Connect two ESXi Machines via Crossover Cable

Hello everyone,

I have two ESXi hosts, one production and one which is a replication destination. I have a crossover cable connecting both machines and am trying to use this connection for Veeam Backup and Replication. Here's how I have it setup so far:

First machine:

vSwitch0

ESXi1 - 10.0.0.7 <--- management network

vSwitch1

VM - 10.0.0.4

VM2 - 10.0.0.2 <-- Veeam B&R resides here

vSwitch2

VMKernel Port: 192.168.2.1 <-- crossover cable

Second machine:

vSwitch0

Backup ESXi - 10.0.0.5 <--- Management network

vSwitch1

VMKernel Port: 192.168.2.2 <-- crossover cable

I'm using vCenter and if I try to add the VMKernel port to vSwitch1 on the first machine, it completely disconnects internet connection to the VMs. In its current configuration, I'm unable to ping the second machine and therefore cannot direct backup and replication traffic over this crossover cable. I'm obviously doing something wrong, but have been unable to configure it properly.

Thanks everyone!