Add / Remove port groups and VLANs using the ESXi command line
Overview
Useful commands for modifying port groups and VLAN settings on ESXi standard vSwitches. Can be used in scripts of course to do additions / removals / changes in bulk.
Versions
These commands have been tested with the below ESXi versions:
| Product | Version | Update | Patch |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMware ESXi | 7.0.3 | 3 | 120 |
List vSwitches:
Command
esxcli network vswitch standard list
Example
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcli network vswitch standard list
vSwitch-B
Name: vSwitch-B
Class: cswitch
Num Ports: 8580
Used Ports: 3
Configured Ports: 128
MTU: 1500
CDP Status: listen
Beacon Enabled: false
Beacon Interval: 1
Beacon Threshold: 3
Beacon Required By:
Uplinks: vmnic1
Portgroups: VL423, VL422, VL421
vSwitch0
Name: vSwitch0
Class: cswitch
Num Ports: 8580
Used Ports: 4
Configured Ports: 128
MTU: 1500
CDP Status: listen
Beacon Enabled: false
Beacon Interval: 1
Beacon Threshold: 3
Beacon Required By:
Uplinks: vmnic0
Portgroups: VL420, Management Network
Create a new standard vSwitch
Command
esxcli network vswitch standard add --vswitch-name=vSwitch3
Example
1
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcli network vswitch standard add --vswitch-name=vSwitch3
Verify the new vSwitch has been created
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcli network vswitch standard list
... output shortened for readability ...
vSwitch3
Name: vSwitch3
Class: cswitch
Num Ports: 8580
Used Ports: 1
Configured Ports: 128
MTU: 1500
CDP Status: listen
Beacon Enabled: false
Beacon Interval: 1
Beacon Threshold: 3
Beacon Required By:
Uplinks:
Portgroups:
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~]
List port groups
Command
esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup list
Example
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup list
Name Virtual Switch Active Clients VLAN ID
------------------ -------------- -------------- -------
Management Network vSwitch0 1 0
VL420 vSwitch0 0 0
VL421 vSwitch-B 0 421
VL422 vSwitch-B 0 422
VL423 vSwitch-B 0 423
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~]
Add port group named “VLAN-900” to vSwitch0
Command
cfg-vswitch --add-pg=VLAN-900 vSwitch0
Example
1
2
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcfg-vswitch --add-pg=VLAN-900 vSwitch0
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~]
Verifying that the portgroup has been added
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup list
Name Virtual Switch Active Clients VLAN ID
------------------ -------------- -------------- -------
Management Network vSwitch0 1 0
VL420 vSwitch0 0 0
VL421 vSwitch-B 0 421
VL422 vSwitch-B 0 422
VL423 vSwitch-B 0 423
VLAN-900 vSwitch0 0 0
It’s there but despite its name there is no VL 900 assigned. Let’s fix that.
Assign VLAN 900 to port group “VLAN-900”
Command
esxcfg-vswitch -v 900 -p VLAN-900 vSwitch0
Example
1
2
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcfg-vswitch -v 900 -p VLAN-900 vSwitch0
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~]
Verifying the VLAN is now assigned
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup list
Name Virtual Switch Active Clients VLAN ID
------------------ -------------- -------------- -------
Management Network vSwitch0 1 0
VL420 vSwitch0 0 0
VL421 vSwitch-B 0 421
VL422 vSwitch-B 0 422
VL423 vSwitch-B 0 423
VLAN-900 vSwitch0 0 900
There it is.
Delete port group VLAN-900 from vSwitch0
Command
esxcfg-vswitch --del-pg=VLAN-900 vSwitch0
Example
1
2
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcfg-vswitch --del-pg=VLAN-900 vSwitch0
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~]
Verifying the PG has been removed
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~] esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup list
Name Virtual Switch Active Clients VLAN ID
------------------ -------------- -------------- -------
Management Network vSwitch0 1 0
VL420 vSwitch0 0 0
VL421 vSwitch-B 0 421
VL422 vSwitch-B 0 422
VL423 vSwitch-B 0 423
[root@vrtx-25-esxi-n1:~]