A VSM can be deployed either as a standalone or as an active/standby HA pair. The pair can be protected through VMware DRS anti-affinity rule to be hosted on different ESXi. It controls the VEMs and performs the following functions for the Cisco N1KV system:

• Configuration
• Management
• Monitoring
• Diagnostics
• Integration with the VMware vCenter

The following diagram explains the various N1KV components and their relationship. Essentially, it explains the relationship between a VSM and VEM: