vSwitch

A vSwitch, short for Virtual Switch, is a software-based network switch operating within a virtualised IT infrastructure. It connects virtual machines to each other and, depending on the configuration, enables communication with physical networks through the host system's network interfaces. Similar to a physical switch, a vSwitch typically operates at Layer 2 and forwards Ethernet frames based on MAC addresses. Depending on the virtualisation platform, it can support capabilities such as VLANs, port groups, traffic shaping, security policies and network monitoring. Virtual switches are a fundamental component of server virtualisation and Software-Defined Networking and are commonly used in data centres and cloud infrastructures. They enable flexible configuration of virtual network connections without requiring additional physical network hardware for every connection.