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A vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) is created and managed centrally by vCenter Server, while each ESXi host runs a local proxy switch that performs network I/O. Creating the switch is only the first step: you must also create distributed port groups, add hosts, map physical NICs to uplinks, migrate VMkernel and VM networking safely, and verify the physical switch configuration.
This procedure applies across current vSphere Client releases, although menu labels and available features vary by version, license, and subscription. Confirm the exact networking guide and entitlement for your release before production changes.
Understand the VDS components
- Distributed switch: The centrally managed object in vCenter.
- Host proxy switch: The per-ESXi implementation that forwards traffic.
- Distributed port group (DPG): A reusable policy and connectivity object for VMs and VMkernel adapters.
- Uplink port group: Automatically created when the VDS is created; it represents the switch’s logical uplink slots.
- dvUplink: A logical uplink position on the VDS.
- vmnic: An ESXi physical network adapter connected to a physical switch.
- VMkernel adapter (vmk): A host interface for management, vMotion, vSAN, provisioning, fault tolerance, and other services.
Centralized policy is the main advantage: one port-group configuration can be applied consistently to many hosts. Depending on release and licensing, VDS also provides Network I/O Control, health checks, LLDP or CDP, IPFIX, port mirroring, rollback, traffic policies, and LACP. See the vCenter distributed-switch API reference for the object model and capabilities.
Before you begin
Confirm vCenter, hosts, permissions, and entitlement
- Verify that vCenter Server is healthy and every target ESXi host is connected to the intended inventory.
- Use an account permitted to create distributed switches and port groups, add hosts, and reconfigure host networking.
- Select a VDS version supported by every intended host.
- Check that the required VDS features are included in your current subscription or edition. Broadcom’s licensing guidance is available in its solution license documentation; do not assume one feature matrix applies to every release.
- Keep console or out-of-band access available before moving management networking.
Prepare the physical network
- Record each host’s vmnic-to-switch-port connection and redundant physical paths.
- Configure ordinary uplink ports as independent trunks unless your design explicitly requires a LAG. Do not create an EtherChannel merely because two vmnics are assigned to active VDS uplinks.
- Permit only the required VLANs and document native or untagged VLAN behavior.
- Confirm end-to-end MTU support, including intermediate switches, routers, storage, and overlay devices.
- Document whether switches are stacked, MLAG-capable, or independent, and which traffic classes need separation or priority.
Create a network plan
| Traffic | VLAN | Subnet | Port group | VMkernel? | Uplink policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management | Document | Document | DPG-MGMT | Yes | Redundant |
| vMotion | Document | Document | DPG-vMotion | Yes | Redundant or isolated |
| vSAN | Document | Document | DPG-vSAN | Yes | Redundant; validate MTU |
| Production VMs | Document | Document | DPG-VM-Production | No | Redundant |
| Backup or replication | Document | Document | DPG-Backup | Optional | Defined by design |
Create the distributed switch
- Sign in to the vSphere Client and select Menu > Networking.
- Select the target datacenter, then right-click it or open its actions menu.
- Choose Distributed Switch > New Distributed Switch. Labels can differ slightly by release.
- Enter a descriptive name such as
DVS-DC1-Prod. - Select the highest VDS version supported by all target hosts and required integrations.
- Set the number of uplinks per host. Two is common for basic redundancy; add more only for a documented bandwidth, fabric, or traffic-separation requirement.
- Enable Network I/O Control only when you have a policy for shares, reservations, and limits.
- Review the settings and select Finish.
vCenter automatically creates the VDS uplink port group, but it does not add hosts, attach vmnics, or connect workloads. Those are separate operations.
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Configure VDS-wide settings
MTU
Change the VDS MTU only after every device on the relevant path supports the same frame size. A larger MTU is not automatically faster; a mismatch can cause partial failures in vMotion, vSAN, storage, or overlays.
Discovery and health checks
Configure LLDP or CDP to identify the physical switch and port reached by each vmnic. Enable VDS health checks where available to detect VLAN, MTU, and teaming inconsistencies. A green health indicator does not replace gateway and application tests.
Network I/O Control and monitoring
Network I/O Control allocates or prioritizes bandwidth among traffic classes; it cannot create physical capacity. Document policies before enabling it. Configure IPFIX, port mirroring, or traffic shaping only for a defined monitoring or workload need.
Backup and rollback
Export or back up the VDS and port-group configuration before major changes. Rollback can reverse certain distributed-switch and port-group changes, but it cannot guarantee recovery from every outage; retain console access and a reversible physical-switch plan. The API documents distributed-switch backup, restore, and rollback operations.
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Create distributed port groups
- Select the VDS, open Actions, and choose Distributed Port Group > New Distributed Port Group.
- Name the group according to its function, for example
DPG-MGMT,DPG-vMotion,DPG-vSAN,DPG-VM-Production, orDPG-VM-DMZ. - Select port binding. Static or early binding is the normal choice; ephemeral binding creates ports on demand and is mainly useful for recovery or special cases.
- Choose the VLAN type: none, a single VLAN ID, a deliberately limited trunk range, or private VLAN where supported.
- Configure teaming and failover, security, traffic shaping, and any other required policies.
- Finish and review the resulting settings.
Do not trunk every VLAN to every port group. Allow the narrowest VLAN set that satisfies the workload.
Security policy
For ordinary VMs, leave promiscuous mode, MAC address changes, and forged transmits disabled. Enable an exception only for a documented network appliance, nested-virtualization, or packet-monitoring requirement, and scope it to a dedicated port group.
Traffic shaping
Where supported, shaping can limit ingress, egress, or both using average bandwidth, peak bandwidth, and burst size. It complements rather than replaces physical-network QoS.
Add ESXi hosts and physical uplinks
- Select the VDS and choose Actions > Add and Manage Hosts.
- Select Add hosts, choose the target ESXi hosts, and continue.
- Select each physical adapter and map it to the intended dvUplink.
- Review any proposed VMkernel or VM migration, then complete the wizard.
- Confirm that every host is a member and shows the expected uplinks.
Use a consistent vmnic-to-uplink convention and document exceptions. Different NIC counts or physical-switch topologies can require host-specific mappings.
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Migrate VMkernel networking safely
Management, vMotion, and vSAN migrations have different outage risks. Migrate one adapter and one host at a time unless your change plan has been specifically tested.
- Create or select the matching distributed port group.
- Verify its VLAN, MTU, teaming, and physical trunk allowance.
- Ensure a second working management path exists before moving the management vmk.
- Use Add and Manage Hosts or the host networking workflow to migrate the adapter.
- Preserve the correct VMkernel service checkboxes and IP configuration.
- Test the service before migrating the next adapter.
- Management: Confirm vCenter reachability immediately.
- vMotion: Test peer-host reachability and consistent MTU.
- vSAN: Verify all hosts communicate on the vSAN network before and after migration.
- Backup, provisioning, or fault tolerance: Validate the consuming service against release-specific requirements.
Migrate virtual machines
- Confirm the destination port group, VLAN, uplinks, and security policy.
- Move one non-critical test VM.
- Check its guest IP connectivity, DNS, gateway, application reachability, and monitoring.
- Migrate workloads in small groups while retaining the known-good rollback path.
Choose uplink teaming or LACP
Ordinary independent uplinks
For standard redundancy, use multiple independent physical trunks and configure active, standby, and unused uplinks deliberately. Two active links do not mean that one flow can use both simultaneously. Select a load-balancing policy supported by your vSphere release and physical design.
LACP
LACP is available on a VDS, not an ordinary standard vSwitch. Use it only when the physical topology and workload justify link aggregation. Broadcom documents active and passive modes, multiple LAGs, and up to 24 LAG ports associated with a LAG; the physical environment may impose lower practical limits. Documented limitations include software iSCSI port binding, nested ESXi, host profiles, and SR-IOV scenarios. See Broadcom’s LACP overview.
For a LACP migration, Broadcom’s guidance is:
- Create and configure the LAG on the VDS first.
- Connect the physical adapters to the LAG.
- Configure the port-group teaming and failover policy for LACP.
- Activate and migrate the LAG to the required hosts.
- Move physical switch ports into the matching LACP configuration incrementally.
Do not place all physical NICs into an EtherChannel before the VDS-side LAG is ready; Broadcom warns that this ordering can cause connectivity loss. The current LAG procedure takes precedence if it conflicts with older material.
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Verify the finished configuration
- Every intended host is a VDS member.
- Expected vmnics are attached to the correct dvUplinks and physical switch ports show stable links.
- Distributed port groups have the intended VLAN type, ID, MTU, teaming, and security policies.
- VDS health checks report no VLAN, MTU, or teaming mismatch.
- The management vmk remains reachable from vCenter and the administrator’s network.
- vMotion, vSAN, backup, or other VMkernel services pass their service-specific tests.
- A test VM reaches its gateway and required applications.
- Physical switch trunks permit exactly the required VLANs.
Optional ESXi checks
Run these on an ESXi host when supported by your release:
esxcli network nic list
esxcli network ip interface list
esxcli network vswitch dvs vmware list
vmkping <destination-ip>
vmkping -I vmkX <destination-ip>
vmkping -d -s <payload-size> -I vmkX <destination-ip>esxcli network nic list checks physical NIC state and speed; the other commands inspect VMkernel and VDS state or test reachability. The -d option disables fragmentation and -s sets payload size. Choose a payload based on the configured MTU and encapsulation overhead rather than copying a universal jumbo-frame value.
Troubleshoot common failures
VLAN mismatch
If a VM cannot reach its gateway, or management works on only some hosts, compare the DPG VLAN ID, physical trunk allowance, native VLAN behavior, host cabling, and access-versus-trunk mode.
MTU mismatch
If small packets work but large packets fail, compare every device on the path. A vmkping test may pass normally but fail with -d; restore a common MTU or correct the complete path.
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Incorrect LACP configuration
Unstable uplinks or total loss after a switch change usually indicate a mismatch between the VDS LAG and physical port-channel, or that the physical channel was enabled first. Follow the VDS-first sequence and revert the physical change if necessary.
Host disconnected after management migration
Use the console or out-of-band path, restore the previous port group or VLAN, and verify the destination path before retrying. Never migrate the only management uplink and vmk in an unverified step.
Security or appliance failure
Check the VM’s connection state, guest VLAN tagging, port-group security settings, and whether a narrowly scoped exception is required. Avoid enabling promiscuous mode or forged transmits across a broad production group.
Back up and document the result
- Export the VDS and distributed port-group configuration.
- Record the VDS version, MTU, uplink count, discovery protocol, NIOC policy, and health-check status.
- Maintain a host-by-host vmnic, dvUplink, physical switch-port, and VLAN map.
- Record VMkernel services, IP networks, test results, and the rollback sequence in the change ticket.
- Recheck the release-specific vSphere Networking guide after upgrades because UI labels, limits, and licensing can change.
A VDS is successful only when vCenter policy, ESXi proxy switches, distributed port groups, VMkernel adapters, physical uplinks, VLAN trunks, and MTU all agree. Treat creation as the low-risk part and migration as a controlled change with tested connectivity and recovery access.
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