Virtualization

Virtualization Definition: Simplified

• Virtualization allows the creation of a virtual version of a device or resource, such as servers, storage devices, networks, and even an operating system.
• The technology behind virtualization is known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM) or virtual manager, which separates compute environments from the actual physical infrastructure.
• Virtualization makes the most out of your investment in hardware by using its full capacity.

Connection between Virtualization and Computer Systems

Here is how it looks on a Virtual system:

function virtualization(n, e){
  var result = n / e;
  return result;
}

The code snippet above demonstrates a simplified way of calculating the number of virtual machines running on a physical machine, assuming n as number of processes and e as efficiency of virtualization.

Different Types of Virtualization Techniques

Within the field of Computer Science, there are several different techniques of virtualization that you might encounter. Each of these techniques serves its unique function and offers a different set of advantages.

Diving into Hardware Virtualization

When you think about virtualization in the most traditional sense, you're likely thinking about hardware virtualization. This is the process of creating a virtual machine, a unique and independent software container that can run its operating system and applications just as if it were a physical computer.

• In hardware virtualization, the hardware allows multiple operating systems to run on a single physical machine simultaneously.
• The underlying hardware is partitioned into several virtual machines (VMs), each with its resources such as CPUs, memory, and storage.
• Each VM acts independently of the others, which allows isolation among the different VMs.

Here's a basic representation of how a physical machine can be divided into several VMs:

Exploring Server Virtualization

The next interesting virtualization technique that needs to be understood is server virtualization. This is the partitioning of a physical server into several smaller virtual servers by means of software.

• In server virtualization, a software application divides the physical server into multiple isolated virtual environments, often called virtual or private servers.
• This is useful in making sure each user has privacy and their data is secure from other users.
• Server virtualization also allows better disaster recovery processes as each virtual server can be restarted independently of the others.

Evidence of server virtualization can be visualized as:

Understanding Operating System Virtualization

Operating System Virtualization, also referred to as containerization, is when the virtualization technology works at the operating system (kernel) layer.

• With this type of virtualization, all containers share the host system's operating system, but the containers behave as separate systems.
• Unlike hardware virtualization, all containers have the same operating system as the host system. The containers' systems can host different applications and have different settings than the host system.
• This method optimizes system resources and minimizes system overhead, supporting more containers than you could with individual virtual machines.

A simplified view of operating system virtualization looks like this:

A Close Look at Cloud Virtualization

Next comes cloud virtualization, a process that most commonly happens in a public cloud service model, where a service provider makes resources, such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the internet.

• In cloud virtualization, a virtual machine is created on the host's server but made available over the internet.
• Cloud virtualization allows for sharing of a host's physical resources, such as network and storage, among many users.
• Each user can have different settings and applications on their virtual machines, which provides privacy and customization to each user.

Here's an illustration of how cloud virtualization might look:

function cloudVirtualization(n, u){
  var result = n * u;
  return result;
}

The above code snippet displays a abstract function indicating the number of virtual machines (result) depending on the number of users (u) and the network potential (n) in the situation of cloud virtualization.

Virtualization and Networking: How They Interact

Virtualization and networking bear a symbiotic relationship within the realm of computer science, closely interacting with each other to promote efficient resource sharing and usage.

The Mechanics of Virtualization and Networking

The mechanics of how virtualization and networking interact are a key part of understanding this corner of computer science. In simple terms, networking is the practice of connecting two or more computers together for the purpose of sharing resources, while virtualization helps to create multiple simulated environments from a single physical hardware system.

To grasp their interaction, one needs to understand the concept of network virtualization. Network Virtualization is a method to combine available resources in a network by splitting up the available bandwidth into channels, each of which is independent from the others, and each channel is separate for all intents and purposes.

• Within the sphere of networking, virtualization is used to partition a single physical network into multiple logical networks.
• The trick here is that these logical networks have the capability to span across multiple physical networks.
• This enhances the efficiency of the network and allows us to maneuver network traffic in a better fashion, providing heightened security in the process.

To have a better understanding, picture the physical network as a large house with several rooms. Each room in this case represents a logical network. All rooms are a part of the same house (physical network), but they serve different purposes and have their unique attributes (logical network).

The phenomenon of data travel in a network leading to logical networks can be represented as:

Various kinds of network virtualization technologies exist including VLAN, VPN, and VRF. These can be broadly classified into two main types:

• External Virtualization - Here, the devices on a network are interconnected by a 'switch' to form a virtual group.
• Internal Virtualization - Here, a software application on a network server simulates a physical network. This way, every device acts as though it's working with the server's own software, without worrying about the network in between.

function dataTravel(p, l){
  var result = p / l;
  return result;
}

The above code snippet depicts a basic function illustrating the concept of data travel in a network environment. It calculates how much data (result) can travel through a physical network (p) depending upon the number of logical networks (l).

Identifying the Various Benefits of Virtualization

With the remarkable advancement in the field of technology, especially in Computer Science, virtualization has gained unprecedented importance and popularity in recent years. The benefits of virtualization are manifold and range from financial savings to enhanced security measures.

Efficiency and Cost-Effective Aspects of Virtualization

When dissecting the efficiency and cost-effective aspects of virtualization, it is essential to perceive virtualization as a powerful tool that can dramatically alter the operations of a business or even an individual user's computing experience.

Firstly, resource optimization is one of the most crucial aspects of efficiency in the realm of virtualization. This technique allows for the optimum usage of hardware resources by dividing a single physical system into multiple virtual machines, each capable of running its operating system and applications. The result is a significant decrease in the number of physical machines required, which directly leads to energy and cost savings.

• A reduction in hardware leads to less power consumption, an integral step toward environmental sustainability.
• Less hardware also means reduced maintenance costs and saved physical space.

Secondly, the software compatibility provided by virtualization leads to reduced software costs. Since each virtual machine can run its operating system and applications, it negates the need to purchase multiple licenses for software and applications for different systems. Plus, the ease of developing, testing, and deploying applications on virtual machines leads to significant cost and time savings.

Performance and Security Advantages of Virtualization

Considering performance and security advantages, the immense potential of virtualization becomes even more apparent.

When it comes to performance, virtualization promotes improved disaster recovery and business continuity. Each virtual machine can be easily backed up and restored, which means in case of hardware failure or a disaster, the system can quickly resume, minimising downtime. Moreover, workload mobility provided by virtualization enables the shifting of virtual machines to another host in real-time, ensuring optimal performance and minimal disruption.

The formula for determining recovery time in virtualization can be understood as:

function recoveryTime(s, b){
  var result = s / b;
  return result;
}

The code above defines a function for calculating recovery time (result) by dividing the size of data (s) by the backup speed (b). This yields an estimate of how quickly systems can be restored following a disaster.

As for security, virtualization offers isolated and secure environments for running applications. This reduces the risk of application conflicts and system crashes and provides a sandboxed environment for testing new software or updates. Moreover, through virtual machine isolation, if any security breach happens in one virtual machine, it doesn’t affect the others, providing an added layer of safety to the systems.

Additionally, virtualization allows for quicker provisioning and scaling of resources, improving responsiveness to changes in demand or business needs. Lastly, it paves the way for cloud computing, offering scalable, on-demand technology services over the Internet.

The Trade-off Between Performance and Security in Virtualization

While discussing the performance and security benefits of virtualization, it is vital to understand the trade-off between performance and security. Although virtualization provides secure, isolated environments, there is always a performance overhead associated with this isolation and the additional layer of abstraction introduced by virtualization. But advancements in virtualization technologies have significantly reduced this overhead, making it a preferred choice in today's technology landscape.

Real-life Application of Virtualization

The theory of virtualization may appear complex, yet the real-life applications of this technology are far-reaching and pervasive, captured in varied domains right from data centres to the devices in your pocket. Let's delve into some of these applications in greater detail.

What is Server Virtualization?

Server virtualization is a significant application of virtualization technology, having revolutionised data centre landscapes. The principle of server virtualization revolves around the idea of masking server resources, including the number and identity of individual physical servers, processors, and operating systems from server users.

This strategy involves running multiple, isolated virtual servers on a single physical server. These virtual servers, known as Virtual Machines (VMs), can each operate and execute tasks as if they were independent servers, thereby maximising resource usage.

Server virtualization can be classified into three different types:

• Full virtualization - Here, the entire installation of the operating system is done on new virtual hardware. It does not matter what the guest's OS might be, and hence it's not needed to modify the OS.
• Paravirtualization - In contrast to full virtualization, the guest's OS is modified in this scenario for use in a system that's virtualized.
• OS-level Virtualization - In this type, the host's OS is capable of allowing different guest OS to be executed.

Server virtualization provides several advantages such as cost savings, efficient resource utilisation, faster server provisioning and deployment, simplified IT management, and improved business continuity and disaster recovery processes.

An equation capturing the potential cost-saving aspect in server virtualization can be defined as:

function totalSavings(n, c1, c2){
  var result = (n * c1) / c2;
  return result;
}

This function calculates the total savings that can be achieved through server virtualization. The total savings (result) are obtained by multiplying the number of physical servers replaced (n) and cost per physical server (c1) and then dividing the product by the cost per virtual machine (c2).

Exploring the Real-world Use of Virtualization Techniques

While the merits of virtualization are plentiful, the proof of its value is in its numerous real-world applications. The most common of these is certainly in the domain of enterprise IT infrastructure, where businesses leverage server and network virtualization to optimise resource usage, improve data centre efficiency, and streamline operations.

For instance, with server virtualization, companies can operate numerous types of software and multiple operating systems on the same physical server, boosting server utilisation rates while reducing hardware costs and power usage.

Furthermore, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is another manifestation of virtualisation where a user's desktop environment is hosted on a centralised, or remote, server and then sent to the user’s device over the network. The user can access their desktop remotely, from any device, providing a great deal of flexibility and accessibility. VDI is especially popular in environments where security is critical, and system administrators need to maintain control over users' desktops.

Deeper Insight into Cloud Virtualization and its Applications

When you hear the term cloud virtualization, it's an allusion to virtualization technology principles utilised in creating, managing, and scaling cloud computing infrastructures. Cloud computing employs virtualization as a foundation to deliver scalable and flexible computing resources "on-demand".

This infrastructure sits behind widely used services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and even video streaming on Netflix. Each of these applications requires the ability to scale rapidly in accordance with user demand, a feat made possible by cloud virtualization.

Differing from traditional server virtualization, where the focus is typically on optimising server usage and reducing hardware costs, cloud virtualization places emphasis on scalability and flexibility. It allows service providers to dynamically allocate resources to meet changing demands, leading to improved performance and reduced costs.

The following are some of the leading types of cloud virtualization:

• Hardware Virtualization - This involves abstracting the computing resources of a physical machine from the systems using it.
• Software Virtualization - This creates a virtual environment that can execute applications as if they were being run on physical hardware.
• Storage Virtualization - Consolidates physical storage from multiple network storage devices so that it looks like a single storage device.
• Memory Virtualization - Aggregates RAM resources from networked systems into a single memory pool.
• Data Virtualization - Involves the gathering of detailed information from multiple, sometimes incompatible, sources in real-time by abstracting it from the original source.

Typically, cloud virtualization applications involve large-scale, distributed environments. Large technology companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft use cloud virtualization techniques to provide on-demand computing, storage, and network services to users worldwide.