Virtualization

 Virtualization in cloud computing is defined as the technology that

allows the creation of virtual environments on a server or cloud
infrastructure to run preferred applications.

 Cloud computing virtualization enables cloud engineers to run

multiple applications and operating systems on the same server,
resulting in the efficient use of resources and a reduction in cost.
How Does a Hypervisor or a
Virtual Private Server Work?
• A kind of software known as Hypervisor facilitates access to the
virtual machine and the host machine or private server.

• The Hypervisor acts as a link between the hardware and the virtual
environment
• And distributes hardware resources such as the use of CPU and
allocation of memory between the various virtual environments.
What Is the Role of Virtualization in
Cloud Computing?
• Virtualization is the pillar of cloud computing;
cloud computing delivers efficient results and makes data processing
easier with the help of virtualization.
• It also provides solutions to major data security and privacy
challenges.

• The benefits of virtualization are efficient use of resources, added

security, ease of portability, error-free testing, easier handling,
increased flexibility, isolation of faults and rapid deployment.
The advantages of virtualization
in cloud computing for
organizations:
• No special requirements for hardware and utility

• Efficient resource management

• Increased employee productivity as a result of improved accessibility

• Reduction in risk of data loss as resources get stored across locations

The advantages of virtualization
in cloud computing for data
centers:
• Maximization of server capabilities

• Reduction in costs (maintenance and operation)

• Smaller carbon footprint due to lower demands for hardware, energy

and manpower
Need of Virtualization and its
Reference Model
• 1. ENHANCED PERFORMANCE
PC is sufficiently powerful to fulfill all the basic computation
requirements of the user, with various additional capabilities which are
rarely used by the user.
• 2. LIMITED USE OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE RESOURCES
The limited use of the resources leads to under-utilization of hardware
and software resources. As all the PCs of the user are sufficiently
capable to fulfill their regular computational needs that’s why many of
their computers are used often which can be used 24/7 continuously
without any interruption.
• 3. SHORTAGE OF SPACE
The regular requirement for additional capacity, whether memory
storage or compute power, leads data centers raise rapidly. Companies
like Google, Microsoft and Amazon develop their infrastructure by
building data centers as per their needs.
• 4. ECO-FRIENDLY INITIATIVES
At this time, corporations are actively seeking for various methods to
minimize their expenditures on power which is consumed by their
systems. Data centers are main power consumers and maintaining a data
center operations needs a continuous power supply as well as a good
amount of energy is needed to keep them cool for well-functioning.
• 5. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS-
Convert into more servers in a data center, accountable for a significant
increase in administrative costs. Hardware monitoring, server setup and
updates, defective hardware replacement, server resources monitoring,
and backups are included in common system administration tasks.
VIRTUALIZATION REFERENCE
MODEL-
Three major Components falls under this category in
a virtualized environment

• 1. GUEST:
The guest represents the system component that interacts with the virtualization
layer rather than with the host, as would normally happen. Guests usually consist
of one or more virtual disk files, and a VM definition file.
• 2. HOST:
The host represents the original environment where the guest is supposed to be
managed.. The operating system, works as the host and manages the physical
resource management, and the device support.
• 3. VIRTUALIZATION LAYER:
The virtualization layer is responsible for recreating the same or a different
environment where the guest will operate. It is an additional abstraction layer
between a network and storage hardware, computing, and the application running
on it.
Virtualization for Reducing Costs and Increasing
Flexibility

• 1. Virtualization: saving resources and increasing scalability

• Server virtualization allows you to run multiple operating systems on a single
server, improving server utilization and saving hardware and energy costs.
• Desktop virtualization centralizes the management of workstations, simplifying
support and ensuring the security of user data.
• Network virtualization provides flexibility in configuring and scaling the network
infrastructure. Some of the most well-known virtualization platforms include
VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and Red Hat Virtualization,
each of which offers different features to meet business needsThe introduction of
virtualization leads to significant changes in the economics of IT infrastructure:
• Reduced equipment costs
• Virtualization allows multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical
server, significantly reducing the need to purchase additional hardware.
• For example, you can reduce hardware costs by >70% if you reduce the
number of servers from 100 to 25.
• Optimizing energy consumption
• Reducing the number of large and energy-intensive physical servers leads
to a significant reduction in energy consumption. This also helps reduce
environmental impact.
• Reduced maintenance costs
• Reducing the physical server fleet means reducing the need for regular
maintenance and spare parts. Organize a policy of "less hardware - less
problems!"
Scalability and flexibility
through virtualization
• Virtualization allows IT managers to quickly expand or reduce computing
resources according to business needs:
• Dynamic resource allocation
• Virtualization systems, such as VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V, allow you
to dynamically change the allocated resources (CPU, memory, storage) for virtual
machines without physical intervention, which helps to quickly scale applications.
• For example, if a startup uses virtualization technologies to scale computing
power during an advertising campaign, they increase available resources during
peak periods and save resources during quiet times.
• 2.
• Workload isolation and management
• Virtualization provides isolation of individual services and
applications, allowing them to optimize their performance and
security.
• For example, if a healthcare company implements desktop
virtualization, it will help protect sensitive patient data and simplify
employee desktop management.
• Virtualization has proven its ability to dramatically reduce operating
costs and provide the flexibility modern businesses need to adapt to
market changes. Through the intelligent application of server, desktop
and network virtualization, organizations can increase their
competitiveness, improve the efficiency of their IT systems
• Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness: Benefits of Virtualization in the IT
Sector
• Virtualization has become a key element for increasing efficiency and
optimizing resources.

• Migrating from physical servers to virtual infrastructure not only

increases hardware utilization, but also simplifies application and
service management for better performance and manageability.
3. Virtualization for various
types of business
• Small business: When budgets are limited and the need to deploy various
applications is high, virtualization provides an opportunity to use hardware
resources sparingly.
• Multiple virtual machines can run on the same physical server, each of which can
perform different functions - a database, a web server, or a content management
system.
• This not only reduces initial capital costs, but also makes it easier to scale as your
business grows and develops.
• For example, an online retail store no longer needs to invest in additional
equipment when expanding its product range - it is enough to increase the
capabilities of the existing virtual infrastructure.
Medium business:
• Midsize companies are faced with an increase in workloads and users,
requiring a flexible and reliable IT structure.
• Virtualization comes to the rescue by offering mechanisms to improve
fault tolerance and simplify resource management.
• If a server system encounters a problem, virtualization allows you to
quickly redistribute the load, minimizing downtime and potential
losses.
• Moreover, such systems simplify routine administration, automating
many processes and freeing up IT staff time for more strategic tasks.
Big business:
• . Optimizing the use of hardware resources through virtualization can lead to significant
savings.
• When configured correctly, it allows computing and storage resources to be distributed
across departments and divisions as needed, improving the overall performance of the
organization.
• The use of virtual cloud solutions can serve as the basis for creating private clouds that
provide the flexibility of a public cloud with the added security and control that large
companies expect.
• Use cases for virtualization vary by industry. So, in financial sector Virtualization helps
improve security and compliance, in healthcare— improve access to medical applications
and databases,
• and in retail— manage the trading process more effectively. Individual approaches to
virtualization take into account the specifics of the company's work, security and
compliance requirements, as well as the needs for scaling and integration with other
systems and cloud services.
Types of Hardware
Virtualization
• Full Virtualization – The guest OS runs unmodified on a virtualized
environment, with the hypervisor fully emulating hardware.

• Partial Virtualization – Some parts of the hardware are virtualized,

requiring modifications in the guest OS for proper functioning.
• Para virtualization – The guest OS is aware of the virtualization and
interacts with the hypervisor via specialized APIs, improving
performance.
Full virtualization
• virtualization technique that allows for the complete simulation of
underlying hardware in a virtual machine (VM).
• It enables the execution of any software that can run on the physical
hardware in the VM, and supports the use of multiple guest operating
systems simultaneously.
• By providing a virtual BIOS, virtual devices, and virtualized memory
management, full virtualization isolates the guest operating system
from the underlying hardware, ensuring enhanced security and ease
of migration
• Full virtualization is achieved by using a combination of
binary translation and direct execution.
• With full virtualization hypervisors, the physical CPU executes
nonsensitive instructions at native speed;
• OS instructions are translated on the fly and cached for future use,
and user level instructions run unmodified at native speed.
• Full virtualization offers the best isolation and security for VMs and
simplifies migration and portability as the same guest OS instance can
run on virtualized or native hardware.
Full Virtualization
VMware: full virtualization

• VMware’s technology is based on the concept of full virtualization, where the

underlying hardware is replicated and made available to the guest operating
system,
• VMware implements full virtualization either in the desktop environment, by
means of Type II hypervisors, or in the server environment, by means of Type
I hypervisors. In both cases, full virtualization is made possible by means of direct
execution (for nonsensitive instructions) and binary translation (for sensitive
instructions), thus allowing the virtualization of architecture such as x86.
• Besides these two core solutions, VMware provides additional tools and software
that simplify the use of virtualization technology either in a desktop environment,
with tools enhancing the integration of virtual guests with the host, or in a server
environment, with solutions for building and managing virtual computing
infrastructures.
Full virtualization and binary
translation
• VMware is well known for the capability to virtualize x86 architectures,
which runs unmodified on top of their hypervisors.
• With the new generation of hardware architectures and the introduction
of hardware-assisted virtualization (Intel VT-x and AMD V) in 2006,
• full virtualization is made possible with hardware support, but before that
date, the use of dynamic binary translation was the only solution that
allowed running x86 guest operating systems unmodified in a
virtualized environment.
• In full virtualization, guests will issue a hardware calls but in
paravirtualization, guests will directly communicate with the host
(hypervisor) using the drivers.
Partial Virtualization

• Partial virtualization, or software-based virtualization, involves

virtualizing specific components of the hardware
• while leaving others to be managed by the host operating system.
• It doesn't completely simulate the underlying hardware.
Example of Partial Virtualization

• VirtualBox is an example of partial virtualization.

• It allows users to create VMs on their host system,
• but it relies on the host OS to manage certain hardware aspects.
• VirtualBox is suitable for running guest operating systems with
minimal performance impact.
Hardware-Assisted
Para virtualization

• Para virtualization is a technique where the guest operating system is

aware of the virtualization layer and cooperates with it.
• Unlike full virtualization, para virtualization requires modifications to
the guest OS to optimize its performance within the virtual
environment.
• Example of Paravirtualization
• Xen is a hypervisor that supports paravirtualization.
• Guest operating systems running on Xen are modified to interact with
the hypervisor directly,
• improving performance by avoiding certain virtualization overhead.
Paravirtualization
• Paravirtualization works differently from the full virtualization. It
doesn’t need to simulate the hardware for the virtual machines.
• The hypervisor is installed on a physical server (host) and a guest OS is
installed into the environment. Virtual guests aware that it has been
virtualized, unlike the full virtualization to take advantage of the
functions.
• In this virtualization method, guest source codes will be modified with
sensitive information to communicate with the host. Guest Operating
systems require extensions to make API calls to the hypervisor.
Example
• Here is the lisf of products which supports paravirtualization.
• Xen
• IBM LPAR
• Oracle VM for SPARC (LDOM)
• Oracle VM for X86 (OVM)