Which two planes make up the architecture of a distributed switch?

The architecture of a distributed switch is comprised of the control plane and the I/O plane. The control plane is responsible for the configuration, management, and monitoring of the switch. It handles tasks such as setting policies, managing traffic, and handling management operations. This layer ensures that network settings are consistently applied across all hosts within the distributed switch environment.

The I/O plane, on the other hand, is responsible for the actual transfer of data packets. It deals with the forwarding of traffic between virtual machines and the underlying physical network. This plane optimizes network performance by utilizing the configurations set forth by the control plane.

Understanding these two planes is critical for effectively managing and troubleshooting networking issues within a vSphere environment. The distributed switch utilizes both planes to provide a seamless networking experience across multiple hosts, ensuring that connectivity and performance remain consistent and reliable.