Reference: https://askinglot.com/what-is-vmnic-and-vnic

These VICs can create up to 128 virtual adapters within a single physical adapter. vNIC: Virtual NIC. vmnic: vmnic is virtual-machine network interface card, also a physical adapter on VMWare ESXi host. On an ESXi host, vmnic is the physical adapter that is physically connected to the access-layer switch.

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Correspondingly, what is VMware vNIC?

A virtual machine network interface (vNIC) Every virtual machine will need a network interface card that can connect and participate in a network. VMware calls it a vNIC. These entities can be created on each virtual machine. There are different types of vNICs that can be created on a virtual machine.

Beside above, what is VMkernel network adapter and why it used? The VMkernel ports, which are also referred to as “VMkernel networking interfaces” or even “virtual adapters” in various places, are special constructs used by the vSphere host to communicate with the outside world. The goal of a VMkernel port is to provide some sort of Layer 2 or Layer 3 services to the vSphere host.

Beside this, what is vmk0?

By default, vmk0 is the first VMkernel adapter created which is enabled for management traffic. Interestingly enough, you'll still be able to connect to ESXi if Management is ticked off.

What is uplink and downlink in VMware?

Physical Ethernet adapters serve as bridges between virtual and physical networks. In VMware Infrastructure, they are called uplinks, and the virtual ports connected to them are called uplink ports. A single host may have a maximum of uplinks, which may be on one switch or distributed among a number of switches.