present only because a virtual machine network adapter needs to connect to a VM
network. If a logical network has multiple sites defined, then when a virtual machine
is deployed, it will automatically pick the correct IP subnet and VLAN configuration at
deployment time based on the location to which it’s being deployed. Users of self-
service-type portals are exposed to VM networks but not the details of the underlying
logical networks.
PORT CLASSIFICATIONS
Port classifications are assigned to virtual machines and are the containers for port
profile settings. The benefit of the port classification is that it acts as a layer of
abstraction from the port profiles assigned to logical switches, which allows a port
classification to be assigned to a virtual machine template. The actual port profile used
depends on the logical switch the VM is using when deployed.
Think of port classifications as being similar to storage classifications; you may create
a gold storage classification that uses a top-of-the-line SAN, and a bronze storage
classification that uses a much lower tier of storage. I may create a port classification
of High Bandwidth and one of Low Bandwidth. Port classifications are included in-box
that correlate to the included virtual port profiles. Port classifications are linked to
virtual port profiles as part of the logical switch creation process. Like VM networks,
port classifications are exposed to users via self-service portals and not the underlying
port profiles.
Deploying Networking with SCVMM 2016
For this part of the chapter, I assume that SCVMM 2016 is up-and-running in your
environment. I cover implementing SCVMM 2016 in Chapter 6, “Maintaining a Hyper-
V Environment,” so if you want to follow along, you may want to jump to Chapter 6 to
get a basic deployment in place. The good news is that networking is one of the first
components that needs to be configured with SCVMM, so once you have SCVMM
deployed and you have created some host groups (which are collections of hosts), you
will be ready to follow this next set of steps. Figure 3.16 provides a high-level view of
the steps that will be performed.