

The second option, route based on IP hash, is used in conjunction with a link aggregation group (LAG), also called an EtherChannel or port channel. The chosen uplink will typically not change unless there is an uplink failure, the VM changes power state, or the VM is migrated around via vMotion. When the vSwitch receives traffic from either of these objects, it assigns the virtual port an uplink and uses it for traffic. Every VM and VMkernel port on a vSwitch is connected to a virtual port.

The first option, route based on the originating virtual port, is the default selection for a new vSwitch. Traffic arrives on whatever uplink the upstream switch decided to put it on, and the vSwitch is only responsible for making sure it reaches its destination. Keep in mind that we’re not concerned with the inbound traffic because that’s not within our control.

The uplink must also meet the failover detection standard. The virtual switch always uses the uplink that ranks the first based on the failover order in the active adapter list. Use explicit failover order: No actual load balancing policy is used.Route based on IP hash: The virtual switch selects an uplink of the VM based on the source and destination IP addresses of each data packet.The virtual switch uses the VM MAC address and the number of uplinks in the NIC group to calculate the number of VM uplinks. Route based on source MAC hash: The virtual switch selects an uplink of the VM based on the VM MAC address.Route based on originating virtual port ID: The virtual switch selects an uplink based on the ID of the VM port on the vSphere standard switch.Options of Load Balancing are as follows: Route based on originating virtual port ID, Route based on source MAC hash, Route based on IP hash, and Use explicit failover order.
