Standard vs distributed switches
There are two choices for virtual switches that can be used in your VMware environment: the standard switch and the virtual distributed switch (vDS). The vDS is used in most cases because of the additional features offered over the standard switch. The examples provided in this guide were configured with a vDS. The basic steps for creating the vDS are provided below.
Create and configure vDS
The examples provided in this guide utilized vDS. The following steps were used to create and configure the vDS:
- Open vCenter.
- Under the Network tab, right-click Host cluster, select Distributed Switch, and then select New Distributed Switch.
- Name the new Virtual Distributed Switch and click Next.
- Select ESXi version for Distributed Switch and click Next.
- Select numbers of uplinks and name the Distributed Port Group. Click Next.
- Verify all the information and click Finish..
For additional information on creating a vDS, see Table 1.
Add hosts to vDS
Below are the steps to add and manage hosts and VMs to a vDS.
- Right-click on Virtual Distributed Switch and select Add and Manage hosts.
- Select the option Add host and click Next.
- Click on New hosts select all compute hosts and click OK.
- Right-click on VM, select Edit Setting, and select vDS as a Network Port Group.