vSphere 5 includes significant new features and functionality across the VMware virtualization platform. A core component that was upgraded is the Distributed Switch (vDS). This is an administrative interface that enables the management and updating of network configuration in a central location as opposed to separate ESX hosts as in previous versions of vSphere. The benefit provided by vDS to Cloud Hosting Companies is enormous. Among those, hosts can now manage cloud hosting networks from a single location, thus reducing operational configuration time and scripting activities.