How to Add and Remove Virtual Hardware to a VMware ESXi
Virtual Machine
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reading and/or implementing this tutorial. I will not provide support for the
information herein. If you do not understand something, figure it out on your
own. If you need help figuring it out, use Google to solve your problems.
Introduction
Adding virtual hardware to a virtual machine is an easy process. If you find that your virtual machine instance is running low on resources, disk space for instance, you add another hard drive or add more provisioned storage space to the current hard drive. You can also add NICS, storage controllers, or any other type of hardware supported by the ESXi hypervisor.
There are some scenarios in which you cannot increase the amount of provisioned storage for a virtual hard drive. The most common scenario is after you have imported a virtual machine file that was stored as an OVA file.
Steps
How to Add Virtual Network Adapters
1. Start at the ESXi inventory screen. Right click the virtual machine for which you wish to add or remove hardware. Click Edit Settings.
2. Click the "Add . . .” button.
3. Select Ethernet Adapter and click the Next button.
4. Choose the appropriate Adapter Type and Network Connection. Ensure a checkmark is placed next to, "Connect at power on", under the Device Status heading and click the Next button.
5. Click the Finish button.
6. Under the Virtual Machine Properties, you will now see the new NIC with "(adding)" next to it. Click the OK button to finish adding a virtual networking card.
How to Add Virtual Hard Disks
7. Start at the ESXi inventory screen. Right click the virtual machine for which you wish to add or remove hardware. Click Edit Settings.
8. Click the "Add. . .” button.
9. Select Hard Disk and click the Next button.
10. Ensure the radio button next to, "Create a new virtual disk", is selected and click the Next button.
11. Select the Disk Size and Location and click the Next button. The default location, "Store with the virtual machine", is sufficient in most circumstances.
NOTES: Storing the disk with the virtual machine is the best option if you are not accessing a shared storage device such as an iSCSI SAN.
12. Select the Virtual Device Node and Mode. Click the Next button. The default values are sufficient in most circumstances. In most circumstances, you will not need to place a value in Mode.
13. Click the Finish button.
14. You will see the new hard disk in the virtual machine properties with "(adding)" next to it. Click OK to finish adding a virtual hard drive to the selected virtual machine.
How to Reassign a Virtual Machine to a Different Network
15. Start at the ESXi inventory screen. Right click the virtual machine for which you wish to move to a different network. Click Edit Settings.
16. Select the network adapter you wish to connect to a different network. Select the dropdown box under Network Connection and select the network you wish to connect to. Click the OK button to finish.
Troubleshooting
• Think ahead when provisioning hard drive space. It is easier to provision too much, than to provision too little and have to add hard drive space later.
• Ensure your NICs are connected to the correct networks.
• Adding hardware to the virtual machine is only the first step. You will also need to properly configure the new hardware inside the operating system.
