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

VDSs also provide the capability to use private VLANs, which
extend VLAN technology by providing the ability to restrict
communication between VMs on the same VLAN. This capability
can simplify network designs by reducing the number of VLANs
(and therefore subnets) that are required to segment or isolate
trafc. For more information regarding security-related use of
VLANs, refer to the “vSphere 5.0 Security Hardening Guide.”
Another aspect of VLANs is a Virtual eXtensible Local Area
Network (VXLAN), which is used to address the need for overlay
networks within virtualized data centers accommodating multiple
tenants. The scheme and the related protocols can be used in
cloud service provider and enterprise data center networks. This
technology runs over the existing networking infrastructure and
provides a means to “stretch” a Layer 2 network. In short, VXLAN
is a Layer 2 overlay scheme over a Layer 3 network. This feature
is part of the VMware vCloud Director product, which extends
vSphere deployments into the cloud.
5 Superior Traffic Management
with VDS-based Networking
The use of VDSs enables the virtual network to be treated as
a single aggregated resource, as opposed to the management
of resources at only the per-host level with VSSs. Many of
the concepts associated with conguring VSSs also apply to
conguring VDSs.
On one side of the VSS are one or more port groups that connect
to VMs, as shown in Figure 4. On the other side are virtual uplink
connections to physical Ethernet server adapters that allow the
VMs to connect to the physical environment. A virtual switch
can connect its uplinks to more than one physical Ethernet
adapter to enable NIC teaming. With NIC teaming, two or more
physical adapters can be used to share the trafc load or failover
capabilities if a physical adapter fails or a network outage occurs.
Physical Network
VM VM VM
Host 1
Host 1
Host 2
Host 2
A B D E
Network C
virtual
physical
physical network adapters
Port Groups
VM VM
vSphere Standard Switch
A B C D E
vSphere Standard Switch
C
Figure 4. Virtual networking with VMware vSphere Standard Switches (VSSs): Both the virtual switch and port groups are specific
to a single physical host.
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Simplied, High-Performance 10GbE Networks Based on a Single Virtual Distributed Switch, Managed by VMware vSphere* 5.1