Network virtualization for a virtualized server data center environment

A data center comprising:

• a physical host machine operating a virtualized entity;
• and
• a network switch having a physical port connected to the physical host machine and a management module that acquires information about the virtualized entity operating on the physical host machine and uses the information to associate the virtualized entity with the physical port and to detect when packet traffic arriving at the network switch is coming from the virtualized entity.

A network switch comprising:

• a physical port connected to a physical host machine that is operating a virtualized entity;
• and
• a management module in communication with the physical host machine through the physical port, the management module acquiring information about the virtualized entity operating on the physical host machine and using the information to associate the virtualized entity with the physical port and to detect when ingress packet traffic is coming from the virtualized entity.