VMware VLAN Tagging Methods - EST, VST and VGT

Within VMware there are 3 methods around VLAN tagging. They are EST, VST and VGT.

Below shows the differences between the 3,

Type	Physical (VNIC)	Virtual (vSwitch)
EST	Access port	Access port
VST	Trunk port	Access port
VGT	Trunk port	Trunk port

Table of Contents

EST

Within EST (External Switching Tagging) VLAN tags are not handled[1]. The physical switchport is configured as an access-port and no vlan id is configured on the port-group. Traffic is sent to onto the port group without any vlan tagging occurring.

VST

Within VST (Virtual Switch Tagging) the physical switchport is configured as a trunk port. The port-group is then configured with a VLAN ID of 1-4094. Traffic is received on the vnic tagged, the VLAN tag is then removed and the traffic sent onto the corresponding port-group untagged.

VGT

Within VGT (Virtual Guest Tagging) only vlan tagged traffic is handled. The physical switchport is configured as a trunk port and the port-group is then configured with a VLAN ID of 4095 (All). Traffic is received on the vnic tagged. The traffic is then sent onto the port-group still tagged.

Reference

[1] https://communities.vmware.com/people/raffic_ncc/blog/2013/04/04/vlan-tagging-vst-est-vgt-on-vmware-vsphere

Author
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Rick Donato

Rick Donato is a Network Automation Architect/Evangelist and the founder of Packet Coders.

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