VM Ware Network Concepts Overview

VM Ware Network  Overview:

A few concepts are essential for a thorough understanding of virtual networking. If you are new to ESXi, it is helpful to review these concepts.

Physical Network

A network of physical machines that are connected so that they can send data to and receive data from each other. VMware ESXi runs on a physical machine.

Virtual Network

A network of virtual machines running on a physical machine that are connected logically to each other so that they can send data to and receive data from each other. Virtual machines can be connected to the virtual networks that you create when you add a network.

Opaque Network

An opaque network is a network created and managed by a separate entity outside of vSphere. For example, logical networks that are created and managed by VMware NSX® appear in vCenter Server as opaque networks of the type nsx.LogicalSwitch. You can choose an opaque network as the backing for a VM network adapter. To manage an opaque network, use the management tools associated with the opaque network, such as VMware NSX® Manager™ or the VMware NSX® API™ management tools.

Physical Ethernet Switch

It manages network traffic between machines on the physical network. A switch has multiple ports, each of which can be connected to a single machine or another switch on the network. Each port can be configured to behave in certain ways depending on the needs of the machine connected to it. The switch learns which hosts are connected to which of its ports and uses that information to forward traffic to the correct physical machines. Switches are the core of a physical network. Multiple switches can be connected together to form larger networks.

vSphere Standard Switch

It works much like a physical Ethernet switch. It detects which virtual machines are logically connected to each of its virtual ports and uses that information to forward traffic to the correct virtual machines. A vSphere standard switch can be connected to physical switches by using physical Ethernet adapters, also referred to as uplink adapters, to join virtual networks with physical networks. This type of connection is similar to connecting physical switches together to create a larger network. Even though a vSphere standard switch works much like a physical switch, it does not have some of the advanced functionality of a physical switch.

Standard Port Group

It specifies port configuration options such as bandwidth limitations and VLAN tagging policies for each member port. Network services connect to standard switches through port groups. Port groups define how a connection is made through the switch to the network. Typically, a single standard switch is associated with one or more port groups.