A VSM can be deployed either as a standalone or as an active/standby HA pair. The pair can be protected through VMware DRS anti-affinity rule to be hosted on different ESXi. It controls the VEMs and performs the following functions for the Cisco N1KV system:
- Configuration
- Management
- Monitoring
- Diagnostics
- Integration with the VMware vCenter
The following diagram explains the various N1KV components and their relationship. Essentially, it explains the relationship between a VSM and VEM:
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