Virtual machines are managed on the basis of data obtained from a management information database of a network switch having a plurality of Ethernet links coupled to compute nodes running a plurality of virtual machines. A management entity, such as a provisioning manager, determines the amount of network bandwidth being utilized through each of the Ethernet links. Accordingly, an additional virtual machine may be provisioned to the compute node that is coupled to an Ethernet link identified as having the greatest amount of unutilized network bandwidth.