I have a following virtual Ethernet switch in Linux:root@vmhost:~# brctl show br0bridge name     bridge id               STP enabled     interfacesbr0             8000.266b04c4a79a       no              eth1                                                        tap1                                                        tap2root@vmhost:~# eth1 is a physical interface. Am I right that it is correct to imagine this switch in front of the server where eth1 of this server is connected to the virtual-switch and tap1 and tap2 interfaces are like wires to NIC's in virtual-machines? So basically like this:In a nutshell, all the traffic from Internet gw to virtual-machines or VM-host goes through this virtual-switch and all the traffic from virtual-machines or VM-host to Internet gw also go through this virtual-switch?EDIT:
How to understand virtual switch in Linux?
linux kernel;bridge
Your diagram is good except for the labels on the vertical black line between the bridge and Dell PE860. It should really be labelled br0, not eth1. eth1, tap1, and tap2, having become member ports of the bridge, have been effectively relegated to the role of being layer 2 interfaces, not layer 3. IP packets sent and received from the VM-host go into and come from br0, and br0 is where the IP address gets configured.You will notice that this means that in Linux, every bridge effectively has an additional member port beyond those listed under interfaces by brctl show: the host's own layer 3 interface to the bridge. You are familiar with Cisco. In Cisco-land, this interface is called BVI0 (or BVI1, etc...). In Cisco-land it's optional: the router may or may not participate in the bridge. In Linux, it's always present.