ESX/VMWare Switch Port Configuration

[jdavid6568]

Does anyone know how to configure a 3560 switch port that is connecting to an ESX host with multiple VM's??

[Chad Peterson]

Hi Jason,

Most of the time people will configure the port as a trunk to the ESX host.  So on the 3560 you can just do:

switchport trunk encap dot1q

switchport mode trunk

This will allow your VMs to be in different vlans if you would like.

Chad Peterson

CCIE 23213

Network Consulting Engineer

.:|:.:|:.

  CISCO

PDI Data Center

http://www.cisco.com/go/pdihelpdesk

[Robert Burns · Accepted solution]

You'll also want to enable a couple more things

1. Prune un-necessary VLANS - switchport trunk allowed vlan x,y,z

2. Disable STP as neither the vSwitch or N1K use it - spanning-tree portfast trunk

3. Enable bpdufilter -  spanning-tree bpdufilter enable

These are all best practices and will keep your links efficient & protected.

Regards,

Robert