Solved: VMware virtual switch - does it run Spanning-Tree?

Kevin Dorrell · ‎01-29-2008

Can anyone tell me if the virtual switch in VMware generates BPDUs towards its external (real) ports? I don't think it can do, but I would like some confirmation.

I am trying to decide whether to enable bpduguard on switchports that connect to a VMware host. The links are dot1q trunks; the VMware virtual switch adds the 802.1Q tag according to the virtual machine it is hosting.

If the virtual switch does not generate BPDUs towards the external ports, then I am inclined to enable bpduguard, just to protect against any cabling accidents.

Kevin Dorrell

Luxembourg

Collin Clark · ‎01-29-2008

Spanning Tree Protocol Not Needed

VMware Infrastructure enforces a single-tier networking topology. In other words, there is no way to interconnect multiple virtual switches, thus the network cannot be configured

to introduce loops. As a result, Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is not needed and is not present.

From http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/virtual_networking_concepts.pdf

HTH

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Collin Clark · ‎01-29-2008