VCloud's VCNS as a whole is going to be discussed more in terms of capabilities intended for standard use or high-availability, which would include failover, he points out. VCNS is also encompassing software-based networking such as vxLAN, introduced by and . But it does not yet include any components that might later be made available through the concluded by VMware just last week, Gohstand emphasizes.

The vShield APIs in vSphere have sought to define agentless use of security technologies because agent-based software in a virtualized environment can lead to performance issues such as the well-known "anti-virus storms" when agent-based software kicks off a scanning process that proves to be overwhelming . VMware's vShield agentless architecture is designed to lessen the load in that process by assigning the third-party security software a separate place as a security module that can link into tiny hooks to conduct a scan on data.

Several vendors, including , have sought to convince VMware to expand its APIs to go beyond agentless since there are times when agent-based software is said to be more effective, especially with malware isolation and removal.

Gohstand acknowledges these concerns, and though he says VMware expects to continue with its agentless approach in APIs because it does see the "demand for offloading" the security function, he adds that VMware recognizes there "could be a hybrid" approach in which both agentless and agent-based capabilities would be supported in third-party software.

The VCNS APIs are going to be broadened in the future. Gohstand also says that VMware is taking a more open approach to working with third-party security vendors to ensure their products work in the VMware security model with vCloud. Until now, VMware has worked primarily in a tight ecosystem in which it chose security-industry partners (such as Trend Micro) very selectively to work on technical issues. But now VMware anticipates a less constricted approach with security vendors in getting products to support VCNS in vCloud.