Vmware vSwitch Traffic Shaping

Traffic Shaping in VMware vSphere means -  restricting the network bandwidth available to a port.

So slow the data rate down to a virtual machine.

I not sure why VMware refers to it as shaping, is a bandwidth restricter - it's like tightening the jubilee clip on a house pipe, it will restrict the flow of water through the pipe.

in which case scenario we nee to restrict the network bandwidth ?

You may have applications, or need to prioritise traffic for other VMs. You may want to build a lab, and demonstrate or test a WAN link. So you could set the speed to test to simulate the link.

It's not a feature that we've seen used a lot, as hardware devices outside of vSphere can do it better.

e.g. you may have a VOIP Application which needs high traffic throughout, so therefore you can limit the other traffic to other VMs.

As network specialist I fully agree to above said. The only case I can think of is if you want to simulate restricted bandwidth. For everything else you need to priorize traffic somewhere else where traffic can be weighted against other traffic on the fly and seeing t"he big picture".

Restrict Bandwidth ?

I believe you can theoretically increase it too more than the real Adapter's speed:

That effectiviely disables bandwidth control, as limits will never be hit or approached. To be useful, all numbers need to be percentages of the real available. physical bandwith to be useful.

Thank you Guys!

np