Global Search US About Us Store Log In Apps & Cloud Networking Workspace Security By Industry Resources Network Virtualization Contact Sales Return to Glossary What is network virtualization? Network Virtualization (NV) refers to abstracting network resources that were traditionally delivered in hardware to software. NV can combine multiple physical networks to one virtual, software-based network, or it can divide one physical network into separate, independent virtual networks. Network virtualization software allows network administrators to move virtual machines across different domains without reconfiguring the network. The software creates a network overlay that can run separate virtual network layers on top of the same physical network fabric. Download Now Why network virtualization? Network virtualization is rewriting the rules for the way services are delivered, from the software-defined data center (SDDC), to the cloud, to the edge. This approach moves networks from static, inflexible, and inefficient to dynamic, agile, and optimized. Modern networks must keep up with the demands for cloud-hosted, distributed apps, and the increasing threats of cybercriminals while delivering the speed and agility you need for faster time to market for your applications. With network virtualization, you can forget about spending days or weeks provisioning the infrastructure to support a new application. Apps can be deployed or updated in minutes for rapid time to value. How does network virtualization work? Network virtualization decouples network services from the underlying hardware and allows virtual provisioning of an entire network. It makes it possible to programmatically create, provision, and manage networks all in software, while continuing to leverage the underlying physical network as the packet-forwarding backplane. Physical network resources, such as switching, routing, firewalling, load balancing, virtual private networks (VPNs), and more, are pooled, delivered in software, and require only Internet Protocol (IP) packet forwarding from the underlying physical network. Network and security services in software are distributed to a virtual layer (hypervisors, in the data center) and “attached” to individual workloads, such as your virtual machines (VMs) or containers, in accordance with networking and security policies defined for each connected application. When a workload is moved to another host, network services and security policies move with it. And when new workloads are created to scale an application, necessary policies are dynamically applied to these new workloads, providing greater policy consistency and network agility. Benefits of network virtualization Network virtualization helps organizations achieve major advances in speed, agility, and security by automating and simplifying many of the processes that go into running a data center network and managing networking and security in the cloud. Here are some of the key benefits of network virtualization: Reduce network provisioning time from weeks to minutes Achieve greater operational efficiency by automating manual processes Place and move workloads independently of physical topology Improve network security within the data center Network Virtualization Example One example of network virtualization is virtual LAN (VLAN). A VLAN is a subsection of a local area network (LAN) created with software that combines network devices into one group, regardless of physical location. VLANs can improve the speed and performance of busy networks and simplify changes or additions to the network. Another example is network overlays. There are various overlay technologies. One industry-standard technology is called virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN). VXLAN provides a framework for overlaying virtualized layer 2 networks over layer 3 networks, defining both an encapsulation mechanism and a control plane. Another is generic network virtualization encapsulation (GENEVE), which takes the same concepts but makes them more extensible by being flexible to multiple control plane mechanisms. VMware NSX Data Center – Network Virtualization Platform VMware NSX Data Center is a network virtualization platform that delivers networking and security components like firewalling, switching, and routing that are defined and consumed in software. NSX takes an architectural approach built on scale-out network virtualization that delivers consistent, pervasive connectivity and security for apps and data wherever they reside, independent of underlying physical infrastructure. VMware Network Virtualization related Products, Solutions, and Resources Network Virtualization & Security Software VMware NSX Data Center delivers virtualized networking and security entirely in software, completing a key pillar of the Software-defined Data Center (SDDC), and enabling the virtual cloud network ... Automate your network and accelerate new services vCloud NFV enables wireline and wireless service providers to deploy an elastic business model for cross-cloud services and service enablement while simplifying networks and reducing TCO. Infrastructure Hybridity and Application Mobility NSX Hybrid Connect provides infrastructure hybridity and application workload mobility at scale. What is a Virtual Cloud Network? The network of the future is software-defined. A Virtual Cloud Network, built on VMware NSX technology, is a ubiquitous software layer from data center to cloud to edge infrastructure. Hybrid Cloud Networking & Security Across Private and Native Public Clouds VMware NSX Cloud provides single-pane-of-glass visibility, rich networking capabilities, consistent security policy, granular and operationally scalable micro-segmentation across the hybrid cloud network. Network Virtualization | VMware Blogs Learn more and stay updated on the latest news about network virtualization from experts at VMware. Related Topics Network Functions Virtualization Virtual Infrastructure Network Infrastructure Security Network Security Network Segmentation Network Monitoring Micro-Segmentation Server Virtualization Virtual Networking Kubernetes Virtualized Security Company About Us Executive Leadership Newsroom Investor Relations Customer Stories Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Environment, Social & Governance Careers Blogs Communities Acquisitions Office Locations VMware Cloud Trust Center COVID-19 Resources Support VMware Customer Connect Support Policies Product Documentation Compatibility Guide End User Terms & Conditions Twitter YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Contact Sales © 2021 VMware, Inc. Terms of Use Your California Privacy Rights Privacy Accessibility Site Map Trademarks Glossary Help Feedback We use cookies to provide you with the best experience on our website, to improve usability and performance and thereby improve what we offer to you. Our website may also use third-party cookies to display advertising that is more relevant to you. By clicking on the “Accept All” button you agree to the storing of cookies on your device. If you want to know more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Policy. Cookie Settings Accept All Cookies