Based on the IEEE 802.1Qbh port extender technology, Cisco Virtual Machine Fabric Extender extends the fabric from the switch chassis to the virtual machine (VM). Each VM is associated with a network adapter vNIC, which in turn is associated with a virtual Ethernet port on the parent switch. This dedicated virtual interface can be managed, monitored, and spanned in the same way as a physical interface. Local switching in the hypervisor is eliminated, with all switching being performed by the physical switch.