Simplified, High-Performance 10GbE Networks Based on a Single Virtual Distributed Switch, Managed by VMware* vSphere 5.1

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2.2 Managing Virtualized Traffic across

Up to 500 Hosts with VDSs

In the virtualized server consolidation model using one or more

VSSs on each host, as described above, multiple physical hosts

(and the virtualized resources on them) are connected to the

physical switches, but unlike the deployment illustrated in

Figure 2 are made up of multiple network connections and VSSs.

This deployment model constrains network performance and

exibility in similar fashion to the static assignment of network

resources in the non-virtualized model. While the scope of the

total workload per server is greater in the virtualized server

consolidation model with VSSs compared to non-virtualized

servers, the fundamental problem of balance between over-

allocating and under-allocating network resources persists.

To address the limitations placed on virtual networks by the

physical segmentation between hosts inherent to the VSS model

described above, VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus provides the

VDS, which creates a higher level of abstraction, with virtual

interconnections among VMs that span across hosts, as shown in

Figure 3. In its role as a single virtual switch across all associated

hosts, the VDS functions as a network switch for internal and

external network connectivity. The VDS handles network trafc

at the multi-host level; it can route trafc internally between

VMs or link to an external network by connecting to physical

Ethernet network adapters.

A particular benet of the VDS is that it allows VMs to maintain

consistent network conguration as they migrate across multiple

hosts in the vSphere environment.

Physical links Physical links

Core Switch

APP

VMware vSphere* ESXi

VMware VSS

Physical

Host server

vNICs vNICs vNICs

APP

VMware vSphere* ESXi

VMware VSS

Physical

Host server

vNICs vNICs vNICs

APP

VMware vSphere* ESXi

VMware VSS

Physical

Host server

vNICs vNICs vNICs

Figure 2. In a virtual network based on VMware vSphere Standard Switches (VSSs), the limitations of physical networking constrain the

communication between virtual machines (VMs) on different hosts.

Simplied, High-Performance 10GbE Networks Based on a Single Virtual Distributed Switch, Managed by VMware vSphere* 5.1