Chapter 1 5 Configuring Vm-Fex; Information About Vm-Fex; Vm-Fex Overview; Vm-Fex Components - Cisco Nexus 6000 Series Configuration Manual

Configuring VM-FEX
This chapter contains the following sections:
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Information About VM-FEX

VM-FEX Overview

Based on the (prestandard) IEEE 802.1Qbh port extender technology, Cisco Virtual Machine Fabric Extender
(VM-FEX) extends the fabric from the switch chassis to the Virtual Machine (VM). Each VM is associated
with a network adapter vNIC, which is associated with a virtual Ethernet (vEthernet or vEth) port on the parent
switch. This dedicated virtual interface can be managed, monitored, and spanned in the same way as a physical
interface. Local switching in the hypervisor is eliminated, with all switching being performed by the physical
switch.

VM-FEX Components

Server
VM-FEX is supported by Cisco UCS C-Series rack-mount servers with the VMware virtualization environment
as the hypervisor.
The configuration of the server is performed using the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC)
interface, which provides both a GUI and a CLI interface. The configuration of the hypervisor and virtualization
services is performed using the VMware vSphere client.
For information about CIMC and VM-FEX configuration, see the following documents:
Information About VM-FEX, page 185
Licensing Requirements for VM-FEX, page 187
Default Settings for VM-FEX, page 187
Configuring VM-FEX, page 188
Verifying the VM-FEX Configuration, page 196
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