue

← NCD – vApp/VM

This article details the process for resolving a problem caused when a Windows Server® 2012 virtual machine (VM) is configured with an Intel® E1000 network interface controller (NIC) and added to an existing Navisite Cloud Director™ (NCD) vApp. Windows Server 2012 VMs should be configured to use the VMXNET3 adapter.

This can result in intermittent NIC failure affecting all network services provided by the VM. VMs experiencing this problem remain available via console session.

This behavior is documented in this VMware® Knowledge Base article.

Note: When working with VMXNET3 adapters, ensure that your version of VMware® Tools is up-to-date.

Determining the VM NIC Type


To determine the NIC type assigned to a Windows Server 2012 VM:
  1. At the Navisite Cloud Director Dashboard page, click vApps in the navigation bar on the left side of the page. The vApps page appears, displaying a list of configured vApps.

  2. In the vApps page list, locate and click the name of the vApp containing the Windows Server 2012 VM. The vApp detail page appears.

  3. Click VMs in the "Children" section of the vApp page to display the vApp's VMs.

  4. In the "Name" column, click the name of the Windows Server 2012 VM. The VM detail page appears.

  5. Click Network Interfaces in the "Hardware" section of the VM page. The "Network Interfaces" list displays a list of the VM's NICs.



  6. If an adapter type of "E1000" is displayed in the "Adapter Type" column of the "Network Interfaces" list for the Windows Server 2012 VM, refer to Replacing the NIC, below.

Replacing the NIC

  1. Shut down the Windows Server 2012 VM by selecting "Shutdown" from the Power Off (Stop) drop-down menu at the top of the VM detail page.



  2. Delete any snapshots of the Windows Server 2012 VM that were created while the VM was in a powered on state. To do so:

    1. Click vApps in the navigation bar on the left side of the page. The vApps page appears, displaying a list of configured vApps.

    2. In the vApps page list, locate and click the name of the vApp containing the Windows Server 2012 VM. The vApp detail page appears.

    3. In the "Children" section of the vApp page, click Snapshots to display a list of VM snapshots for the vApp.



    4. In the "Snapshots" list, click Delete for any snapshots of the Windows Server 2012 VM that were created while the VM was in a powered on state. A green check mark in the "Powered On" column indicates that the snapshot was taken while the VM was running.

    5. Return to the VM detail page for the Windows Server 2012 VM.


  3. Click Network Interfaces in the "Hardware" section of the VM detail page to display a list of the VM's NICs.

  4. Click +Add NIC in the "Network Interfaces" section of the VM page. The Add Network Interface page appears.



  5. Select VMXNET 3 from the "Adapter Type" drop-down menu.

  6. From the "Network" drop-down menu, select the name of the network to connect to the new NIC. The "IP Allocation" field appears.

  7. Select an IP allocation method from the "IP Allocation" drop-down menu. Available options include:

    • DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol allows Navisite Cloud Director to automatically assign an IP address to the NIC. The assigned address is taken from a defined range of IP addresses when the VM is powered on, and may be different for each assignment.

    • Static – IP Pool – allows NCD to automatically assign a static IP address to the NIC. The assigned address is taken from a defined set of IP addresses, and remains the same for each assignment.

    • Static – Manual – assigns a user-defined static IP address to the NIC. If this option is selected, the "IP Address" field appears.

    Note: If Static – IP Pool allocation is selected for the new NIC, be aware that the assigned IP address will not be the same as that of the NIC being replaced. Any configured NAT and/or firewall rules may require modification to accommodate this change.

  8. If Static – Manual IP allocation is selected above, enter the IP address for the new NIC in the "IP Address" field.

  9. Click Add/Edit Network Interface to add the new NIC.

    10. Note: You can monitor the progress of the network interface creation by clicking the Recent Tasks icon in the upper right corner of the page.

     

  10. When the new NIC has been successfully added, designate it as the primary network interface for the VM by clicking the "pencil" icon in the "Network Interfaces" list "Primary" column.



  11. When the new NIC has been successfully designated as the primary network interface for the VM, click Delete in the "Network Interfaces" list row for the previous primary (E1000) NIC.



  12. Power on the Windows Server 2012 VM by clicking the Power On (Start) button at the top of the VM detail page.



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