what are different ports are assigned to virtual machines connected to a distributed port group?

Ane of the core pillars of VMware vSphere infrastructure is the underlying virtual networking provided past the virtual switch or vSwitch. Without the vSwitch, communication would non exist possible betwixt the virtual stack's various layers, including the physical networking layer. Back in vSphere version iv.10, VMware released a new virtual switch type – the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS).

The vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) has many advantages over the vSphere Standard Switch (VSS). This complete guide roofing the vDS switch volition examine the bones concepts of the vDS, including creation, configuration, requirements, VMkernel ports, migration, and other topics.

Challenges of the vSphere Standard Switch (VSS)

Every bit VMware vSphere customer environments began to grow, it became readily credible that the vSphere Standard Switch (VSS) was not well-equipped to satisfy the networking needs of big environments at scale. To empathize what the vSphere Distributed Switch is, nosotros need first to understand a bit more than about the vSphere Standard Switch. The vSphere Standard Switch provides the default network connectivity to hosts and virtual machines. It can bridge traffic internally betwixt virtual machines running on the host and link them to external networks.

This functionality is like to a physical Ethernet switch. The virtual auto network adapters and physical NICs on the ESXi host use the switch'southward logical ports equally each adapter uses one port. Each logical port on the VSS is a fellow member of a unmarried port grouping. 1 of the key differentiators between the vSphere Standard Switch (VSS) and the vSphere Distributed Switch is where the direction resides. The VSS is a host-centric vSphere virtual switch. It is created by default when y'all first install VMware ESXi. When you assign a management IP address to the ESXi host, this is the first VMkernel port created on the default vSwitch0 of the ESXi host.

Virtual switches contain two elements for consideration: a management plane and a data aeroplane. The VSS includes both the management plane and the information plane. For this reason, you manage each VSS every bit a single, standalone entity from the perspective of the ESXi host.

The overview architecture of the vSphere Standard Switch (VSS)

Since the VSS contains both the management and data planes, any VLANS and associated port groups with those VLANs must be managed and maintained on each specific ESXi host. Fifty-fifty other ESXi hosts in the same vSphere cluster are unaware of the VSS switches and port groups configured on the other ESXi hosts. If you lot have 100 VSS port groups created on a specific ESXi host, you must create these aforementioned VSS port groups on all other ESXi hosts to access those particular port groups.

It is essential in a vSphere cluster to have the same VSS port groups and VLAN IDs configured with the same names and exact details. Any virtual machines vMotioned between ESXi hosts in a given cluster must have the same virtual networks on the destination ESXi host, or these will risk losing network connectivity.

The vSphere Standard Switch works well in small and even large vSphere environments. Nevertheless, the challenge with the VSS comes in the form of management at scale. Too, specific VMware solutions crave the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS), NSX-T being one if not using the N-VDS.

When you think nigh creating the same vSphere Standard Switches and port groups on a few hosts, this is not too difficult. However, what if y'all had hundreds or even thousands of hosts that needed the aforementioned vSwitch? What if yous needed to make a simple alter on the vSwitch and need this change reflected on all hosts? In these management scenarios, this is where the vSphere Standard Switch's direction woes start to show and where the vSphere Distributed Switch begins to smooth. Without further ado, let'due south introduce the vSphere Distributed Switch.

What is a vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)?

When it comes to the basics of how the vSphere Distributed (vDS) passes traffic, it is very like to the VSS. Nevertheless, in terms of management and features, it is a much more than powerful virtual networking construct. The vSphere Distributed Switch separates the management plane and the data aeroplane. All management of the vSphere Distributed Switch resides on the vCenter Server while the data aeroplane that passes traffic remains local to the ESXi host.

Overview of vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) compages

This separation of the management and data planes means that while all direction tasks are taken care of at the vCenter Server level, no vSphere Distributed Switch traffic traverses vCenter Server. In this mode, there are no network interruptions with your hosts using vSphere Distributed Switches if vCenter Server goes down. The information airplane component configured on the ESXi host is known as the host proxy switch.

To effectively separate the management and data planes of the vSphere Distributed Switch, VMware introduced 2 new abstractions in the architecture of the vDS. These are the uplink port grouping and the distributed port grouping. Permit's see how these come into play with the vSphere Distributed Switch.

vSphere Distributed Switch Uplink Port group

The vDS uplink port group, likewise known as the dvuplink port grouping, is first created when you create the vSphere Distributed Switch to which it is associated. As mentioned, information technology is an abstraction that allows the distributed nature of the vDS. The vSphere Distributed Switch uplink port group is a template of sorts that allows configuring the physical uplinks on the ESXi hosts and policies that define failover and load-balancing configuration. Each of the physical uplinks on an ESXi host maps to the uplink port group ID. You lot configure policies on the uplink port group. The host proxy switch located on the ESXi host receives the configuration divers in the failover and load-balancing policies.

vSphere Distributed Switch Port Group

The vSphere Distributed Switch port groups are essential constructs in the vDS. These provide network connectivity to VMs and also provide the conduit for VMkernel traffic. Yous label the vDS port groups with a network label similar y'all would label a VSS port group. These must be unique to each vSphere data middle. The vDS port groups are also crucial as these are where the policies are applied that bear upon teaming, failover, load balancing, VLAN configuration, traffic shaping, and security.

You apply the configuration for the vSphere Distributed Switch port group at the vCenter Server level. The settings then propagate downward to the ESXi host proxy switch. In this manner, virtual machines can share the aforementioned network configuration by connecting virtual machines to the same vSphere Distributed Switch port group.

Other Advantages of the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)

Bated from much more than robust direction of your virtual networking across your vSphere landscape, the vDS provides many other advantages and features compared to the vSphere Standard Switch. These include the following:

• Simplified virtual machine network configuration – With the vDS, you can significantly simplify VM networking configuration across your vSphere infrastructure. The vDS allows you lot to provide centralized control of your VM networking, including centralized control over the port group naming, VLAN configuration, security, and many other settings.
• Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) – Go along in mind that the simply supported way to run LACP in your vSphere surroundings with vSphere virtual networking is using the vSphere Distributed Switch.
• Network health-check capabilities – The vDS provides many network health check capabilities, including verifying vSphere to concrete network checks.
• Avant-garde network monitoring and troubleshooting – With the vDS, yous accept admission to RSPAN ERSPAN, IPFIX Netflow version ten, SNMPv3, rollback and recovery of the network configuration
• Templates for bankroll up and restoring virtual machine network configuration
• Netdump for network-based host debug
• Advanced networking features – These include Network I/O Control (NIOC), SR-IOV, and BPDU filter, amid others.
• Private VLANs (PVLAN) support – The vSphere Distributed Switch allows the use of Private VLANs, which provide even more security options for segmenting traffic
• Bi-directional traffic shaping – Yous tin can shape traffic policies on DV port grouping definitions (average bandwidth, peak bandwidth, and burst size)

Requirements of the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)

At that place are a few requirements to consider with the vSphere Distributed Switch. The commencement requirement is a statement of the obvious. The vSphere Distributed Switch is a vCenter Server construct, and so you must by necessity exist running vCenter Server. Y'all will non exist able to utilize the vSphere Distributed Switch if you lot are running standalone hosts not connected to vCenter Server.

Different the vSphere Standard Switch establish with all vSphere license types and even with free ESXi, the vSphere Distributed Switch is only available with the vSphere Enterprise Plus license. Still, many may not realize they get the vSphere Distributed Switch every bit part of a vSAN license. The vDS provides many advantages for functioning in a vSAN environment due to using Network I/O Control (NIOC).

vDS Features Missing in the VSS

We accept touched on this a chip. Yet, what vDS features are missing in the vSphere Standard Switch (VSS)? In that location are quite a few to note. These include:

• Centralized direction – As described, the vDS is managed from the vCenter Server and not from the ESXi host itself.
• Port mirroring – The ability to mirror network traffic from a virtual switch port to another virtual switch port. Port mirroring is often used with troubleshooting or even capturing traffic for security or forensics purposes.
• Network I/O Command – Network I/O Control is a very robust feature that helps mitigate network contention and prioritize traffic if the network becomes saturated.
• Advanced networking features – Supported features such equally Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), Private VLANs (PVLANs), NetFlow, and Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) are non found on the vSphere Standard Switch
• vNetwork Switch API – This provides an interface for third-party vendors to extend the built-in vSphere Distributed Switch functionality. Withal, VMware has since ended support of the third-party vSwitch programme. Popular third-party vSwitches such every bit the Cisco 1000V are no longer supported by vSphere 6.5 Update one.
• Ability to backup and restore vSwitches – The vDS configuration can be backed upward in the vSphere Customer and restored. In that location is no congenital-in functionality equivalent for the vSphere Standard Switch.
• Virtual Machine port blocking – There may be cases where you want to selectively block ports from sending or receiving data using a vSphere Distributed Switch port blocking policy.
• NSX-T support – The vSphere Distributed Switch is the but vSwitch that is supported for use with NSX-T. Creating a vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)
• vSphere with Tanzu support – New with vSphere seven Update1 and vSphere with Tanzu, customers can use the native vSphere networking with the vDS to back their Tanzu Kubernetes Grid clusters. New with vSphere with Tanzu, VMware has removed the requirement to have NSX-T in the surroundings. Now, you can brand use of a vSphere Distributed Switch for connectivity to your frontend, workload, and management interfaces.

Creating a vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)

Every bit opposed to creating the vSphere Standard Switch, the vSphere Distributed Switch is provisioned at the vCenter Server level. Information technology is institute in the Networking carte du jour of the vSphere Client. Let'due south walk through creating a new vSphere Distributed Switch in the vSphere Client. Once you click the networking carte, correct-click your data center proper noun. Click Distributed Switch > New Distributed Switch.

Creating a new vSphere Distributed Switch

Next, y'all will select the version of the vSphere Distributed Switch. The version selection is an important item. You are setting the functionality level and subsequent compatibility with the ESXi host version you tin add to the vSphere Distributed Switch. Go along in mind that you lot cannot change the version in one case created, and you lot will not be able to add a downward-level host to a newer vDS. Additionally, each new version of the vSphere Distributed Switch has new capabilities not plant in previous versions.

Beneath is a quick overview of the features added with each new version of the vDS.

New features and enhancements

• Distributed switch: seven.0.0
  • NSX Distributed Port Group
• Distributed switch: 6.6.0
  • MAC Learning
• Distributed switch: half-dozen.five.0
  • Port Mirroring Enhancements

The vSphere Customer UI does a good job of detailing sure things to annotation in the informational "bubble tips" when a specific version of the vDS is selected. You will annotation that if y'all choose version seven.0.0 – ESXi vii.0 and later, y'all will see the message "The multicast filtering mode on the switch will exist prepare to IGMP/MLD snooping if you continue with the selected version."

Selecting the version of the vSphere Distributed Switch

The configure settings screen allows configuring the number of uplinks to the vDS, Network I/O Control (enabled past default), and allows creating the starting time distributed port grouping and proper noun.

Configuring the settings of the vSphere Distributed Switch during cosmos

On the Ready to complete screen, review the summary of information presented. Click Finish to create the new vSphere Distributed Switch.

Finishing the creation of the new vSphere Distributed Switch

Creating a vSphere Distributed Switch Port Group

After you have created your vSphere Distributed Switch, yous will about probable want to add additional port groups to your vDS. It is an easy procedure using the vSphere Client on the Networking tab. Right-click on your vSphere Distributed Switch and select Distributed Port Group > New Distributed Port Group.

Creating a new Distributed Port Group

Select a name for the new Distributed Port Group. Here, we are creating a new port group for vMotion traffic.

Naming the new Distributed Port Group

On the configure settings screen, you can configure the port binding, port allocation, number of ports, network resource pool, VLAN type, and VLAN ID. If you select the Customize default policies configuration, you lot will be able to define custom policies during the initial creation of the port group for security, traffic shaping, teaming and failover, monitoring, and others. Keep in mind. If yous practice not select the check box, you can customize these settings later.

Configuring settings for the new Distributed Port Group

The new Distributed Port Group magician is ready to complete.

Finishing the creation of the new Distributed Port Group

Adding ESXi hosts to the Distributed Port Group

1 of the fundamental differences in the vSphere Distributed Switch vs. the vSphere Standard Switch is where the management airplane resides. Keep in mind, just creating a vSphere Distributed Switch does not automatically add them to your ESXi hosts. Add the ESXi hosts to the new vSphere Distributed Switch to add the information aeroplane to the ESXi host. Now that we have created a new vSphere Distributed Switch, we can add it to the ESXi hosts.

To add the vDS to your ESXi hosts, visit the networking tab, right-click your vDS that y'all want to add to your ESXi host, and select Add and Manage Hosts.

Adding an ESXi host to your vSphere Distributed Switch

Select Add hosts and click Next.

Calculation hosts on the Add and Manage Hosts screen

On the Select hosts screen, click the New hosts button and select Next.

Click the push to add your ESXi hosts

Next, select the hosts you desire to add to the new vSphere Distributed Switch. Yous can select multiple hosts as shown. Click OK once you lot have the hosts you want to configure selected.

Selecting the ESXi hosts to add to the new vSphere Distributed Switch

You volition see the hosts added to the sorcerer. Detect the (New) prefix listed for the hosts.

New hosts selected to add together to the vSphere Distributed Switch

The side by side stride in the wizard is to Manage physical adapters. In this pace, you assign the physical adapters to the Uplink port grouping. Select the first adapter you want to assign to the uplink port group. Beneath, the vmnic2 adapter will be assigned to the beginning uplink.

Assigning the offset adapter to the uplink port group

On the Select an uplink screen, select the uplink yous want to assign the adapter. Notice the Apply this uplink assignment to the rest of the hosts checkbox. This is a huge time saver every bit it will use your selections to all the other hosts you are calculation to the vSphere Distributed Switch.

Assigning the first adapter to the get-go uplink

Adjacent, we will assign the 2nd adapter to the 2d uplink. Below, this is vmnic3.

Cull the second adapter to assign in the uplink port group

Again, using the Select an Uplink dialog box, assign the adapter to the second uplink. Too, select the Apply this uplink assignment to the residuum of the hosts.

Assigning the second adapter to the second uplink

Now, you will see the adapters accept been assigned for all hosts chosen to add to the vSphere Distributed Switch.

Adapters accept been assigned uplinks for all hosts

If you want to migrate existing VMkernel adapters to the new vDS, y'all tin do this on the Manage VMkernel adapters screen.

Managing VMkernel adapters

You can also migrate VM networking if you have VMs that you would like to migrate to the new vDS.

Migrate VM networking

Finally, we are ready to complete adding the ESXi hosts to the new vSphere Distributed Switch. Click Finish.

Completing adding your ESXi hosts to the new vSphere Distributed Switch

Adding VMkernel adapters

The VMkernel adapters are special adapters responsible for communicating specialized vSphere traffic such as vMotion, vSAN, Fault Tolerance, etc. The VMkernel adapters are adapters that are assigned IP addresses. Now that we accept added the ESXi hosts to the new vSphere Distributed Switch, we can add a VMkernel adapter to the vSphere Distributed Switch Port Group.

If you lot noticed before, the port grouping added was DPG-vMotion. And so, we volition use this new vDS port grouping to behave vMotion traffic. To do that, we need to add a VMkernel network adapter for this purpose and designate it for vMotion. To add the VMkernel network adapter, right-click on your ESXi host, and select Add networking.

Add networking for adding a VMkernel network adapter

On the Add Networking Select connexion type, select VMkernel Network Adapter. As shown, the VMkernel TCP/IP stack handles traffic for ESXi services such as vSphere vMotion, iSCSI, NFS, FCoE, Fault Tolerance, vSAN, and host direction.

Adding a new VMkernel Network Adapter

Next, select a target device. On this screen, you choose which vSwitch you volition employ to add the VMkernel Network Adapter. We desire to cull the vSphere Distributed Switch port group created for vMotion. Select Browse.

Browse to select an existing network

Select the network to utilise for vMotion. Beneath, the DPG-vMotion port group is selected. Notice on this screen, you are selecting port groups, not the vDS itself. The wizard shows the vDS clan likewise.

Select the port group to utilise for the VMkernel Network Adapter

The Distributed Port Group is selected. Click Side by side.

The target device for the VMkernel Network Adapter is selected

At present, configure the port properties of the VMkernel Network Adapter. You lot configure the VMkernel port settings, including the Available services associated with the VMkernel Network Adapter.

Configuring the port properties for the VMkernel Network Adapter

You configure the VMkernel Network Adapter with an IP accost. On the IPv4 settings screen, choose how you want to provision the VMkernel Network Adapter's IP accost. A static IP is used below for the VMkernel network adapter.

Configuring the IP address settings for the VMkernel Network Adapter

Finally, we are fix to complete the configuration of the VMkernel Network Adapter configuration. Review the summary screen to ensure the configuration is correct and click Finish.

Finalizing the configuration of the VMkernel Network Adapter

Later adding the VMkernel Network Adapter, you can come across the new VMkernel adapter and accost nether the DPG-vMotion port group.

Verifying the VMkernel Network Adapter

Migrating to vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)

In most environments, the ESXi host's initial configuration consists of vSphere Standard Switches that carry all traffic, including management, vMotion, vSAN, iSCSI, etc. For environments configured initially with the default vSphere Standard Switch, how exercise you migrate to the vSphere Distributed Switch? The procedure is relatively straightforward. However, care and attention to particular demand considering when performing the VSS migration to the vDS.

While VMware has safeguards to forestall losing network connectivity, there is still the possibility of this happening with misconfigured settings or details such as VLAN IDs not existence carried over to vDS configurations serving as the target of the VSS migration.

Keep in listen that if performed correctly, the VSS to vDS migration does not require a maintenance catamenia, and at that place should not be whatsoever disruption of network traffic. However, some choose to establish a maintenance period for migrating product hosts from VSS to vDS to account for unforeseen issues.

When migrating from the vSphere Standard Switch, at that place are a few things to consider:

1. What VMkernel Network Adapters currently be on vSphere Standard Switches?
2. Which ESXi host network adapters are bankroll the VSS?
3. Will you apply the same physical ESXi adapters for the vDS migration or different?
4. If different physical adapters back the vDS, have the physical switch ports been tagged with appropriate VLANs backing the new adapters?
5. What virtual machines connect to vSphere Standard Switches?
6. If migrating to vDS, accept vDS port groups with respective VLAN tags been created?

In order of priority, you want to think near:

1. VMkernel network adapter connectivity – Y'all practice not want to lose connectivity to critically of import connectivity such as iSCSI, vSAN, or the Management VMkernel port for the ESXi host itself.
2. Virtual machine connectivity

Migration best practices

Consider the following when migrating from VSS to vDS:

1. While you can migrate multiple hosts when migrating between VSS and vDS using the magician, it is much safer to migrate a unmarried host. In this way, you lot can flush out any issues with the vDS configuration or physical network infrastructure.
2. Migrate production VMs off the first host to drift from VSS to vDS. In this mode, you lot volition ensure no issues with production workload connectivity.
3. Use a simple test VM as a workload to test basic network connectivity. Using a small-scale Linux appliance similar the TTYLinux distribution is a great tool to cheque VM connectivity.
4. Migrate a single physical network adapter to the vDS instead of all adapters at once.
5. Once you take a single physical network adapter migrated to the new vDS, migrate the VMkernel management interface.

Migrating from a vSphere Standard Switch (VSS) to vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)

In the walkthrough below on a specific ESXi host, the management VMkernel Network Adapter resides on a vSphere Standard Switch. Also, at that place is a single virtual machine continued to the VSS that needs migrating. To level-set, the ESXi host is added to the vSphere Distributed Switch.

To drift from the VSS to the vDS, correct-click on the destination vSphere Distributed Switch and click Add and Manage Hosts.

Add together and Manage Hosts to migrate from VSS to Vds

Next, cull Manage host networking.

Choosing to manage host networking

Click the Attached hosts button to choose which ESXi hosts to migrate.

Click the attached hosts push button to choose hosts

Select a single host or multiple hosts. To be safe, we are going to migrate the networking of a unmarried host.

Choosing a host to migrate from VSS to vDS

The single ESXi host is selected.

Selecting a single ESXi host for migration from VSS to Vds

Next, on the Manage physical adapters screen, we are going to drift the existing adapter bankroll the VSS to the vDS. Cick the adapter and choose Assign uplink.

Assigning an existing VSS adapter to the vDS

In the Select an Uplink dialog box, select the uplink you want to assign the adapter.

Assigning an adapter to an uplink for the Vds

The adapter is now assigned to the vDS uplink port group.

Physical adapter is assigned to the vDS port grouping

Equally mentioned before, the vSphere Client does a good chore of alert you when connectivity issues may ascend. The sorcerer tells us that since the VSS physical adapter is now moved to the vDS, the direction network adapter (all the same residing on the VSS) may lose connectivity. We need to migrate the management VMkernel adapter. Click Assign port group.

Migrating the VMkernel adapter that is conveying direction traffic

Select the vSphere Distributed Switch Port Group y'all desire to reassign the direction VMkernel adapter.

Select the destination vDS port group

You will notation the wizard now shows the vmk0 management VMkernel adapter as Reassigned.

Destination vDS port group chosen for the VMkernel management adapter

On the Migrate VM networking step, any virtual machines continued to the VSS will lose connectivity since the physical network adapters backing the VSS accept been reassigned. Click the Assign port group button to reassign the VM to a different port group on the vDS.

Reassigning a virtual automobile to a vDS port group

Select the destination vDS port group.

Select the vDS port group for the virtual machines

The destination vDS port group has been chosen and is set to drift.

The virtual auto destination port grouping has been assigned

Finally, the VSS to vDS migration is prepare to complete.

Completing the migration from VSS to vDS connectivity

Afterwards the migration completes, check to ensure you lot still accept connectivity to the ESXi host and the migrated virtual car.

Conclusion

The vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) is a powerful virtual networking construct that allows organizations to provision and manage virtual networking at scale in a VMware vSphere surround. The vDS provides many excellent capabilities not included in the VSS. Features such equally Network I/O Control are incredibly beneficial when used in conjunction with other VMware solutions such as vSAN.

The vSphere Distributed Switch does require additional licensing, either in the form of vSphere Enterprise Plus or a vSAN license. As shown, provisioning, managing, and migrating to the vSphere Distributed Switch is relatively straightforward and, when planned carefully, tin be carried out without any maintenance menstruum or connectivity disruption.

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Source: https://www.altaro.com/vmware/vsphere-distributed-switch-guide/

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