Virtualization has gone from IT buzzword to IT staple, so it's vital for networking professionals to understand how server virtualization and networks affect each other. In a server virtualization environment, every host server abstracts and extends the network into its hypervisor, where a virtual switch manages traffic between virtual machines. Server virtualization also introduces I/O bottlenecks and bandwidth capacity problems on the physical network by increasing the amount of traffic generated by individual physical servers. Consequently, virtualization networking -- or networking for virtualization -- is on every networking professional's agenda.

In this guide, networking professionals can learn about managing virtualization networking, distributed virtual switching, network capacity planning for virtualization and more.