A virtual switch helps admins connect virtual machines and direct traffic throughout a virtual network. But the VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) provides more: more features and support for highly scalable environments. With the right configuration, VDS can help you manage the virtual resources of your entire network. In this course, author Brandon Neill shows how to configure and manage the VDS. He reviews the switch architecture, basic switch configuration, and techniques for managing VLANs and traffic on the network. Plus, learn how to monitor the health of your VDS implementation and configure backup and recovery options should the vSwitch go down.