Virtualization and Hypervisors

Virtualization refers to the creation of a virtual

resources such as a server, desktop, operating
system, file, storage or network.

Virtualization

Virtualization = Virtual + Realization . In other words, virtualization

means to realize something virtually. A simple definition of
virtualization is the formation of virtual computer inside the real
computer. It is an abstraction layer above the hardware layer.It is
hardware reducing ,memory saving and cost&energy saving technology
that is rapidly transforming the IT landscape. In
computing, virtualization refers to the creation of a virtual
(rather than a real) version of something, including virtual
computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and
computer resources.In other words,virtualization can also be
perceived as a technique which allows us to share a physical instance of
a resource or an application among multiple customers and
organizations.

The idea of virtualization is not new. It was introduced by IBM in 1960

when mainframe computers were in use. Mainframe computers were
underutilized most of the time, hence to amplify the resource
utilization of these mainframe computers, the virtualization technology
was introduced which allows to run multiple OS(Operating Systems)
simultaneously.

Due to invention of desktop and reduction in hardware prices this

technology become dormant for long time.

But over the past few decades with the invention of new technologies
like utility computing and cloud computing, virtualization has regained
its importance.

Server Virtualization

Server virtualization allows multiple servers to be installed on one or

more existing servers. This saves floor space and money since you
don’t have to purchase new servers or expand the square footage of
your server room.
The benefits of server virtualization include:

· Multiple operating systems can be run on a single physical

server(host)

· Many physical servers can often be consolidated into one or two

physical servers, saving your small business money that would have
been spent on physical servers.

· Your small business’s electricity requirements will decrease—fewer

servers run on less power and will also generate less heat which will
reduce your server room cooling bill
· Virtualizing most servers onto one or two physical servers reduces
server maintenance costs.

· Additional RAM, processor power or storage space can be quickly and

easily allocated to any virtual server.

· In case of virtual server error, quick restores can be done from locally
stored backups.

· Virtual servers are easily moved between host servers, allowing

maximum use of available processing power.

Desktop Virtualization

Desktop virtualization removes the need for a CPU at each computer

station. Each user will still have a monitor and mouse, but will have
their desktop CPU virtually stored on a local server.
Benefits of desktop virtualization include:

· Virtual Desktops can run on multiple types of hardware such as:

workstations, Thin Clients, laptops and some smartphones.

· Centralizing the virtualized “CPUs” of desktops provides increased

stability through better administration of workstations and increased
security because the host system keeps all workstations up to date with
patches and hot fixes.

· Virtual desktops can be quickly created after an initial “original”

virtual machine has been produced—anytime a new desktop computer
is needed, copy the original, give it a name and it is ready for
immediate use.

· Users love it because their machine is “never down” and they always
have access to their customization on their virtual machines. Virtual
desktops also reduce the carbon foot print and increase Total Cost
Ownership when compared to maintaining physical machines.

Application Virtualization

This is a process where applications get virtualized and are delivered

from a sever to the end user’s device, such as laptops, smartphones,
and tablets. So instead of logging into their computers at work, users
will be able to gain access to the application virtually from anywhere,
provided an Internet connection is available.
Application virtualization separates individual software applications
from the operating system allowing the user to run almost any
application on most of the operating systems.

Other benefits of Application virtualization include:

· Application virtualization separates applications from the operating

systems and can run the applications on work stations,thin
clients,laptops and some smart phones.

· Applications are run centrally so you don’t have to worry about having
enough storage space on the local desktop hard drive

· Multiple applications can run at the same time without bogging down
the system or conflicting with other apps.
· Virtualized applications can be installed, maintained, and patched as
soon as updates are available.

Network Virtualization

Network virtualization is a method of combining available resources in

a network by splitting up the available bandwidth into channels, each
of which is independent from the others, and each of which can be
assigned (or reassigned) to a particular server or device in real time.
Each channel is independently secured. Every subscriber has shared
access to all the resources on the network from a single computer.

Network virtualization is intended to optimize network speed,

reliability, flexibility, scalability and security. Network virtualization is
said to be especially effective in networks that experience sudden,
large, and unforeseen surges in usage.

Businesses that would benefit from network virtualization are the ones
that have a large number of users and need to keep their systems up
and running all the times. With the distributed channels, your network
speed will increase dramatically, allowing you to deliver services and
applications faster than ever before.

Storage Virtualization

Storage virtualization is the process of grouping the physical storage

from multiple network storage devices so that it looks like a single
storage device. This concept is basically used in Storage Area Network
(SAN) environment.

Through storage virtualization, a new layer of a software and/or

hardware is created in between the storage system and the server and
so the applications will no longer be in the need of knowing the
information regarding which drives or storage subsystems their data is
residing on.

The management of storage and data is becoming difficult and time

consuming. Storage virtualization helps to address this problem by
facilitating easy backup, archiving and recovery tasks by consuming
less time. Storage virtualization aggregates the functions and hides the
actual complexity of the Storage Area Network.
Benefits of Storage Virtualization:

· One of the major benefit of abstracting the host or server from the
actual storage is the ability to migrate data while maintaining
concurrent I/O access.

· Availability factor gets enriched as the applications are not restricted

to specific storage resources and also can be shielded from all kinds of
disruptions.

· Disaster Recovery option is offered by the management of data

replication at the virtualization layer. This can be achieved as soon as
the primary source is kept as free and is managed by the common
interface.

· Automation of storage capacity provisioning can be eliminated.

Hypervisor

A Hypervisor or Virtual Machine Monitor(VMM) is computer software,

firmware or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. A
computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is
called a host machine, and each virtual machine is called guest
machine. The hypervisor presents the guest operating systems with a
virtual operating platform and manages the execution of the guest
operating systems. Multiple instances of a variety of operating systems
may share the virtualized hardware resources: for example, Linux,
Windows and mac OS instances can all run on a single physical x86
machines.

 A hypervisor is a program that would enable you to host several

different virtual machines on a single hardware.

 Each one of these virtual machines or operating systems you have

will be able to run its own programs, as it will appear that the
system has the host hardware’s processor, memory and resources.
 In reality, however, it is actually the hypervisor that is allocating
those resources to the virtual machines.

 In effect, a hypervisor allows you to have several virtual machines

all working optimally on a single piece of computer hardware.

 Now, hypervisors are fundamental components of any

virtualization effort. You can think of it as the operating system for
virtualized systems. It can access all physical devices residing on a
server. It can also access the memory and disk. It can controlall
aspects and parts of a virtual machine.

Virtual Machines

VM technology allows multiple virtual machines to run on a single

physical machine
A virtual machine is a software program or an operating system
which possesses the characteristic behavior of an independent
computer system and is capable of performing various tasks like
running applications and programs like a computer. A virtual
machine is also known as a guest.

The main aim of virtualization is to reduce workloads by transforming

the conventional computing to make it more scalable. Virtualization
has been a part of IT landscape for decades and today can be applied to
a wide-range layers, including operating system-level virtualization,
hardware-level virtualization, server-level virtualization.

Types of Hypervisors

Bare-Metal or Native or Type-I Hypervisor:

These hypervisors run on the top of physical hardware of the system.
Guest OS and applications run on the hypervisor.

 Example: Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor, VMware ESX/ESXi,

Oracle VM server for x86, KVM or Critix XenServer.

 A major advantage is that any problem in one of the virtual

machine or guest operating system do not affect the other guest
operating systems running on the hardware.

Embedded or Hosted or Type-II Hypervisor:

These hypervisors run within a host OS. That means Type-II
Hypervisor run as an application on the host OS.

 It is completely dependent on Host Operating System for its

operations. While having a base operating system allows better
specification of policies, any problem in the base operating system
affects the entire system even if the hypervisor running above the
base OS is secure.

 Example: VMware Workstation, Microsoft Virtual PC, Oracle

Virtual Box

Hosted v/s Native Hypervisor

 So, native hypervisors run directly on the hardware while a hosted
hypervisor needs an operating system to do its work. Which one is
better? It depends on what you are after!

 Bare metal hypervisors are faster and more efficient as they do not
need to go through the operating system and other layers that
usually make hosted hypervisor slower. Type-I Hypervisors are also
more secure than Type-II Hypervisors.

 Hosted Hypervisors on the other hand are much easier to set-up

than Bare metal Hypervisors because you have an OS to work with.
These are also compatible with a broad range of hardware.

 A Hypervisor is a natural target for hackers because its design

control all the resources of the hardware while managing all the
virtual machines residing on it. The bad news is that a hypervisor is
vulnerable to a lot of malicious code, especially those coming from a
rogue virtual machine.