The Cisco Nexus 1000V switch is a virtual machine that acts as an access switch. It is an intelligent software switch implementation based on IEEE 802.1Q standard for VMware vSphere environments, running the Cisco NX-OS software operating system.

The Nexus 1000V switch is a distributed layer 2 switch that is implemented as a virtual softswitch and runs Cisco's NX-OS. Any network administrator familiar with NX-OS software can easily manage Nexus 1000V without learning new operating system skillsets. It provides similar CLI and functionality to physical Nexus switches. With Nexus 1000V, network admins can manage both physical and virtual network infrastructure with better visibility, control, and it is easier to troubleshoot.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Knowing about VN-Link
• Using the NX-OS
• Development of Nexus 1000V through VSUM
• Nexus 1000V components
• VEM and VSM implementation
• VEM data plane
• VSM control plane
• Nexus 1000V and physical switches
• VSUM deployment
• Communication between VSM and VEM