Using Cloud Computing Platforms

Virtualization Technologies and Load Balancing

General Objective (GO):
• Students can able to apply virtualization techniques in cloud
environment with load balancing strategies.
Specific Objectives (SO):
SO1: Identify the network resources in cloud environment to be load
balanced. (U/C)

SO2: To compare and contrast the management with load balancing

and without load balancing strategy. (Ap/C)

SO3: Apply different algorithms in real time cloud environment. (Ap/C)

 Virtualization Technologies

• Majority of cloud-based systems combine their resources into

pools that can be assigned on-demand to users.
• Without resource pooling, it is impossible to attain efficient
utilization, provide reasonable costs to users, and proactively
react to demand.

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 Virtualization Technologies

• Pooled resources can be accessed using a technique called

virtualization.
• Virtualization assigns a logical name for a physical resource and
then provides a pointer to that physical resource when a
request is made.
• The mapping of virtual resources to physical resources can be
both dynamic and facile; which helps efficient resource
management.

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 Virtualization Technologies

• Virtualized components for cloud computing:

• Access: A client can request access to a cloud service from any
location.
• Application: A cloud has multiple application instances and
directs requests to an instance based on conditions.

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 Virtualization Technologies

• Virtualized components for cloud computing:

• CPU: Computers can be partitioned into a set of virtual
machines with each machine being assigned a workload.
• Alternatively, systems can be virtualized through load-
balancing technologies.
• Storage: Data is stored across storage devices and often
replicated for redundancy.
• To enable these characteristics, resources must be highly
configurable and flexible.

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 Virtualization Technologies

• Mobility patterns for Cloud Computing:

• P2V: Physical to Virtual
• V2V: Virtual to Virtual
• V2P: Virtual to Physical
• P2P: Physical to Physical
• D2C: Datacenter to Cloud
• C2C: Cloud to Cloud
• C2D: Cloud to Datacenter
• D2D: Datacenter to Datacenter
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 Virtualization Technologies

• Virtualization is a key enabler for the following attributes of

cloud computing:
• Service-based: A service-based architecture is where clients are
abstracted from service providers through service interfaces.
• Scalable and elastic: Services can be altered to affect capacity
and performance on demand.
• Shared services: Resources are pooled in order to create
greater efficiencies.
• Metered usage: Services are billed on a usage basis.

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 Virtualization Technologies Load Balancing and Virtualization

• One characteristic of cloud computing is virtualized network

access to a service.
• No matter where you access the service, you are directed to the
available resources.
• Cloud Load Balancing is the process of distributing workloads and
computing resources in a cloud computing environment.
• It allows enterprises to manage application or workload demands
by allocating resources among multiple computers, networks or
servers.
• Load Balancing. It can be implemented in hardware or in software.

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 Virtualization Technologies Load Balancing and Virtualization

• Load balancing is an optimization technique; it can be used to

increase utilization and throughput, lower latency, reduce
response time, and avoid system overload.
• The following network resources can be load balanced:
• Network interfaces and services such as DNS, FTP, and HTTP.
• Connections through intelligent switches.
• Processing through computer system assignment.
• Storage resources.
• Access to application instances.

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 Virtualization Technologies Load Balancing and Virtualization

• Load balancing make a system reliable through managed redirection.

• It uses different types of algorithm to decide where the traffic is
routed.
• When a request from a client or service requester arrives, the load
balancer uses a scheduling algorithm to assign where the request is
sent.
• Typical scheduling algorithms in use are Round Robin, Weighted
Round Robin, Fastest Response Time, Least Connections and
weighted least connections
• It also creates a session so that subsequent traffic related to that
session is routed to the same resource.

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Hyper-threading
VM with VM with VM with
one two CPUs one
• Makes a physical CPU appear as CPU CPU
two Logical CPUs (LCPUs)
 Enables operating system (OS) to
schedule two or more threads
simultaneously
• Two LCPUs share the same
physical resources
 While the current thread is stalled,
CPU can execute another thread
• Hypervisor running on a hyper-
LCPU LCPU

threading-enabled CPU provides LCPU LCPU

improved performance and
utilization Thread 1 and 2 Dual – core Thread 1 and 2
Single – socket system
with hyperthreading

13
CPU Load Balancing
VM with VM with VM with
one one one
CPU CPU CPU

LCPU LCPU

LCPU LCPU

Hyperthreaded dual – core

Dual – socket system

14
 Key Network Traffic Management Techniques

1. Balancing client workload: Hardware based

2. Balancing client workload: Software based
3. Storm control
4. NIC teaming
5. Limit and share
6. Traffic shaping
7. Multipathing

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 15
 Technique 1 – Balancing Client Workload: Hardware
Based

• A device (physical switch/router) distributes client traffic across

multiple servers – physical or virtual machines
• Clients use IP address (virtual) of the load balancing device to
send requests
• Load balancing device decides where to forward request
• Decision making is typically governed by load balancing policy,
for example: Round robin, Weighted round robin, Least
connections

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 16
 Technique 2 – Balancing Client Workload: Software
Based

• Performed by software running on a physical or virtual machine

 Example: DNS server load balancing
 Allows multiple IP addresses for a domain name
 Maps domain name to different IP addresses in a round robin
fashion
 Allows clients accessing a domain name to send requests to different
servers
 Example: Microsoft Network Load Balancing
 A special driver on each server in a cluster balances clients’ workload
 The driver presents a single IP address (virtual) to all clients – each IP
packet to reach each server
 The driver maps each request to a particular server – other servers in
the cluster drop the request

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 17
 Technique 3 – Storm Control
• Prevents impact of storm on regular LAN/VLAN traffic
 Storm: Flooding of frames on a LAN/VLAN creating excessive traffic
and degrading network performance
• Counts frames of a specified type over 1-second and compares
with the threshold
• Switch port blocks traffic if threshold is reached and drops the
subsequent frames over the next time interval

Source: “Catalyst 3550

Multilayer Switch
Software
Configuration Guide” –
Cisco Systems, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 18
 Technique 4 – NIC Teaming
• Logically groups physical NICs connected to a virtual switch
 Creates NIC teams whose members can be active and
standby
 Balances traffic load across active NIC team members
 Provides failover in the event of an NIC/link failure
 Allows associating policies for load balancing and failover at a
virtual switch or a port group

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 19
 Technique 5 – Limit and Share
• Are configurable parameters at distributed virtual switch
• Are configured to control different types of network traffic,
competing for a physical NIC or NIC team
• Ensure that business critical applications get required bandwidth
Configurable
Parameter Description

• Sets limit on maximum bandwidth per traffic type

 Traffic type will not exceed limit
Limit
• Is specified in Mbps
• Applies to an NIC team
• Specifies relative priority for allocating bandwidth to
different traffic types
Share • Is specified as numbers
• Applies to a physical NIC

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 20
 Technique 6 – Traffic Shaping
• Controls network bandwidth at virtual/distributed virtual switch or port
group
• Prevents impact on business-critical application traffic by non-critical traffic
flow
Parameter Description
• Data transfer rate allowed over time
Average Bandwidth • Workload at a switch port can intermittently exceed av. Bandwidth
• Burst: When the workload exceeds the average bandwidth, it is called burst
Peak Bandwidth • Max data transfer rate without queuing/dropping frames
• Max amount of data allowed to transfer in a burst
Burst Size • Burst size = bandwidth × time
• Bandwidth in a burst can go up to peak bandwidth

Burst size = bandwidth x time Example:

Peak bandwidth Average bandwidth = 1 Kbps, Peak bandwidth =
Bandwidth

4Kbps, Burst size = 3 Kb

• Burst with data rate 3 Kbps can stay for 1
Average bandwidth second or,
• Burst with data rate 1.5 Kbps can stay for 2
Workload seconds, etc.
Time

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 21
 Technique 7 – Multipathing
Physical server
Multipathing Hypervisor Kernel
Multipathing
A technique allowing a physical server to use
multiple physical paths for transferring data HBA 1 HBA 2
between the physical server and a LUN on a
storage system.

• Is built into hypervisor or provided by third-

party vendor
• Recognizes alternate I/O path to a LUN and SC 1 SC 2
enables failover
• Performs load balancing by distributing I/O to SC –
Storage
all available paths Controller

LUN 0 LUN 1

Storage array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 22
 Virtualization Technologies Advanced Load Balancing

• Workload managers are more sophisticated load balancers.

• They determine the current utilization of the resources in their
pool, the response time, the work queue length, connection
latency and capacity, and other factors in order to assign tasks
to each resource.
• An Application Delivery Controller (ADC) is a combination of
load balancer and application server.
• It is placed between a firewall/router and a data centre
providing the web services.

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 Virtualization Technologies Advanced Load Balancing

• ADCs are also referred to as a content switch, multilayer

switch, or web switch.
• An ADC is assigned a virtual IP address (VIP) that it maps to a
pool of servers based on application specific criteria.
• An ADC is considered to be an advanced version of a load
balancer and lowers the workload of the Web servers.
• Services provided by an ADC include data compression,
content caching, security, server health monitoring, Secure
Sockets Layer[SSL] offload and advanced routing based on
current conditions.

Ajith G.S: poposir.orgfree.com

Thank You