A Virtualisation case study

Content
 Virtualization – a brief introduction
 Concepts of virtualization
 Virtualization definition
 Virtualization types
 Virtualisation – a case study
 Disadvantages
 Advantages
 Conclusion
 References
 Abbreviations
• SW - Software
• OS – Operating system
• VM – Virtual Machine
• HW – Hardware
• VMM – Virtual Machine Monitor
• TCO – Total Cost of Ownership
• CAPEX – Capital Expenditure
• OPEX – Operational Expenditure
 Virtualisation – a brief introduction
• In 1960, first Implemented by IBM to separate mainframes into partitions of
logical virtual machines

• The partitions allowed mainframes to multitask

(run multiple applications same time)

• 1990 to 1980, cheaper x86 servers and desktops almost replaced virtualization

• Physical servers Increased and resulted in an increased in:

CAPEX - On going capital expenditure
OPEX - On going operational expenditure

• In 1999 VMware introduced a virtualization solution that transforms a single x86

server into multiple virtual servers
 Concepts in virtualization
1. Host OS: the resident OS that host other OSs or VMs
2. Guest OS: OS or VM installed in a host OS
3. Hypervisor : also calls Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM)
 SW that allows multiple OS to share a single HW
 Allocates resources and memory to each OS
 Ensures there is no conflict
 Monitor and controls the OS and HW
3.1. Hypervisor Type 1:Bare metal virtualization
3.2. Hypervisor Type 2:Hosted virtualization
4. Protection Rings – Ring 0 - 3
 Hypervisor Type 1 and Type 2
Hypervisor Type 1 or Bare metal virtualization
 SW directly installed on the HW
 No pre installed base OS
 Controls the HW and monitors the OS
 Fast because the VMs runs on the VMM
 Supports more VMs with no OS overhead
Examples: VMware ESX and citrix Xen Server

Hypervisor Type 2 or Hosted virtualization :

 OS pre-installed eg. Windows/Linux/MAC
 VMs installed like applications on Hypervisor
 VMs can use all HW resources of the host OS
 Host OS supplies all the device drivers
 Supports limited VMs with OS overhead
Examples: VMware workstation and Microsoft Virtual PC
 Hypervisor Types
Hypervisor Type 1 or Hypervisor Type 2 or
Bare metal virtualization Hosted virtualization

Source: www.vmware.com
 The Protection Rings
• Rings typically from 0 – 3
Protection Rings are the
• Applications run in Ring 1 – 3 but typically in different Code execution
Ring 3 levels in the CPU
• Ring 0, highest privilege level, is where the
OS normally runs

• Codes executing in Ring 0 are in supervisor

or kernel mode
Ring -1
• Hypervisor displaces the OS and runs in Ring
0

• Ring -1 is a new Ring level introduced by

Intel and AMD in CPU, for HW assisted
virtualization Source: wikipedia
 What is Virtualization ?

• Virtualization is simply a technology that divides physical HW

resources into separate virtual partitions called virtual machines.

• Virtualization software program called Hypervisor is installed on

the hardware to monitor and control the base Hardware and the
Guest OS

• Hypervisor, also called Virtual Machine Monitor, enables the

multiple VMs (OSs) to share the resources of the single HW
without conflict

• Hypervisor Type 1 runs on Hardware and

Hypervisor Type 2 runs on a Host OS
Hardware architecture before and
after Virtualization

Source: wikipedia
 Major Types of virtualization
1) Para virtualization
2) Full virtualization -Non hardware assisted
3) Full virtualization -Hardware assisted
4) Full virtualization - Hosted virtualization
5) Server virtualization
6) Storage virtualization
7) Network virtualization
8) Applications virtualization
9) Desktop virtualization
 Para Virtualization
• Hypervisor SW layer on the HW and the VMs (OSs) are run the
Hypervisor

• Guest OSs are modified to run inside Hypervisors

• VMM offers a special API that can only be used by modified OS to call
the Hypervisor (Hypercalls)

• The Hypervisor runs the Ring 0 CPU tasks

(critical operations)on behalf of the multiple OS

• Example: Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESX server

 Para Virtualization
architecture and implementation
Architecture Implementation

Source: wordpress & techarena

 Full virtualization without HW support
•Hypervisor layer on the HW and the VMs (OSs) run directly on the Hypervisor

•The Hypervisor runs on Ring 0 and completely abstracts (decouples) the guest OS
from the underlining HW

•Guest OS kernels are not modified

•Sensitive and privilege instructions (eg. accessing an I/O device) are trapped into
the VMM and interpreted using Binary Translation

•VMM provides all the services of the physical system in form of virtual BIOS, virtual
memory and virtual devices

•Examples: VMware ESX server and XEN Server

 Full Virtualization without HW support.

Architecture Implementation

Source: wordpress & techarena

Full Virtualization with HW support
Additional higher privilege Ring layer – Ring -1
No Binary Translation of critical instructions

Architecture Implementation

Source: wordpress & techarena

Intel-VT HW assist virtualization
• Virtualization layer is in-built on the
HW

• Currently found in new generation

Ring 3
CPUs from Intel and AMD

Ring 0 • common types are Intel-VT and AMD-

V
Ring -1

Ring -1 • Provides extra protection layer (Ring -1)

below Ring 0

• Enables multiple VMs to run on one

HW unmodified in Ring 0

Source: wikipedia
• No Binary Translation overhead
Full virtualization - Hosted
o A base OS like windows, Linux
or MAC is pre – installed
o The Hypervisor (VMM) runs
on the OS
o The VMs or guest OSs are
then installed
o Examples: VMware player,
VMware workstation and
Parallels Desktop for MAC
o The VMM passes the I/O
requests through the host OS
o Host OS provides the device
driver
Source:vmware.com
 Virtualization case study
Hosted Desktop virtualization

• Hypervisor - VMware player

• Used to host different OS

• Used for testing SW

• Used for Developing SW

• Used for IT troubleshooting

Source: chriswolf.com
 Disadvantages of Virtualization
• Single point of failure if Host server fails

• High demand on resources - sophisticated HW

with increased RAM and CPU power

• Performance problems cannot be detected in

advance
 Advantages of Virtualisation

• Management perspective

• IT perspective

• Business unit perspective

 Virtualisation - advantages
Management perspective:

• Maximum utilization of HW resources.

• Reduced cost (TCO) – IT Budgets decrease in server, storage, power

software and in testing and development.

• Server operations and management becomes easier.

• Business flexibility.

• Real time response to dynamically changing computing needs.

• Competitive edge in the market place

 Virtualisation - advantages
IT perspective

• Easy resources allocation and sharing

• Server Consolidation and reduced number of

physical servers

• High Reliability and Availability

• Better utilization of resources due to sharing.

 Virtualisation – advantages
Business Unit Perspective

• Application and database Queries run

• Disaster recovery and Database Backup is faster

• Improvement performance

• Better reliability and stability due to built-in high availability functions.

• Provide a safe and secure environment as per the Business Unit

requirements.

• Reduced Software licensing

 Conclusion

• Virtualization enables multiple OSs to run on a

single HW
• Para Virtualization
• Full virtualization with Hardware assist
• Full virtualization without Hardware assist
• Full virtualization with Hosted OS
• Reduces IT budgets - CAPEX and OPEX
 A virtualisation case study

• References :

• Eric Siebert. VMware VI3 Implementation and Administration

[Paperback] 1 edition (May 28, 2009)

• White paper: Understanding Full Virtualization,

Paravirtualization, and Hardware Assist

• http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/VMware_paravirtualization.pdf