Manage virtual switches of a host

A virtual switch is a software-simulated switching network platform that provides connectivity between VMs, hosts, and external networks.

A virtual switch provides the following interfaces:

• VM interface—An interface that connects to the virtual NIC of a VM for the VM to communicate with other VMs or the external network.

• Local interface— An interface that connects to the protocol stack on the host.

• Uplink interface— An interface that connects to the physical NIC of the host.

If the local interface or a VM interface is assigned a VLAN ID, you must assign the peer interface on the connected physical switch to the VLAN to ensure correct communication.

Virtual switch management allows operators to add, edit, enable, and delete virtual switches, and set network ratios and advanced features for virtual switches, such as "Manage port mirroring", "Manage DHCP services", and "Configure NetFlow."

To select and arrange the columns to display, click Customize Interface.

 

Restrictions and guidelines

• You cannot delete a virtual switch when it is being used by VMs.

• Editing virtual switch settings might cause network failures. Please be cautious.

• Suspended virtual switches cannot provide services. To avoid service interruption, make sure a virtual switch is not being used before suspending the virtual switch.

Add a virtual switch

1. On the top navigation bar, click Hosts.

2. Select the target host, and then click the vSwitches tab.

3. Click Add.

4. Configure the virtual switch parameters as described in "Parameters."

5. Click Finish.

Edit a virtual switch

1. On the top navigation bar, click Hosts.

2. Select the target host, and then click the vSwitches tab.

3. Click the Edit icon  for a virtual switch.

4. Edit the virtual switch parameters as described in "Parameters"

5. Click Finish.

Start a virtual switch

1. On the top navigation bar, click Hosts.

2. Select the target host, and then click the vSwitches tab.

3. Click the Start icon  for a virtual switch.

4. In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Delete virtual switches

1. On the top navigation bar, click Hosts.

2. Select the target host, and then click the vSwitches tab.

3. Click the Delete icon  for a virtual switch.

4. In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Set the bandwidth ratio for a virtual switch

1. On the top navigation bar, click Hosts.

2. Select the target host, and then click the vSwitches tab.

3. Click the Bandwidth Ratio icon  for a virtual switch.

4. Set the bandwidth ratios and click OK.

Parameters

• Network Type: Select network types for the virtual switch.

• Management—Transmits control layer data between UIS Manager and the hosts.

• Service—Transmits VM service data.

• Storage—Transmits data between the hosts and storage servers. This type of virtual switches cannot be used by VMs.

• Backup—Transmits the backup data of VMs. A host can have only one virtual switch of this type, and the virtual switch cannot be used by VMs.

• Migration—Transmits the data for migrating VMs. A host can have only one virtual switch of this type, and the virtual switch cannot be used by VMs.

• Others—Transmits other kinds of data.

• Forwarding Mode: Forwarding mode of the virtual switch.

• VEB—Virtual Ethernet Bridge (VEB) mode. In this mode, the virtual switch forwards traffic based on software.

• VLAN ID: Enter a VLAN ID for the local interfaces of the virtual switch. The VLAN is used to isolate traffic of the host from VM traffic at Layer 2.

• DPDK: Configure whether to enable DPDK or not. Enabling DPDK can improve the network performance of the VM. DPDK is available only in free-trial and UIS enhanced editions.

• MTU: Set the maximum packet length allowed by the virtual switch, in bytes. You cannot modify the MTU of vswitch0.

• Multicast: Enable multicast forwarding for the virtual switch. You cannot enable multicast forwarding for vswitch0.

• Physical Interfaces: Select host physical NICs for the virtual switch. A physical interface can be used only by one virtual switch. This parameter is unavailable if all physical interfaces on the hosts have been used. If the virtual switch is not assigned a physical interface, VMs attached to the virtual switch can communicate only with each other but cannot communicate with external networks. If you specify multiple physical interfaces for the virtual switch, you must configure the link aggregation mode and LB mode.

• IP Address: Enter an IP address for the virtual switch.

• Subnet Mask: Enter the subnet mask of the IP address.

• Gateway: Enter a gateway address for the virtual switch. A host can have only one gateway.

• Link Aggregation Mode: Set the link aggregation mode of the physical NIC. Options include Static and Dynamic. As a best practice, use dynamic link aggregation mode. If dynamic link aggregation mode is used, you must enable LACP on the physical switch.

• LB Mode: Set the load balancing mode of the physical NIC. This mode is configurable only when two or more physical interfaces exist.

• Advanced—Balances load based on the Ethernet type, IP protocol, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, and destination port number. As a best practice, use advanced load balancing mode in an environment that requires precise load balancing.

• Basic—Balances load based on the source MAC address and VLAN tag.

• Primary/Backup—Balances load based on the primary and backup roles of physical NICs. If the primary NIC fails, traffic is automatically switched to the backup NIC.

• Fallback: Select whether to switch services from the backup NIC back to the primary NIC after the primary NIC recovers from a fault. This parameter is required when the load balancing mode is Primary/Backup.

• Rate-Based—The system automatically selects the primary NIC based on the rates of the NICs. The NIC with the highest rate becomes the primary NIC. When multiple NICs have the same rate, the system randomly selects a NIC as the primary NIC.

• Manual—You specify the primary NIC by arranging the LB priorities of the NICs. The NIC with the highest priority is the primary NIC. You must configure the LB priorities for the NICs in this mode.

• LB Priority: Arrange the NICs to define their LB priorities. The NIC on the top has the highest priority and is the primary NIC.

• Bandwidth Ratio: Set the bandwidth ratios of different networks when they use the same physical interface. For example, the bandwidth of an interface is 10000 Mbps, and both the storage front-end network and the storage back-end network use the interface. If the bandwidth ratio of the storage back-end network is 60%, the maximum bandwidth of the network is 6000 Mbps.