Which three features are only available when using vSphere Distributed Switches instead of vSphere Standard Switches? (Choose three.)

vSphere Distributed Switches (VDS) offer advanced, centralized networking features that are not available on vSphere Standard Switches (VSS). Port mirroring allows for sending copies of network packets to a destination for analysis, a critical tool for monitoring and troubleshooting. NetFlow provides detailed IP traffic flow statistics for performance monitoring and capacity planning. The ability to centrally back up and restore the entire switch configuration simplifies management and disaster recovery. These capabilities are inherent to the VDS architecture, which is managed at the vCenter Server level across all associated hosts.

A. 802.1Q tagging: This is a standard VLAN tagging mechanism supported by both vSphere Standard Switches and vSphere Distributed Switches for network segmentation.
E. IPv6 support: Both switch types operate at Layer 2 and are transparent to Layer 3 protocols; management interfaces (vmknics) on both can be configured with IPv6 addresses.
F. IPv4 support: Similar to IPv6, both switch types fully support IPv4 traffic and management interface configurations. ---

1. VMware vSphere Documentation (vSphere 8.0), vSphere Networking, "Comparing vSphere Standard Switches and vSphere Distributed Switches": This official guide includes a feature comparison table. It explicitly lists "Port mirroring," "NetFlow," and "Backup and restore network configuration" as features available only on vSphere Distributed Switches. It also shows "802.1q tagging" and "IPv6" as being available on both switch types.

2. VMware vSphere Documentation (vSphere 8.0), vSphere Networking, "Port Mirroring": This section details the configuration of port mirroring sessions and states, "You can configure port mirroring on a vSphere Distributed Switch to mirror a distributed port's traffic to other distributed ports or specific uplinks." This confirms it as a VDS feature.

3. VMware vSphere Documentation (vSphere 8.0), vSphere Networking, "Monitor Network Flow with vSphere Distributed Switch": This document describes the NetFlow feature, stating, "You can configure NetFlow on a vSphere Distributed Switch to monitor IP traffic that flows through the switch." This confirms NetFlow is specific to VDS.

4. VMware vSphere Documentation (vSphere 8.0), vSphere Networking, "Export, Import, and Restore vSphere Distributed Switch Configurations": This section provides instructions for these management tasks, confirming that configuration backup and restore is a native feature of the vSphere Distributed Switch.