You create VMkernel adapters to isolate the incoming replication traffic on target ESXi hosts.

Note: To ensure the best possible results, use one VMkernel adapter for one traffic type.

Perform this procedure for every ESXi host that is used as a replication target, and for which you want to isolate the replication traffic.

Prerequisites

  • For distributed network switches, verify that you have a port group that you can dedicate to the new VMkernel adapter.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the ESXi host.
  2. Click the Configure tab and under Networking, select VMkernel adapters.
  3. Click the Add networking icon Add VMkernel adapter to the host.
    The Add Networking wizard opens.
  4. On the Select connection type page, select VMkernel Network Adapter and click Next.
  5. On the Select target device page, select a port group or a standard switch and click Next.
  6. On the Port properties page, under VMkernel port settings, configure the IP settings and TCP/IP stack to comply with your environment.
    Note: vSphere Replication requires that all components in your environment, such as vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, and the vSphere Replication appliance use the same IP version, IPv4 or IPv6.
  7. Under Available services, enable the service for either vSphere Replication, vSphere Replication NFC, or both on the dedicated vSphere Replication VMkernel adapter.
  8. Click Next.
  9. Apply the IP settings, click Next, and Finish to complete the wizard.

Results

The VMkernel adapter that you tagged for NFC traffic appears in the list of adapters. The vSphere Replication Server routes the replication data to the adapter, and the ESXi host saves the data to a datastore.

What to do next

  1. Apply the configuration of the VMkernel Adapters for each ESXi host in your environment.
  2. Configure the relevant static routes on each ESXi host at the source site to communicate with the target site. For replications to flow in the opposite direction, you must configure reverse routes on the ESXi hosts on the target site. See https://kb.vmware.com/kb/2001426. Depending on the complexity of your environment, if you want to isolate the NFC traffic, you must configure the relevant vSphere Replication and NFC vSphere Replication static routes after you configure the VMkernel adapters for vSphere Replication and NFC traffic.