Changing IP of ESXi Host and vCenter

Question

We are reorganizing some subnets and I would like to change the IP address of our ESXi host. The plan was to do this directly at the console. After that the IP of the vCenter also has to be changed.

I hope this can be done without rebooting the entire host. Any experiences or things to lookout for?

Solution 1

If your vCenter knows the host by IP, it's best to remove the host from vCenter and re-add it using its name. Then you can change the host's IP as much and as often as you want.

If you don't want to or can't use host names, you still have to remove the host from vCenter. Then go into the console as described in the other answer, change the IP, and reconnect the host to vCenter.

To change vCenter Server IP, first just reconfigure its network settings. Then you need to do some cleanup. The most straightforward approach is to reinstall all additional components like VUM. The hosts will also need to be made aware of the new IP. You can remove and add them to vCenter, or, if by that point you're tired of doing this over and over again, just get into the console, modify /etc/opt/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg, and restart management agents.

Solution 2

Please see VMWare's guide: Changing the IP address, default gateway, and hostname of the Service Console in ESX.

For ESXi, you can do it directly from the console. Press F2 to "customize the server" and then change the management IP there. The restart the management services is done automatically.

This can be accomplished without a reboot.

Comments

[SpacemanSpiff]

How complex is your environment? Are you using vmotion, drs, or HA? You may need to disable these to get things over cleanly.

[duenni]

The guide is for ESX, I'm on ESXi. I edited the question - the IP of the vCenter also has to be changed. I'm looking for any major pitfalls if there are any..

[mwfearnley]

Note: you can bring up the console without physical access if you can use SSH. Once logged in, you can run dcui to bring up a monochrome version of the console.