Do VM's on same host and vSwitch talk internally?

[cwhicks]

Do VM's on the same host, using the same vSwitch automatically talk to each other internally on the host when they need to pass data without using the NIC's or is there something specific that needs to be configured to get them to do that?

Thanks

[vmroyale]

Hello.

As long as they are on the same vSwitch they do, and there is nothing additional that needs to be configured to make this happen.

Good Luck!

[Dave_Mishchenko · Accepted solution]

With VMs on the same vSwitch their network traffic will proceed out through the virtual NICs so the network interaction won't be any different from the VM communicating to a physical host. The network traffic between the VMs (assuming they're on the same VLAN) will stay in the vSwitch and not go through the physical network layer on the host. Thus inter-VM traffic can exceed the speed of the NIC port used in the vSwitch.

vSphere includes the VM Communication Interface (VMCI) which enables a host to communicate with VMs bypassing the network layer. You can also enable VMCI for VM to VM communication.

http://pubs.vmware.com/vmci-sdk/

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010806

Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.