Virtual networking
Now, in order for that virtual switch to be able to connect to something on a virtual machine, we have to have an object to connect to – and that object is called a virtual network interface card, often referred to as a vNIC. Every time you configure a virtual machine with a virtual network card, you're giving it the ability to connect to a virtual switch that uses a physical network card as an uplink to a physical switch.
Of course, there are some potential drawbacks to this approach. For example, if you have 50 virtual machines connected to the same virtual switch that uses the same physical network card as an uplink and that uplink fails (due to a network card issue, cable issue, switch port issue, or switch issue), your 50 virtual machines won't have access to the physical network. How do we get around this problem? By implementing a better design and following the basic design principles that we'd use on a physical network as well....