With vSphere distributed switches you can set up and configure networking in a vSphere environment. vSphere Distributed Switch ArchitectureA vSphere Distributed Switch provides centralized management and monitoring of the networking configuration of all hosts that are associated with the switch. You set up a distributed switch on a vCenter Server system, and its settings are propagated to all hosts that are associated with the switch. Create a vSphere Distributed SwitchCreate a vSphere distributed switch on a data center to handle the networking configuration of multiple hosts at a time from a central place. Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch to a Later VersionYou can upgrade vSphere Distributed Switch version 5.x to a later version. The upgrade lets the distributed switch take advantage of features that are available only in the later version. Edit General and Advanced vSphere Distributed Switch Settings General settings for a vSphere Distributed Switch include the switch name and number of uplinks. Advanced settings for a distributed switch include Cisco Discovery Protocol and the maximum MTU for the switch. Managing Networking on Multiple Hosts on a vSphere Distributed SwitchYou create and manage virtual networks on a vSphere Distributed Switch by adding hosts to the switch and connecting their network adapters to the switch. To create uniform networking configuration throughout multiple hosts on the distributed switch, you can use a host as a template and apply its configuration to other hosts. Managing Networking on Host Proxy SwitchesYou can change the configuration of the proxy switch on every host that is associated with a vSphere distributed switch. You can manage physical NICs, VMkernel adapters, and virtual machine network adapters. Distributed Port GroupsA distributed port group specifies port configuration options for each member port on a vSphere distributed switch. Distributed port groups define how a connection is made to a network. Working with Distributed PortsA distributed port is a port on a vSphere distributed switch that connects to the VMkernel or to a virtual machine's network adapter. Configuring Virtual Machine Networking on a vSphere Distributed SwitchConnect virtual machines to a vSphere distributed switch either by configuring an individual virtual machine NIC or migrating groups of virtual machines from the vSphere distributed switch itself. Topology Diagrams of a vSphere Distributed Switch in the vSphere Web ClientThe topology diagrams of a vSphere Distributed Switch in the vSphere Web Client show the structure of virtual machine adapters, VMkernel adapters, and physical adapters in the switch.
