6.7

Setting Up Networking with
vSphere Standard Switches 2
vSphere standard switches handle network traffic at the host level in a vSphere deployment.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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vSphere Standard Switches
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Create a vSphere Standard Switch
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Port Group Configuration for Virtual Machines
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vSphere Standard Switch Properties
vSphere Standard Switches
You can create abstracted network devices called vSphere Standard Switches. You use standard
switches to provide network connectivity to hosts and virtual machines. A standard switch can bridge
traffic internally between virtual machines in the same VLAN and link to external networks.
Standard Switch Overview
To provide network connectivity to hosts and virtual machines, you connect the physical NICs of the hosts
to uplink ports on the standard switch. Virtual machines have network adapters (vNICs) that you connect
to port groups on the standard switch. Every port group can use one or more physical NICs to handle
their network traffic. If a port group does not have a physical NIC connected to it, virtual machines on the
same port group can only communicate with each other but not with the external network.
VMware, Inc.
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