Certain port mirroring functionality in vSphere 5.1 and later depends on which version of vCenter Server, vSphere distributed switch, and host you use, and how you use these aspects of vSphere together.
| vCenter Server version | vSphere distributed switch version | Host version | vSphere 5.1 port mirroring functionality |
|---|---|---|---|
| vSphere 5.1 and later | vSphere 5.1 and later | vSphere 5.1 and later | vSphere 5.1 port mirroring is available for use. Features for vSphere 5.0 and earlier port mirroring are not available. |
| vSphere 5.1 and later | vSphere 5.1 and later | vSphere 5.0 and earlier | vSphere 5.0 and earlier hosts can be added to vSphere 5.1 vCenter Server, but cannot be added to distributed switches version 5.1 and later. |
| vSphere 5.1 and later | vSphere 5.0 | vSphere 5.0 | vSpherevCenter Server version 5.1 and later can configure port mirroring on a vSphere 5.0 distributed switch. |
| vSphere 5.1 and later | vSphere 5.0 | vSphere 5.1 and later | Hosts running vSphere 5.1 can be added to vSphere 5.0 distributed switches and support vSphere 5.0 port mirroring. |
| vSphere 5.1 and later | Pre-vSphere 5.0 | vSphere 5.5 and earlier | Port mirroring is not supported. |
| vSphere 5.0 and earlier | vSphere 5.0 and earlier | vSphere 5.1 | A vSphere 5.1 host cannot be added to vCenter Server 5.0 and earlier. |
If you use a host profile with port mirroring settings, the host profile must be adapted to the new version of port mirroring in vSphere 5.1 and later.
