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Table Of Contents
Introduction to vSphere
Networking 1
Get to know the basic concepts of vSphere networking and how to set up and configure a network in a
vSphere environment.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
Networking Concepts Overview
n
Network Services in ESXi
n
VMware ESXi Dump Collector Support
Networking Concepts Overview
A few concepts are essential for a thorough understanding of virtual networking. If you are new to
vSphere, it is helpful to review these concepts.
Physical Network A network of physical machines that are connected so that they can send
data to and receive data from each other. VMware ESXi runs on a physical
machine.
Virtual Network A network of virtual machines running on a physical machine that are
connected logically to each other so that they can send data to and receive
data from each other. Virtual machines can be connected to the virtual
networks that you create when you add a network.
Opaque Network An opaque network is a network created and managed by a separate entity
outside of vSphere. For example, logical networks that are created and
managed by VMware NSX
®
appear in vCenter Server as opaque networks
of the type nsx.LogicalSwitch. You can choose an opaque network as the
backing for a VM network adapter. To manage an opaque network, use the
management tools associated with the opaque network, such as VMware
NSX
®
Manager or the VMware NSX API management tools.
Physical Ethernet
Switch
A physical ethernet switch manages network traffic between machines on
the physical network. A switch has multiple ports, each of which can be
connected to a single machine or another switch on the network. Each port
can be configured to behave in certain ways depending on the needs of the
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