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4 (Optional) Enter notes about this configuration in the Descriptions field.
5 Click OK.
6 Click Yes to save the configuration file to your local system.
What to do next
Use the exported configuration file to do the following tasks:
n
Create a copy of the exported distributed switch in a vSphere environment. See Import a vSphere
Distributed Switch Configuration.
n
Overwrite the settings on an existing distributed switch. See Restore a vSphere Distributed Switch
Configuration.
You can also export, import, and restore only port group configurations. See Export, Import, and Restore
vSphere Distributed Port Group Configurations.
Import a vSphere Distributed Switch Configuration
Import a stored configuration file to create a new vSphere Distributed Switch or to restore a switch that
has been deleted earlier.
The configuration file contains the networking settings of the switch. By using it you can also replicate the
switch in other virtual environments.
Note You can use a saved configuration file to replicate the switch instance, its host associations, and
policies. You cannot replicate the connection of physical NICs to uplink ports or ports on link aggregation
groups.
Procedure
1 In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to a data center.
2 Right-click the data center and select Distributed Switch > Import Distributed Switch.
3 Browse to the location of the configuration file.
4 To assign the keys from the configuration file to the switch and its port groups, select the Preserve
original distributed switch and port group identifiers check box and click Next.
You can use the Preserve original distributed switch and port group identifiers option in the
following cases:
n
Recreate a deleted switch.
n
Restore a switch whose upgrade has failed.
All port groups are recreated and the hosts that have been connected to the switch are added again.
5 Review the settings for the switch and click Finish.
A new distributed switch is created with settings from the configuration file. If you have included
distributed port group information in the configuration file, the port groups are also created.
vSphere Networking
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