Selecting Virtual Network Adapters

This section describes how to select virtual network adapters for the best performance.

• For the best performance, use the VMXNET3 paravirtualized network adapter for operating systems in which it is supported. This requires that the virtual machine use virtual hardware version 7 or later and, in some cases, requires that VMware Tools be installed in the guest operating system.

  Note:

  Because Microsoft Windows doesn’t include a VMXNET3 driver, you’ll need to either:

  • Create a custom Windows image that includes the VMXNET3 driver (this is the preferred option).

  • Use a different virtual network adapter (typically E1000E or E1000) during operating system installation then, after the OS is installed, install VMware Tools (which includes a VMXNET3 driver), then add a VMXNET3 virtual network adapter.

• For guest operating systems in which VMXNET3 is not supported, we recommend using the E1000E virtual network adapter.

• If E1000E is not an option, use the flexible device type. The “flexible NIC” automatically converts each Vlance network device to a VMXNET device (a process also called “NIC Morphing”) if the VMware Tools suite is installed in the guest operating system and the operating system supports VMXNET.