VMware Inc. updated its NSX network virtualization software platform Thursday to a new version that’s more accessible via one of its core services.

The 6.4 release is an important one for VMware, which has previously stated its belief network virtualization has the potential to become even bigger than its bread-and-butter technology, server virtualization.

VMware has spent the past year coming up with various ways to extend NSX’s reach, integrating the platform with other products such as vSphere in order to mask its complexities. The company has also introduced an alternative version called NSX-T for cloud-native applications, which supports hypervisors other than its own ESXi, such as the Kernel Virtual Machine for Linux-powered systems.

The company is expanding on these integrations with the latest release, adding a new NSX UI Plug-in for vSphere HTML 5 Client. This is important because it means that NSX’s management tools can now be accessed directly via the vSphere client that’s used by thousands of VMware administrators each day. In addition, NSX is now compatible with VMware’s older flash-based vSphere Web Client, which is useful as the HTML 5 client isn’t quite ready for prime time.

VMware has also made it so that NSX can enforce IP address rules for virtual machines that don’t run VMware Tools, which should make it easier for users to get the platform up and running.

Another new feature that should help NSX become more mainstream is the “Upgrade Coordinator,” which is designed to make it easier to plan and execute upgrades to the platform. Upgrade Coordinator provides a simple view of all the NSX components with current and target versions, upgrade progress meters, one-click or custom upgrade plans and pre- and post-checks, the company said.

NSX 6.4 also gets a security boost thanks to something called Context-Aware Micro-segmentation, a feature that helps users to create security policies by using the full context of the application.

The improvements are notable because VMware Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger has made a big bet on the technology, which last year achieved a $1 billion annual run rate.

During an appearance on SiliconANGLE’s mobile video studio theCUBE last May, Gelsinger said NSX is the “No. 1 priority for us as a company,” adding that it’s poised to become the company’s “flagship product” due to the growing importance of networks for hybrid-cloud environments:

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