Five Mainstream Virtualization Technologies

The five virtualization technologies are: CPU virtualization, network virtualization, server virtualization, storage virtualization, and application virtualization. Let's gradually unveil them and see their beauty.

CPU virtualization

Virtualization usually refers to computing elements running on a virtual basis rather than on a real basis. Virtualization technology can expand the capacity of hardware and simplify the process of software reconfiguration. In short, the CPU virtualization technology is a single CPU simulation of multiple CPUs in parallel, allowing a platform to run multiple operating systems at the same time, and applications can run in independent spaces without affecting each other, thereby significantly improving the work of the computer effectiveness.

There are many limitations to pure software virtualization solutions. In many cases, the "guest" operating system communicates with the hardware through a VMM (Virtual Machine Monitor, virtual machine monitor), and the VMM determines its access to all virtual machines on the system. (Note that most processors and memory accesses are independent of the VMM, and the VMM is only involved when certain events occur, such as page faults.) In a software-only virtualization solution, the position of the VMM in the software suite is traditional. The operating system is at a loss. (Such as processor, memory, storage, graphics card and network card, etc.) to simulate the hardware environment. This conversion will inevitably increase the complexity of the system.

Virtualization technology is a solution. The complete situation requires the support of the CPU, motherboard chipset, BIOS, and software, such as VMM software or some operating systems themselves. Even if only the CPU supports virtualization technology, the software with VMM will have better performance than a system that does not support virtualization technology at all.

The two major CPU giants Intel and AMD are trying their best to take the lead in the field of virtualization, but AMD's virtualization technology is several months behind Intel. Intel has been promoting Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) virtualization technology in its processor product line since late 2005. Currently, Intel has released a series of processor products with Intel VT virtualization technology, including the desktop platform Pentium 4 6X2 series, Pentium D 9X0 series and Pentium EE 9XX series, as well as some of the Core Duo series and Core Solo series. Products, as well as Xeon LV series, Xeon 5000 series, Xeon 5100 series, Xeon MP 7000 series and Itanium 2 9000 series on server / workstation platforms; meanwhile, most of Intel's next-generation mainstream processors, including Merom core mobile processors, Conroe core desktop processors, Woodcrest core server processors, and Itanium 2 high-end server processors based on Montecito cores will all support Intel VT virtualization technology.

And AMD has also released a series of processor products that support AMD Virtualization Technology (AMD VT) virtualization technology, including the Socket S1 interface of the Turion 64 X2 series and the Socket AM2 interface of the Athlon 64 X2 series and Athlon 64 FX series, etc. And most of AMD's next generation mainstream processors, including the forthcoming Socket F interface Opteron, will support AMD VT virtualization technology.

Network virtualization

Network virtualization is the industry's most ambiguous definition of the field of virtualization, and it is a controversial concept. "Network virtualization" in Microsoft's eyes refers to a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN abstracts the concept of a network connection, allowing remote users to access the organization's internal network as if physically connected to it. Network virtualization can help protect the IT environment from Internet threats, while giving users fast and secure access to applications and data.

For the other giant of the network camp, 3Com has a bigger move on network virtualization than Cisco. A working card can be inserted into the 3Com router. The card comes with a full-featured Linux server that can be connected to a router hub. In this Linux server, you can install things like sniffer, VoIP, security applications and more. In addition, the company plans to run VMware on Linux cards in the future to allow users to run Windows Server. 3Com's open source network virtualization activity is called 3Com ON (aka Open Networking).

Of course, Wang Po sells melon and brags. Cisco and 3Com's own wishful thinking must not be used as a symbol of the real rise of the network virtualization banner. At present, network virtualization is still in its infancy, but at a time of rapid demand for human network information , We have reason to believe that its breakthrough and growth will be rapid.

  Server virtualization

Unlike network virtualization, server virtualization is the earliest subdivision of virtualization technology. According to a survey conducted by Forrester Research in February 2006, the global enterprise awareness of server virtualization reached 75%. One-third of enterprises are already using or preparing to deploy server virtualization. This technology, which was born in the 1960s, is increasingly showing its value. Due to the long development time and wide application of server virtualization, many people almost equate server virtualization with virtualization.

Regarding the concept of server virtualization, each vendor has its own different definition, but its core idea is the same, that is, it is a method that can prioritize resources and allocate server resources to those who need them most, anytime, anywhere. Workloads to simplify management and increase efficiency, thereby reducing resources reserved for individual workload spikes.

It seems that, like all disruptive technologies, server virtualization technology first appeared quietly, then suddenly burst out, and was finally recognized for a consolidated plan to save energy. Today, many companies use virtualization technology to increase the utilization of hardware resources, perform disaster recovery, and improve the level of office automation. This set of articles describes how to eliminate physical hardware limitations from three perspectives: server, storage, application, and desktop virtualization technologies.

The partition continuity technology under HP-UX can divide the server into physically or logically independent partitions, providing a solid foundation for optimizing resource utilization and improving server availability.

Hardware Partitions (nPars)-HP nPars are hardware partitions in a single server. nPars provides up to 16 hardware partitions, full hardware and software isolation capabilities, and multiple OS instances running on one server, depending on the server type.

Virtual partitions (vPars)-HP vPars have the unique feature of implementing multiple OS instances within a system or hardware partition. Each vPar can have a specified amount of memory, one or more physical memory regions, a specified CPU pool, and one or more I / O cards in the server. vPars can be created and modified dynamically using software commands. Therefore, each application can run in an environment with the highest performance and the requirements of the OS configuration.

Resource Partitioning-Process Resource Management Software (PRM) can dynamically allocate system resources (CPU, memory, and disk I / O) to customer applications in a variety of ways. The allocation can be based on shares, percentages, and processor groups (PSets). pSets allow the creation of processor groups on the server, while applications or users can be assigned to run on a specified pSet.

Storage virtualization

With the continuous operation and development of information services, the storage system network platform has become a core platform, and a large amount of high-value data has accumulated. The applications surrounding these data have increasingly higher requirements for the platform. Including data access performance, data transmission performance, data management capabilities, storage expansion capabilities and many other aspects. It can be said that the overall performance of the storage network platform will directly affect the normal operation of the entire system. For this reason, another sub-field of virtualization technology, virtual storage technology, came into being.

With the continuous development of computer technology and related information processing technology, people's demand for storage is increasing. This demand has stimulated the emergence of various new technologies, such as better and better disk performance and larger and larger capacity. However, in a large number of large and medium-sized information processing systems, a single disk cannot meet the needs. In this case, storage virtualization technology has developed. There are also several stages and applications in this development process. The first is the disk stripe set (RAID) technology, which combines multiple physical disks into a large-capacity virtual disk through a certain logical relationship. With the increasing amount of data and increasing requirements for data availability, another new storage technology has emerged at the historic moment, and that is storage area network (SAN) technology.

SAN's wide area is designed to make storage devices a public facility, and any person and any host can obtain their desired data anytime, anywhere. At present, more discussions include technologies such as iSCSI and FC Over IP. As some related standards have not yet been finalized, the common use of storage devices and the wide-scale storage network are an irreversible trend.

The so-called virtual storage refers to the centralized management of multiple storage media modules (such as hard disks and RAID) through certain means. All storage modules are uniformly managed in a storage pool. From the perspective of the host and workstation, It will not be multiple hard disks, but a partition or volume, as if it is a hard disk with a large capacity (such as 1T or more). This kind of storage system that can manage multiple and multiple storage devices together and provide users with large capacity and high data transmission performance is called virtual storage.

Application virtualization

The previous virtualization technologies mainly focus on the virtual optimal allocation of hardware platform resources. As IT applications become more widespread, application virtualization has emerged as the tomorrow's star of the virtualization family. A July 2006 study conducted by Forrester Consulting in the United States for senior IT executives in a variety of industries shows that organizations today see application virtualization as a business path, not an IT decision . According to statistics, at least more than 180,000 organizations around the world are using application virtualization technology to centralize IT management, strengthen security, and reduce overall costs.

Despite the rapid development of virtual technology in the past ten years, the reality is that when we need to use application systems, we still limit our thinking to the computer case. The device that receives user input from a keyboard, mouse, microphone, or scanner is usually the same device that processes and stores data and responds to the output of displays, printers, and speakers. However, with the development and change of the concept of virtualization, "application virtualization" has become a rapidly developing market.