dvSwitch over vSwitch

[santosh42]

Hello folks,

Please can some one tell me what is the advantage of dvSwitch over vSwitch.?

What are the basic differences between the dvSwitch & vSwitch.?

Is dvSwitch available only on vsphere env (ESXi 4.0 & ESX 4.0) ?

Is it necessary to install the Cisco Nexus software for the dvSwitch to function ?

[fletch00]

One of the reasons we are migrating to Distrubuted Virtual Switches is to integrate the the kernel level VMSafe security API and tools.

this will allow for efficient network analysis

The Cisco 1000V is not required for this - if we were a Cisco shop this would be more compelling as the virtual switch and physical switches offer some integration

VCP

[rofish]

Hi,

Yes it is only available on vSphere (ESX and ESXi). And no, you don't need a Cisco Nexus 1000V to run dvSwitches. VMware provides the feature, but only in Enterprise Plus version. The other vSphere versions don't have this option. Cisco adds value in a environment with Cisco physical switches because you can administer and control it like a physical switch. Cisco is the first 3rd party that makes a plugable virtual switch availabe. You pay additional license cost for the Cisco 1000V.

Benefits:

1. Setup and configuration is faster, more consistent and less error prone than configuring each and every vSwitch separately. Adding networking for additional ESX hosts to your environment is just some clicks.

2. Easier administration, you can administer dvSwitches as a single entity.

3. Since VMware provides the APIs, 3rd party network vendors can provide additional features to monitor and manage virtual networks (like Cisco did with the 1000V).

4. Network VMotion, distributed ports (policies, statistics, state) can migrate with the VM to another host.

Hope that helps.

Regards, Ronald