Tuesday, 14 October 2014

6:: Virtualization

Definition:
Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as a hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or network resources.

Virtualization is not new, but it has recently become more popular
In the late 1960s, mainframe computers were virtualized and rented out to smaller companies that could not afford an actual mainframe as a cost effective solution
In the 1980s and 1990s, with the advent of the personal computer (PC) and the drop in hardware costs, virtualization lost steam
Recently however, virtualization has grown in popularity again, desktop and server virtualization are common to see in organizations

virtualization is a broad term that refers to the abstraction of computer resources
It is "a technique for hiding the physical characteristics of computing resources from the way in which other systems, applications, or end users interact with those resources. This includes making a single physical resource (such as a server, an operating system, an application, or storage device) appear to function as multiple logical resources; or it can include making multiple physical resources (such as storage devices or servers) appear as a single logical resource."


Virtualization Categories

There are broadly two main categories of software virtualization
1)Process Virtualization
2)System Virtualization

1)Process Virtualization:
Run a process under the control of a layer of software.

–The virtualization software runs above the OS and hardware combination
–Sun’s JVM, MS .Net, Rosetta, Pin, etc.
JVM:
–Interprets, then compiles “byte code” files
–“Write once, run anywhere”
–extensive libraries – extend OS API as Java standard
Rosetta:
–Translates PowerPC binaries “on-the-fly” to x86

2)System Virtualization
Run an operating system under the control of a layer of software
The Virtualization software runs in between the host hardware and the guest software.
Goal is to provide virtualized hardware resources
Enables elasticity in hardware without effecting the guest software.
Ex: VMware, Xen, KVM
Virtualization is way to run multiple operating systems and user applications on the same hardware
–E.g., run both Windows and Linux on the same laptop

Refer Below for understanding Virtualization in more detail.

No comments:

Post a Comment