Virtualization

Lecture contents
 Background of virtualization
 What is Virtualization
 The Traditional Server Concept
 The Virtual Server Concept
 Virtual Machines
 Benefits of Virtualization
 Server Consolidation
 Virtualization– Key Solutions / Use Cases
 Lecture contents..
 Top 3 Economic Reasons For Virtualization
 Server, Storage and Network Consolidation
 Virtualization Delivers Tangible Business Outcomes
 Experienced App Owners Trust Virtualization for
Toughest Workloads
 What is Available Today
 VMware – Recognized as the Virtualization & Cloud
Leader(2010)
 What is Available From VMware
Lecture contents..
 VMware vSphere: Ready to Virtualize All Applications
 Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
 Virtual Distributed Network Switch
 The Disadvantages of Virtualization
 System Virtualization - Present State
 Modernizing the Desktop – Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure
 Cloud Computing Takes Virtualization to the Next Step
 Private, Hybrid and Public Clouds
Problems – Background of
virtualization
 Enterprise IT centers support many service
applications
 Microsoft Exchange
 Oracle
 SAP
 Web servers
 Citrix
 Each service application demands its own
environment
 Specific version of operating system
 Multiple processors and disks
 Specialized configurations
Problem..
 Single OS image per machine
 Software and hardware tightly coupled
 Running multiple applications on same
machine often creates conflict
 Underutilized resources
 Inflexible and costly infrastructure
Problem..
 Combining services on same server host is
difficult (at best)
 Conflicting demands
 Incompatible loads
 …
 Upgrading or commissioning a service is very
difficult
 Shadow server machines for debugging & testing
 Complicated changeover tactics
 …
Problem..
 Adding or upgrading hardware or OS is
difficult
 Testing and refitting active service
 Complicated changeover tactics
 …
 Load balancing is impossible
 Services tied to own systems
 Some underused, some overused
Solution - Virtualization
 Virtualization abstracts the underlying physical
structure of various technologies.
 Virtualization, in computing, is the creation of
a virtual (rather than actual) version of
something, such as a hardware platform,
operating system, a storage device or network
resources
Solution – Virtualization..
 Server virtualization
 Creates multiple isolated
environments
 Allows multiple OS’s and workloads
to run on the same physical hardware–
Solves the problem of tight coupling
between OS’s and hardware
Solution — Virtualization..
 Decouple [OS, service] pair from hardware
 Multiplex lightly-used services on common
host hardware
 Migrate services from host to host as needed
 Introduce new [OS, service] pairs as needed
 Commissioning new services
 Testing upgrades of existing services
 Experimental usage
Solution — Virtualization..
 Using virtual infrastructure solutions such as
those from VMware, enterprise IT managers
can address challenges that include:
 Server Consolidation and Containment –
Eliminating ‘server sprawl’ via deployment of
systems as virtual machines (VMs) that can run
safely and move transparently across shared
hardware, and increase server utilization rates
from 5-15% to 60-80%.
Solution — Virtualization..
 Test and Development Optimization – Rapidly
provisioning test and development servers by
reusing pre-configured systems, enhancing
developer collaboration and standardizing
development environments.
 Business Continuity – Reducing continuity
(high availability and disaster recovery solutions)
by encapsulating entire systems into single files
that can be replicated and restored on any target
server, thus minimizing downtime
Solution — Virtualization..
 Enterprise Desktop – Securing unmanaged
PCs, work-stations and laptops without
compromising end user autonomy by layering
a security policy in software around desktop
virtual machines.
 Virtual Machine
 Is a representation of a real machine using software that
provides an operating environment which can run or host
a guest operating system.
 A virtual machine provides interface identical to
underlying bare hardware
 I.e., all devices, interrupts, memory, page tables, etc.
 Virtual Machine Operating System creates illusion of
multiple processors
 Each capable of executing independently
 No sharing, except via network protocols
 Clusters and SMP can be simulated
Traditional server concept
The virtual Server Concept
Virtual Machines…
 Hardware-independence of operating system
and applications
 Virtual machines can be provisioned to any
system
 Can manage OS and application as a single
unit by encapsulating them into virtual
machines
Virtual Machines..
 Virtual-machine concept provides complete protection of
system resources
 Each virtual machine is isolated from all other virtual machines.
 However, limited sharing of resources
 Virtual-machine system is a good vehicle for operating-
systems research and development.
 System development is done on the virtual machine does not disrupt
normal operation
 Multiple concurrent developers can work at same time
 The virtual machine concept is difficult to implement due to
the effort required to provide an exact duplicate to the
simulated machine
Virtual Mavhines …
Virtual Machine Monitor
 Is a software that runs in a layer between a
hypervisor or host operating system and one or
more virtual machines that provides the virtual
machine abstraction to the guest operating systems.
 With full virtualization, the virtual machine monitor
exports a virtual machine abstraction identical to a
physical machine, so that standard operating
systems (e.g., Windows 2000, Windows Server
2003, Linux, etc.) can run just as they would on
physical hardware.
History of virtualization
 IBM Cambridge Scientific Center
 Ran on IBM 360/67
 Alternative to TSS/360, which never sold very well
 Replicated hardware in each “process”
 Virtual 360/67 processor
 Virtual disk(s), virtual console, printer, card reader, etc.
 CMS: Cambridge Monitor System
 A single user, interactive operating system

 Commercialized as VM370 in mid-1970s

History of virtualization …
 “Hypervisor” systems – mid 1970smid 1990s
 Large mainframes (IBM, HP, etc.)
 Internet hosting services
 Virtual dedicated services
Benefits of virtualization
Server Consolidation
Virtualization –Key Solutions / Use
Cases
Top 3 Economic Reasons For
Virtualization
Server, Storage and Network
Consolidation
Virtualization Delivers Tangible
Business Outcomes
Virtualization Reduce Energy
Consumption
Experienced App Owners Trust
Virtualization for Toughest Workloads
Vendors of Virtualization
What is available today ?
 VMware
 VMware released ESX and GSX 1.0 in 2001.
Virtual Center released in 2003.Has the most
experience
 Is the farthest along
 Very mature product suite
 Focus is on integrating IT process automation
around virtualization
What is available today ?..
 Citrix
 Citrix Xenserver acquired Xensource on August
15th, 2007Has working low cost server
virtualization solution
 Focus is on client virtualization
What is available today ?..
 Microsoft
 Microsoft Hyper-V (formerly ‘Windows Server
Virtualization’)Standalone version released in
October 2008
 Real solution (one with HA) has been out since
August 2009.
VMware –Recognized as the
Virtualization & Cloud Leader (2010)
What is Available From VMware
What is Available From Vmware..
What is Available From Vmware..
Virtual distributed network switch
What can have virtualization
 Desktop Virtualization
 Server Virtualization
 Network Virtualization
 Storage Virtualization
 Application Virtualization
 Desktop Virtualization

• VMware Workstation (Local)

• Microsoft Virtual PC (Local)
• Citrix XenDesktop (Centralized)
Desktop Virtualization Architecture

Applications Applications Applications

Virtual

Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS

(Windows) (Linux) (VMware ESX)
Virtual Machine Virtual Machine Virtual Machine

Virtual Machine Manager

Physical

Host OS

Hardware
Components of Virtual Machines?

• Configuration file
• Hard disk file(s)
• Virtual machine state file
• In-memory file
Comparison
 VMware Workstation
 Costs more
 More host & guests support
 Better features (Snapshots, USB)
 64-bit hosts and guests
 Microsoft Virtual PC
 Free
 Less hosts & guests support
 Less VM features and capabilities
Uses

 Development
 Testing
 Training
Server Virtualization
• Software (SoftV) or Operating system
virtualization – where the virtualization
layer sits between the operating system and
the application programs that run on the
operating system. The virtual machine runs
applications, or sets of applications, that are
written for the particular operating system
being virtualized.
Server Virtualization..
 Hardware (HardV) - Here the virtualization
layer sits right on top of the hardware
exporting the virtual machine abstraction.
Because the virtual machine looks like the
hardware, all the software written for it will
run in the virtual machine.
Example of SoftV Server
Virtualization
 VMware Server
SoftV Server Virtualization
Architecture

Applications Applications Applications

Virtual

Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS

(Windows) (Linux) (VMware ESX)
Virtual Machine Virtual Machine Virtual Machine

Virtual Machine Manager(Server Products)

Physical

Host OS(Server Products)

Hardware
HardV Server
Virtualization
• Microsoft Virtual Server
• Citrix XenServer

• VMware ESX Server

• Microsoft Hyper-V Server

• VMware ESXi Server

HardV Server Virtualization
Architecture

Applications Applications
Virtual

Guest OS Guest OS
(Windows) (Linux)

Virtual Machine Virtual Machine

Host OS Virtualization Layer

Physical

Hardware
HardV Server Virtualization
Architecture

Applications Applications Applications

Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS

Virtual

(Windows) (Linux) (VMware ESX)

Virtual Machine Virtual Machine Virtual Machine

Host OS + Virtualization Layer

Physical

Hardware
HardV Server Virtualization
Architecture

Applications Applications Applications

Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS

Virtual

(Windows) (Linux) (VMware ESX)

Virtual Machine Virtual Machine Virtual Machine

Virtualization Layer (Hypervisor)

Physical

Hardware
 What is a hypervisor?
 A hypervisor, also called a virtual machine manager
(VMM), is a program that allows multiple operating
systems to share a single hardware host.
 Each operating system appears to have the host's
processor, memory, and other resources all to
itself. However, the hypervisor is actually
controlling the host processor and resources,
allocating what is needed to each operating system
in turn and making sure that the guest operating
systems (called virtual machines) cannot disrupt
each other.
What is a hypervisor?..
 Guest Operating System is an operating
system running in a virtual machine
environment that would otherwise run directly
on a separate physical system.
 Host Operating System is an operating
system actually running on the hardware
together with virtualization layer, it simulates
environment for guest operating system
ESX & ESXi
 ESX has a Service Console is based on Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 3 (Update 6) that is heavily modified and stripped down
and is used for management purposes. During the boot process
the Service Console bootstraps the VMKernel using initrd and
then turns over full control of all hardware resources to the
VMkernel. When the VMkernel takes over the hardware
resources of the host, the Service Console is warm booted and
managed as a privileged virtual machine within the VMkernel.
 ESXi does not have a full Service Console but instead has a
limited management console based on an implementation of the
Posix variant of Unix within a Busybox framework and has
many features that you will find in the full Service Console.
Techniques of VMware

 VMotion
 Storage VMotion
 High Availability
 Memory Reclamation
VMotion
 VMotion allows you to quickly move an
entire running virtual machine from one
host to another without any downtime
or interruption to the virtual machine
This is also known as a “hot” or “live”
migration.
 The entire state of a virtual machine is
encapsulated and the VMFS file system
allows both the source and the target
ESX host to access the virtual machine
files concurrently. The active memory
and precise execution state of a virtual
machine can then be rapidly
transmitted over a high speed network.
The virtual machine retains its network
identity and connections, ensuring a
seamless migration process.
Storage VMotion
 Storage VMotion is a new feature introduced in
ESX 3.5, it allows you to migrate a running
virtual machine and its disk files from one
datastore to another on the same ESX host
 The difference between VMotion and Storage
VMotion is that VMotion simply moves a virtual
machine from one ESX host to another but keeps
the storage location of the VM the same, Storage
VMotion on the other hand changes the storage
location of the virtual machine while it is running
and moves it to another data store on the same
ESX host. The virtual machine can be moved to
any data store on the ESX host which includes
local and shared storage.
High Availability (HA)
 Continuously monitors all hosts in a
cluster and restarts virtual machines
affected by a host failure on other
hosts
 Can also monitor guest OS's for a
failure via a heartbeat and restart them
on the same host in case of a failure
 Continuously monitors and
chooses the optimal physical servers
within a resource pool on which to
restart virtual machines (if used in
conjunction with DRS)
Disadvantages of Virtualization
System Virtualization -Present
State
 Data centre and desktop computing
successfully use virtualization to
 Better utilize computing capacity
 Balance computing load
 Manage complexity and parallelism
 Improve security by isolation
System Virtualization -Present
State ..
 Mobile and embedded computing currently lag behind
since
 Most hypervisors only support the x86 platform
 Most hypervisors require large memories
 Most hypervisors have poor real-time support
 Most hypervisors are inefficient with microkernel OSs
 Full-virtualization is not available. Operating system source
code needs to be available and must be modified
 Suitable open source-code hypervisors are not available
Cloud Computing Takes
Virtualization to the Next Step
 You don’t have to own the hardware & the
staff
 You “rent” VMs & services as needed from a
ITaaS provider (IT as a Service)
 There are multiple public cloud providers
 e.g. Amazon EC2 and many others (Verizon, iland,
Rackspace, Savvis , HP, IBM)
 The Cloud will provide IT similar to public
utilities providing electricity, gas, and water
Private, Hybrid and Public Clouds
Pre-sized, validated data centre
cloud ready infrastructure