What is | Virtual Standard Switch (VSS) vs Virtual Distributed Switch (VDS)

Описание: VMWare ESXI Virtual Switches Detail Concepts from Scratch #beginners #learning #fundamental #concepts #vs


Types of Switches in VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi provides two types of virtual switches for network management:

1. Standard Switch (vSS - Virtual Standard Switch)
A Virtual Standard Switch (vSS) is a basic networking component in ESXi that allows virtual machines (VMs) and the ESXi host itself to connect to physical and virtual networks.

Key Features:
Host-Specific: Each ESXi host has its own standard switch, which must be configured separately.

Manual Configuration: No central management; each switch must be manually configured on each host.

Simple and Cost-Effective: Suitable for smaller environments where centralized network management isn’t needed.

Supports VLANs: Can tag and manage VLAN traffic using VLAN IDs.

2. Distributed Switch (vDS - Virtual Distributed Switch)
A Virtual Distributed Switch (vDS) is a more advanced networking component that allows centralized management of networking settings across multiple ESXi hosts.

Key Features:
Centralized Management: Managed from vCenter Server, simplifying network administration.

Configuration Consistency: All connected ESXi hosts share the same switch configuration.

Advanced Features: Supports NetFlow, Network I/O Control (NIOC), Port Mirroring, and Load-Based Teaming (LBT).

Enhanced Performance: Provides better scalability and performance monitoring.

Ideal for Large Environments: Recommended for enterprise data centers with multiple ESXi hosts.

Comparison: vSS vs vDS

Feature Standard Switch (vSS) Distributed Switch (vDS)
Scope Per ESXi host Across multiple ESXi hosts
Management Local per host Centralized via vCenter
Configuration Manual for each host Single configuration applies to all hosts
VLAN Support Yes Yes
Advanced Basic features Advanced features like NetFlow, NIOC, LBT
Use Case Small deployments Large enterprise environments

VMware Blogs - Networking & Security
🔗 https://blogs.vmware.com/networking/

Official VMware blog covering vSS, vDS, NSX, and other networking technologies.

Yellow Bricks (Duncan Epping)
🔗 https://www.yellow-bricks.com/

A top resource for VMware architecture, networking, and storage, maintained by VMware CTO Duncan Epping.

VMware Technology Network (VMTN)
🔗 https://communities.vmware.com/

A great forum and blog site where experts discuss VMware networking, including vSS, vDS, NSX, and storage protocols like iSCSI and NVMe.

VirtuallyGhetto (William Lam)
🔗 https://www.virtuallyghetto.com/

Covers automation, scripting, and VMware networking, including switch configurations and best practices.

StorageReview
🔗 https://www.storagereview.com/

Provides deep dives into storage technologies, including iSCSI, FC, NVMe, and how they integrate with VMware environments.

Would you like guidance on implementing vDS in a VMware environment or best practices for storage networking? 🚀