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Stay connected with tips and trends in vSphere networking
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How to improve virtual security using the border router
Filtering potentially dangerous traffic from entering and sensitive data from leaving the data center can give the added benefit of better overall system performance. Read Now
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Isolate VMkernel to protect network performance
These troubleshooting steps can determine whether a faulty configuration is causing congestion. Read Now
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Performance charts help uncover timeout problems
Performance counters in the vSphere client can show when packet loss is happening to help pinpoint timeout issues. Read Now
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Source of dropped packets requires detective work
Using a Linux or a Windows guest operating system in the VM means different approaches to fix high packet loss. Read Now
Editor's note
The data center of today has more strain put on its network as virtual desktop infrastructures, mobile devices and cloud services grow in popularity.
As more devices and users get connected and even more servers are virtualized, the vSphere network needs administrators with the troubleshooting know-how to remove roadblocks quickly when network traffic slows to a crawl.
VMware's vSphere Standard Switch and vSphere Distributed Switch are two ways to route traffic; administrators who have expertise with these switches can tweak their systems for better performance and more security around virtual machines. For multi-tenant cloud providers or large enterprises that require even greater flexibility and protection, VMware came out with its NSX network virtualization offering that infuses functionality, such as a distributed firewall, into the hypervisor.
This guide shares troubleshooting tips and informative articles that cover the latest in networking in a vSphere infrastructure.
1Working with the vSphere Standard Switch
Despite the word "standard" in its name, the vSphere Standard Switch features plenty of functionality to route traffic in the data center and keep data moving in the right direction.
2Stepping up to the vSphere Distributed Switch
The vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) comes with the vSphere Enterprise Plus license. The enhanced functionality of vDS offers more visibility to the network along with centralized administration to simplify operations.
3Network virtualization with NSX
VMware introduced its NSX network virtualization offering in 2013 and promoted the product as a way to bring added flexibility and security to an area that had largely remained constant for several decades. By abstracting certain network functions from hardware, NSX is a key component to VMware's vision for the software-defined data center.
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NSX versus Hyper-V network virtualization
Each product virtualizes Layer 3 hardware but gets plugged into the network in a different fashion. Read Now
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NSX Edge gateway service handles several functions
The security and gateway services in the NSX Edge virtual machine means a company can always scale up these functions by adding more virtual machines. Read Now
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Five VMware NSX 6.1 enhancements
The 6.1 update to NSX added key security, high availability and management features geared toward cloud providers. Read Now
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Network virtualization certification track is unique
VMware released its certification track for NSX at VMworld 2014 for administrators who want to prove their expertise in this technology. Read Now