As a cloud administrator or cloud computing engineer, your ability to create a virtual network will typically be reliant on virtual machine software or a cloud network provided by a CSP. Virtual machine software allows cloud administrators to designate and configure virtual network parameters associated with a host’s physical Network Interface Card (NIC). When you configure multiple hosts to operate using the same parameters, you are adding those hosts to the virtual network. Virtual networks must have the following components:
- Virtual Switch
Virtual switches give you the capability to create segments on your network and connect those components together. You can connect one or more virtual machines to a virtual switch. - Virtual Bridge
This component allows you to connect virtual machines to the LAN used by the host computer. The virtual bridge connects the network adapter on the virtual machine to the physical NIC on the host computer. Multiple virtual bridges can be configured to connect to multiple physical NICs. - Virtual Host Adapter
The adapter makes it possible for your virtual machines to communicate with the host. Virtual host adapters are common in host-only and Network Address Translation (NAT) configurations. These cannot connect to an external network without a proxy server. - NAT Service
NAT services allow multiple devices within your cloud network to connect to the internet. - DHCP Server
The DHCP server allocates IP addresses to virtual machines and hosts. This applies to host-only and NAT configurations. - Ethernet Adapter
This is a physical network adapter installed on hosts that connect to the network.
Many CSPs provide cloud services that make it easier to configure virtual networks and cloud networks. With cloud networks, you configure your virtual network and add your resources to them, rather than configuring them at the virtual machine level. Cloud networks also typically offer capabilities to simplify monitoring, management, connections and security.