Chapter 2

Abstraction & Virtualization

 The Basics of Virtualization
• Virtualization is the "creation of a virtual (rather than actual)
version of something, such as a server, a desktop, a storage
device, an operating system or network resources"
• Virtualization is a technique, which allows to share single physical
instance of an application or resource among multiple
organizations or tenants (customers)
• Virtualization is the process of building a virtual system to
replicate hardware capabilities.
• It employs a software solution to split the hardware components
of a single computer, such as its processors, memory, storage, and
others, into virtual machines (VMs). These virtual machines have
distinct operating systems, libraries, and other programs provided
by the underlying host operating system.
• The machine on which the virtual machine is going to
create is known as Host Machine and that virtual
machine is referred as a Guest Machine.
• A great example of how virtualization works in your daily
life is the separation of your hard drive into different
parts. While you may have only one hard drive, your
system sees it as two, three or more different and
separate segments
concept behind the Virtualization
• Creation of a virtual machine over existing
operating system and hardware.
• Host machine: The machine on which the virtual
machine is created.
• Guest machine: virtual machines referred as a
guest machine.
• Hypervisor: Hypervisor is a firmware or low-level
program that acts as a Virtual Machine Manager.
Hypervisor software facilitates virtualization. A
hypervisor sits on top of an operating system but
we can also have hypervisors that are installed
directly onto the hardware.
• There are two types of hypervisor:
• Type 1 Hypervisors (Bare Metal)
• A Type 1 hypervisor is installed directly on top of the
physical machine. Type 1 hypervisors are also known as
bare-metal hypervisors due to the nature of their
installation type.
• These categories of hypervisors are more popular and
secure than the Type 2 hypervisors
• Type 1 hypervisors have a lower amount of latency and
are the most used in the market. Some examples of
these hypervisors are VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V,
or open-source Kernel-based VMs (KVMs).
• Type 2 Hypervisors (Hosted)
• On the other hand, for Type 2 hypervisors, there is
a layer of host OS that sits between the physical
server and the hypervisor. For this reason, we call
these hypervisors “hosted hypervisors”.
• They are less common and mostly used for end-user
virtualization.
• They are known to have more latency compared to
Type 1 due to their hosted nature. Type 2
hypervisors include Oracle VirtualBox or VMware
Workstation.
Types of virtualization
1.Hardware Virtualization:
• When the virtual machine software or virtual machine manager (VMM) is
directly installed on the hardware system is known as hardware
virtualization.
• The main job of hypervisor is to control and monitoring the processor,
memory and other hardware resources.
Usage: • Hardware virtualization is mainly done for the server platforms,
because controlling virtual machines is much easier than controlling a
physical server.
Types of Hardware Virtualization
This is the list of hardware virtualization in Cloud Computing:
Full Virtualization
Emulation Virtualization
Para-Virtualization
I. Full Virtualization
In full virtualization, there is no need for any modification to run any
application. In addition, the hardware architecture completely
simulates, which benefits the guest software. There is an
environment, quite similar to an operating system in a server.
With the help of full virtualization, the administrators can combine
the new and the existing system for something efficient. So, it
should be compatible with the newer system
II. Emulation Virtualization
In emulation virtualization, hardware simulates by the
virtual machine and it is independent. Here, the guest
operating system does not require any other
modification. In this virtualizations, computer hardware
as architectural support builds and manages a fully
virtualized VM.
III. Para-virtualization
In paravirtualization, the hardware not simulates and the
guest software runs its isolated system. It is not
necessary to simulate the hardware, but it utilizes an API
which modifies the guest operating system. The
hypervisor provides a various command, which is sent
from operating system to the hypervisor and is called
hypercalls. These hypercalls are further use for memory
management.
• Software Virtualization:
• Software Visualization in Cloud Computing allows the single
computer server to run one or more virtual environments. It is
quite similar to virtualizations but here it abstracts the software
installation procedure and creates a virtual software out of it.
• In software virtualizations, an application will be installed which
will perform the further task. One software is physical while
others are virtual as it allows 2 or more operating system using
only one computer.
• Server Virtualization
• Server virtualization is a partition of physical servers into
multiple virtual servers. Here, each virtual server is running its
own operating system and applications
The Advantages of Virtualization
1. It is cheaper.
Because virtualization doesn’t require actual hardware
components to be used or installed, IT infrastructures find it
to be a cheaper system to implement.
2. It keeps costs predictable.
Because third-party providers typically provide
virtualization options, individuals and corporations can have
predictable costs for their information technology needs.
3. It reduces the workload.
Most virtualization providers automatically update their
hardware and software that will be utilized. Instead of
sending people to do these updates locally, they are
installed by the third-party provider
4. It allows for faster deployment of resources.
Resource provisioning is fast and simple when
virtualization is being used. There is no longer a
need to set up physical machines, create local
networks, or install other information technology
components.
5. It provides energy savings.
For most individuals and corporations,
virtualization is an energy-efficient system.
Because there aren’t local hardware or software
options being utilized, energy consumption rates
can be lowered. Instead of paying for the cooling
costs of a data center and the operational costs
of equipment
• The Disadvantages of Virtualization
• 1. It can have a high cost of implementation.
The cost for the average individual or business when
virtualization is being considered will be quite low. For the
providers of a virtualization environment, however, the
implementation costs can be quite high.
• 2. It still has limitations.
Not every application or server is going to work within an
environment of virtualization. That means an individual or
corporation may require a hybrid system to function
properly.
• 3 It creates an availability issue.
The primary concern that many have with virtualization is
what will happen to their work should their assets not be
available. If an organization cannot connect to their data for
an extended period of time, they will struggle to compete in
their industry
4 .Restraints
• Virtualization is hampered by a number of issues.
Virtualization cannot be used with every server and
application currently in existence. Therefore, certain
firms' IT infrastructures would not be able to support the
virtualized solutions.
5. A Number of links must interact
• If users have access to local equipment, they have
complete control over their options. With virtualization,
people lose control because numerous ties are required
to cooperate in order to complete the same task.
 Load Balancing
• Cloud Load balancing is basically the process of
distributing or dividing the workloads and
different computing resources across one or
more available servers.
• This kind of distribution ensures that maximum
throughput in a minimum response time.
• The workload is divided among two or more
servers, hard drives, network interfaces or other
different computing resources, which helps to
enable better resource utilization and improves
system response time.
The common objectives of using load balancers are:
• To maintain system firmness.
• To improve system performance.
• To protect against system failures.
• Working of Load Balancing
• Load does not refer to only the website traffic but it
also includes the CPU load, network load and memory
capacity of every server. A load balancing technique
always makes sure that each and every system
connected to the network has the same amount of
workload at any instant of time. This ensures that
neither any of them is excessively over-loaded, nor
under-utilized.
• Different Types of Load Balancing Algorithms in Cloud
Computing:
• 1. Static Algorithm
• Static algorithms are built for systems with very little
variation in load. The entire traffic is divided equally
between the servers in the static algorithm.
• 2. Dynamic Algorithm
• The dynamic algorithm first finds the lightest server in
the entire network and gives it priority for load balancing.
This requires real-time communication with the network
which can help increase the system's traffic. Here, the
current state of the system is used to control the load.
• 3. Round Robin Algorithm
• As the name suggests, round robin load
balancing algorithm uses round-robin method
to assign jobs. First, it randomly selects the
first node and assigns tasks to other nodes in a
round-robin manner. This is one of the easiest
methods of load balancing.
• Processors assign each process circularly
without defining any priority. It gives fast
response in case of uniform workload
distribution among the processes.
• 4. Weighted Round Robin Load Balancing
Algorithm
• Weighted Round Robin Load Balancing
Algorithms have been developed to enhance the
most challenging issues of Round Robin
Algorithms. In this algorithm, there are a
specified set of weights and functions, which are
distributed according to the weight values.
• Processors that have a higher capacity are given a
higher value. Therefore, the highest loaded
servers will get more tasks. When the full load
level is reached, the servers will receive stable
traffic.
• Benefits of Cloud Load-balancing
• High-availability: While multiple servers are put together
into practice, it boosts availability.
• Scalability: Unusual traffic spikes can influence server
performance, but load-balancing provides the capability to
add more servers to the group to manage the growing
incoming requests.
• Flexibility: Doing maintenance work is rather easy because
administrators can direct all traffic to one server and place
the other load balancer in active/passive mode. This allows
them to do the maintenance without causing downtime
issue.
• Economical: Cloud load-balancers are economical as the
cost is based on the amount of resource used, which is the
'pay-as-you-go' model.
 Virtual Machine Provisioning
• Virtual Machine (VM) provisioning is the process of
creating and configuring a virtual machine on a physical
server or a cloud platform.
• we focus on two core services that enable the users to get
the best out of the IaaS model in public and private cloud
setups, Virtual machine provisioning and migration
services
• Historically, when there is a need to install a new server for
a certain workload to provide a particular service for a
client, lots of effort was exerted by the IT administrator,
and much time was spent to install and provision a new
server. 1) Check the inventory for a new machine, 2) get
one, 3) format, install OS required, 4) and install services; a
server is needed along with lots of security batches and
appliances
• Now, with the emergence of virtualization
technology and the cloud computing IaaS model:
• It is just a matter of minutes to achieve the same
task. All you need is to provision a virtual server
through a self-service interface with small steps to
get what you desire with the required specifications.
1) provisioning this machine in a public cloud like
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), or 2) using a
virtualization management software package or a
private cloud management solution installed at your
data center in order to provision the virtual machine
inside the organization and within the private cloud
setup.
Virtual Machine Provisioning and Manageability
Virtual Machine Life Cycle
• The cycle starts by a request delivered to the IT
department, stating the requirement for creating a
new server for a particular service.
• This request is being processed by the IT
administration to start seeing the servers’ resource
pool, matching these resources with requirements
• Starting the provision of the needed virtual machine.
• Once it provisioned and started, it is ready to provide
the required service according to an SLA.
• Virtual is being released; and free resources.
 VM Provisioning Process
The common and normal steps of provisioning a virtual
server are as follows:
• Firstly, you need to select a server from a pool of
available servers (physical servers with enough
capacity) along with the appropriate OS template you
need to provision the virtual machine.
• Secondly, you need to load the appropriate software
(operating System you selected in the previous step,
device drivers, middleware, and the needed
applications for the service required).
• Thirdly, you need to customize and configure the
machine (e.g., IP address, Gateway) to configure an
associated network and storage resources.
• Finally, the virtual server is ready to start with its newly
loaded software
 Virtual Machine Migration
• The movement of VMs from one resource to another, such as
from one physical host to another physical host, or data store to
data store, is known as VM migration.
• There are two types of VM migration: cold and live.
• Live migration (which is also called hot or real-time migration) can
be defined as the movement of a virtual machine from one
physical host to another while being powered on. When it is
properly carried out, this process takes place without any
noticeable effect from the end user’s point of view (a matter of
milliseconds). Cold migration occurs when the VM is shut
down. Live migration occurs while the VM is actually running.
• With live migration, a running system is copied
to another system and when the last bits of
the running system’s state are copied, the
switch is made and the new system becomes
the active server. This process can take several
minutes to complete, but is a great advantage
over the two previous options.
 Cloud Provisioning
• Cloud provisioning means allocating a cloud service
provider’s resources to a customer. It is a key feature of
cloud computing. It refers to how a client gets cloud
services and resources from a provider. The cloud
services that customers can subscribe to
include infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), software-as-a-
service (SaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) in public
or private environments.
• There are three different Cloud Provisioning types:
• Advanced Cloud Provisioning
• Also known as “post-sales cloud provisioning,” customers get
the resources upon contract or service signup. They sign
formal contracts with the cloud service provider. The
provider then prepares and delivers the agreed-upon
resources or services. The customers are charged a flat fee
or billed every month.
• Dynamic Cloud Provisioning
• Also referred to as “on-demand cloud provisioning,”
customers are provided with resources on runtime. In this
delivery model, cloud resources are deployed to match
customers’ fluctuating demands. Deployments can scale up
to accommodate spikes in usage and down when demands
decrease
• User Cloud Provisioning
• In this delivery model, customers add a cloud
device themselves. Also known as “cloud self-
service,” clients buy resources from the cloud
service provider through a web interface or
portal. The model usually involves creating a user
account and paying for resources with a credit
card
• Virtual Cluster
• As with traditional physical servers, virtual
machines (VMs) can also be clustered. A VM
cluster starts with two or more physical
servers; we'll call them Server A and Server B.
• In simple deployments if Server A fails, its
workloads restart on Server B
• Virtual Cluster features
• HA: virtual machines can be restarted on
another hosts if the host where the virtual
machine running fails.
• DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler): virtual
machines can be load balanced so that none
of the hosts is too overloaded or too much
empty in the cluster.
• Live migration: of virtual machines from one
host to other.
• Virtual Clusters & Resource Management
In a traditional VM initialization, the administrator
manually writes configuration information and
specify the configuration sources. With many
VMs, an inefficient configuration always causes
problems with overloading or underutilization
• Amazon’s EC2 provides elastic computing power
in a cloud. EC2 permits customers to create VMs
and to manage user accounts over the time of
their use (resizable capacity). • XenServer and
VMware ESXi Server support a bridging mode
which allows all domains to appear on the
network as individual hosts. • With this mode
VMs can communicate with one another freely
through the virtual network interface card and
configure the network automatically.
• Virtual clusters are built with VMs installed at
distributed servers from one or more physical
clusters. • The VMs in a virtual cluster are
interconnected logically by a virtual network
across several physical networks