Virtual Switches In Cloud Computing

  Virtual Switches in Cloud Computing Virtual switches (vSwitches) are a core component in cloud networking. They operate at the software layer, enabling network connectivity between virtual machines (VMs), containers, and other virtualized entities inside a cloud environment. A virtual switch behaves much like a physical Ethernet switch—but entirely in software—allowing for packet forwarding, isolation, segmentation, and network policy enforcement. What Is a Virtual Switch? A virtual switch is a software-based network switch that interconnects virtual network interfaces (vNICs) within a hypervisor or cloud host. When VMs or containers need to communicate with each other or with external networks, their traffic is forwarded through these virtual switches. Key characteristics: Operates within a hypervisor or host (e.g. KVM, VMware ESXi, Hyper-V, Xen) Switches traffic at Layer 2 (Ethernet) or sometimes Layer 3 (with additional logic) Can enforce isolation, security pol...