Intra-VM traffic is also known as which type of traffic?

Intra-VM traffic refers to the communication that occurs between virtual machines (VMs) within the same host or data center. This type of network traffic, which travels laterally within a data center or cloud infrastructure, is commonly referred to as "east-west" traffic.

East-west traffic is crucial to understand in the context of data flow, especially because security measures often differ for internal communications versus external communications. In contrast, "north-south" traffic refers to data moving in and out of a data center or between different data centers and users. The term "unknown" does not apply specifically and does not have a relevant meaning in this context. "Untrusted" generally pertains to the classification of network segments rather than the direction or nature of traffic.

Thus, identifying intra-VM traffic as east-west highlights both the dynamics of virtualized environments and the need for security strategies that cater specifically to this type of internal data movement.