A VLAN (virtual LAN) facilitates high-speed virtual Ethernet communications using memory and the system’s processor rather than actual Ethernet cards. Used in Virtual I/O Servers, administrators can dynamically create virtual Ethernet segments or restrict access to VLAN segments. Virtual Ethernets are similar to physical Ethernets in that they support multiple networking protocols.
Virtual Ethernet can also refer to the virtual Ethernet (vEth) specification, a forthcoming standard that will provide access for network controls in virtualized environments comparable to the controls available in physical networks.
