Enable Link Layer Discovery Protocol on a vSphere Distributed Switch

With Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), vSphere administrators can determine which physical switch port connects to a given vSphere Distributed Switch. When LLDP is enabled for a particular distributed switch, you can view properties of the physical switch (such as chassis ID, system name and description, and device capabilities) from the vSphere Web Client.

Procedure

1. In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the distributed switch.
2. From the Actions menu, select Settings > Edit Settings.
3. In the Edit Settings dialog box, click Advanced.
4. In the Discovery Protocol section, select Link Layer Discovery Protocol from the Type drop-down menu.
5. From the Operation drop-down menu, select the operational mode of the ESXi hosts connected to the switch.

   Operation	Description
   Listen	ESXi detects and displays information about the associated physical switch port, but information about the vSphere Distributed Switch is not available to the switch administrator.
   Advertise	ESXi makes information about the vSphere Distributed Switch available to the switch administrator, but does not detect and display information about the physical switch.
   Both	ESXi detects and displays information about the associated physical switch and makes information about the vSphere Distributed Switch available to the switch administrator.

6. Click OK.