VMware 4817V62 - vSphere - PC Administration Manual page 160

vSphere Basic System Administration
The following NIC types are supported:
Flexible
e1000
Enhanced vmxnet
vmxnet 3
Network Adapters and Legacy Virtual Machines
This section discusses network adapters on legacy virtual machines.
If your virtual machine was created on ESX Server 3.0 or greater and runs a 32-bit guest operating system, the
default adapter type is Flexible. The Flexible adapter functions as a Vlance adapter if the adapter's driver is
the stock driver the guest operating system. The Flexible adapter functions as a vmxnet adapter if the vmxnet
driver has been installed on the virtual machine as part of the VMware Tools installation.
If your virtual machine runs a 64-bit guest operating system, the default adapter type is E1000. If you change
a virtual machine from a 32-bit to a 64-bit guest operating system, or the reverse, you must remove the existing
network adapter and replace it with a new one, or the virtual machine will not power on.
If you do a hardware upgrade on a legacy virtual machine, the adapter type for that upgraded machine is as
follows:
If the adapter type was Vlance, the adapter type on the upgraded virtual machine is Flexible. That adapter
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functions as a Vlance adapter would function. If you want to obtain significantly better performance, you
need only install the VMware Tools on the virtual machine as described in the previous step.
If the adapter type is vmxnet, the adapter type on the upgraded virtual machine is still vmxnet. However,
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you cannot change this adapter's type to Vlance, as you would have been able to do on a legacy virtual
machine.
Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine
When you add a hard disk to a virtual machine, you can create a new virtual disk, add an existing virtual disk,
or add a mapped SAN LUN.
Procedure
1 Start the Add Hardware wizard.
2 Select Hard Disk, and click Next.
3 Select the type of storage for the virtual machine's disk, and click Next.
You can store virtual machine data in a new virtual disk, an existing virtual disk, or a Mapped SAN LUN.
A virtual disk, which appears as a single hard disk to the guest operating system, is composed of one or
more files on the host file system. Virtual disks can easily be copied or moved on the same host or between
hosts.
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Supported on virtual machines that were created on ESX Server 3.0 or greater
and that run 32-bit guest operating systems. The Flexible adapter functions as
a Vlance adapter if VMware Tools is not installed in the virtual machine and
as a Vmxnet driver if VMware Tools is installed in the virtual machine.
Emulates the functioning of an E1000 network card. It is the default adapter
type for virtual machines that run 64-bit guest operating systems.
An upgraded version of the Vmxnet device with enhanced performance. It
requires that VMware Tools be installed in the virtual machine.
Next generation Vmxnet device with enhanced performance and enhanced
networking features. It requires that VMware Tools be installed in the virtual
machine, and is available only on virtual machines with hardware version 7
and greater.
VMware, Inc.