Differences between vSwitches and dvSwitches
There are not huge differences between a vNetwork Standard Switch (vSwitch, vSS) and a vNetwork Distributed Switch (dvSwitch, vDS). The big thing is the co
From the archive. Originally published on dailyhypervisor.com on May 30, 2009.
There are not huge differences between a vNetwork Standard Switch (vSwitch, vSS) and a vNetwork Distributed Switch (dvSwitch, vDS). The big thing is the concept of dvSwitches being centralized in vCenter and using the concept of compliance to assign a dvSwitch to a host.
Both types of switches provide the following:
can forward L2 framescan segment traffic into VLANscan use and understand 802.1q VLAN encapsulationcan have more than one uplink (NIC Teaming)can have traffic shaping for the outbound (TX) traffic
Other "features" of dvSwitches are the following:
can shape inbound (RX) traffichas a central unified management interface through vCentersupports Private VLANs (PVLANs)provides potential customisation of Data and Control Planes
- supports using the Nexxus 1000v
For more information on the concepts of dvSwitches and the differences between vSwitches and dvSwitches, check out this VMware KB Article.