1
Configuring EVB
Overview
Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) allows virtual machines (VMs) on a physical server to obtain bridge relay
services through a common bridge port. It enables coordinated configuration and management of
bridge services for VMs.
EVB requires a license to run on your device. For information about obtaining a license, see
Fundamentals Configuration Guide.
Data center virtualization includes network virtualization, storage virtualization, and server virtualization.
Server virtualization uses specific virtualization software such as VMware to create VMs on a single
physical server. Each VM operates independently and has its own operating system, applications, and
virtual hardware environments as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Server virtualization
VMs on a physical server communicate with each other or with the outside network through a Virtual
Ethernet Bridge (VEB). VEBs are implemented through software or hardware such as NICs. Both
implementation methods have the following limitations:
• Lack of traffic monitoring capabilities such as packets statistics, traffic mirroring, and NetStream.
• Lack of network policy enforcement capabilities, such as QoS.
• Lack of management scalability, especially in unified deployment of the internal server network and
the external network.
