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Which protocol is recommended for detecting vDS and vSS virtual switches in a vSphere environment: CDP or LLDP

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Applies to

  • VMware vSphere virtual environments
  • Distributed Virtual Switch (vDS)
  • Standard Virtual Switch (vSS)
  • Network environments using Cisco switches or multi-vendor switches
  • Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)
  • Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)

Answer

  • Recommendation depends on the network environment and future scalability requirements:
  • Cisco switches only: Use CDP.
  • Multi-vendor environment or scalability focus: Use LDP.
  • Protocol support in vSphere:
  • vSS: Supports only CDP.
  • vDS: Supports both CDP and LLDP. Choose based on network requirements.

Additional Information

  • CDP is proprietary to Cisco and is ideal for environments exclusively using Cisco switches.
  • LLDP is an open standard and is better suited for multi-vendor environments or for ensuring compatibility with future network expansions.
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