Layer 2 of the OSI model, the data link layer of frames, VLANs and MACs. An NSX segment is one broadcast domain at this layer.
Also called Layer 2.
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains L2 in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- NSX
Software that handles networking and security across VCF, covering firewalling, load balancing, NAT, VPCs, overlay segments and Tier-0/1 gateways.
- segment
A layer 2 network in NSX for VM connections. Overlay-backed ones carry traffic in tunnels between TEPs; VLAN-backed ones correspond to a physical VLAN.
- Domain
A way of grouping workspaces by area of the business, in support of a data mesh approach. Items take on their workspace's domain, letting you filter the OneLake catalog by it, and certain tenant settings can be passed to domain admins; domains have no effect on access permissions.
Related terms
- MAC address
Media Access Control address: the layer 2 identifier of a NIC, physical or virtual.
- network pool
Subnets defined in SDDC Manager for one layer 2 domain. Hosts joining a VCF domain get static IPs from it automatically for their vMotion and vSAN/NFS/iSCSI VMkernel adapters.
- VLAN
Layer 2 broadcast domain tagged using 802.1Q. In VCF they carry TEP, vSAN, vMotion and management traffic, and NSX can back segments with them.
- VXLAN
Encapsulation of layer 2 frames in UDP on port 4789. Gateway Load Balancer chains NVAs with it, and Azure Extended Network uses it to carry a stretched subnet between its pair of appliances.