Virtualization

Structures in
Cloud
Computing
A deep dive into the fundamental technologies powering the modern cloud landscape. This seminar will
explore the core concepts, components, and practical implications of virtualization as the backbone of
cloud computing.
Understanding Virtualization: Why it's the Cloud's Backbone
Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating
system, a server, a storage device, or network resources. It's the core technology that enables cloud
computing by abstracting physical resources and making them available as virtual resources to multiple users
or applications. This abstraction allows for unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and efficiency in resource
utilization.
Before virtualization, each application typically required its own dedicated physical server, leading to
significant underutilization of hardware resources, high energy consumption, and complex management.
Virtualization addresses these challenges by allowing a single physical server to host multiple virtual servers,
each running its own operating system and applications independently.

Resource Abstraction Isolation and Security Efficiency and Cost Savings

The Hypervisor: Orchestrating Virtual Machines
At the heart of virtualization lies the hypervisor, also known as a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM). The hypervisor is
a layer of software, firmware, or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. It sits between the physical
hardware and the virtual machines, acting as a traffic controller and resource allocator.

The hypervisor's primary role is to manage the guest operating systems running within the VMs, ensuring they can
access and share the underlying physical resources (CPU, memory, storage, network) without conflict. It creates a
virtualized environment for each VM, tricking them into believing they have exclusive access to the hardware.

There are two main types of hypervisors:

1. **Type 1 (Bare-Metal) Hypervisors:** These run directly on the host hardware, acting as the operating system
for the underlying server. Examples include VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Xen. They offer high
performance and security due to their direct access to hardware resources.

2. **Type 2 (Hosted) Hypervisors:** These run as an application on top of an existing operating system (e.g.,
Windows, Linux). Examples include VMware Workstation, Oracle VirtualBox, and Parallels Desktop. While
convenient for desktop virtualization and testing, they introduce an additional layer of abstraction,
potentially impacting performance.

Resource Scheduling Isolation and Encapsulation Hardware Virtualization Assistance

Efficiently schedules CPU time, memory access, and I/O Provides strong isolation between VMs, preventing issues in one Leverages hardware virtualization extensions (e.g., Intel VT-x,
operations for each VM, ensuring fair resource distribution and VM from affecting others. It also encapsulates VMs into single AMD-V) to improve the performance and efficiency of virtual
Pillars of Virtualization: Compute, Network, and Storage
Virtualization isn't just about creating virtual servers; it encompasses the entire data center infrastructure. The three core pillars of virtualization—compute, network, and storage—work together to provide a
complete and flexible virtualized environment.

Compute Virtualization Network Virtualization Storage Virtualization

This involves abstracting the CPU, memory, and other processing Network virtualization decouples network services from the This abstracts the physical storage devices (e.g., hard drives, SSDs)
resources of a physical server. It allows multiple virtual machines, underlying physical network hardware. It creates logical network from the servers and applications that use them. It creates a unified
each with its own operating system and applications, to run segments, virtual switches, routers, and firewalls, enabling dynamic pool of storage that can be dynamically allocated and managed,
concurrently on a single physical host. Techniques like full network configurations and isolation between different virtual regardless of the underlying hardware. Technologies like Storage
virtualization, paravirtualization, and hardware-assisted environments. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Area Networks (SAN), Network-Attached Storage (NAS), and
virtualization are employed to achieve this. Function Virtualization (NFV) are key enablers. Software-Defined Storage (SDS) are integral.

These three pillars are interdependent, and their combined virtualization enables the creation of highly flexible, scalable, and resilient cloud environments where resources can be provisioned, managed, and de-
Integrating Virtualization into Cloud Architectures
Virtualization is the foundational technology that underpins all major cloud service models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS),
Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Each model leverages virtualization in distinct ways to deliver its
unique value proposition.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Platform as a Service (PaaS) Software as a Service (SaaS)

IaaS providers offer virtualized computing PaaS provides a complete development and SaaS delivers ready-to-use applications over the
resources over the internet. Customers rent deployment environment in the cloud. Customers internet. Users access the software through a
virtual machines, virtual networks, and virtual are given access to a platform that includes web browser or mobile app without needing to
storage. The provider manages the underlying operating systems, programming language manage any underlying infrastructure, platforms,
physical infrastructure, including hypervisors, execution environments, databases, and web or even applications. While users don't see it,
while the customer controls the operating servers. Underneath, PaaS providers use SaaS providers heavily rely on virtualization to
systems, applications, and middleware within virtualization to provision and manage the host and scale their applications efficiently
their VMs. Virtualization is the core enabling compute, storage, and network resources across shared infrastructure. Virtualization allows
technology for IaaS, allowing providers to slice needed for the platform. The abstraction goes a them to isolate different customer instances,
and dice physical servers into rentable virtual step further, as users don't directly interact with manage resources, and perform updates
instances. VMs but rather with the platform layer built upon seamlessly.
them.
Benefits and Challenges of Cloud Virtualization
Cloud virtualization offers numerous advantages that have propelled its widespread adoption, but it also presents specific challenges that organizations must address to fully leverage its potential.

Benefits Challenges

Cost Efficiency Security Concerns

Reduces hardware procurement, maintenance, and energy costs by maximizing resource utilization and The shared nature of virtualized environments can introduce new security risks, such as hypervisor
consolidating workloads. vulnerabilities and "VM sprawl" if not properly managed.

Agility & Scalability Vendor Lock-in

Enables rapid provisioning and de-provisioning of resources, allowing businesses to quickly adapt to Reliance on specific virtualization platforms can make it difficult to migrate workloads to different
changing demands and scale operations. providers or technologies.

Improved Disaster Recovery Performance Overhead

Facilitates easier backup, recovery, and migration of virtual machines, enhancing business continuity and While minimal with modern hypervisors, virtualization can introduce some performance overhead,
disaster recovery capabilities. especially for I/O-intensive workloads.

Simplified Management Complexity of Management

Centralizes resource management and simplifies IT operations through virtualization management Managing large, complex virtualized environments requires specialized skills and robust management tools.
platforms.
Evolution and Future Trends: Beyond Traditional VMs
While traditional virtual machines remain a cornerstone of cloud computing, the virtualization landscape is continuously evolving. Emerging technologies are pushing the boundaries
of resource isolation and efficiency, offering new paradigms for deploying and managing applications in the cloud.

Containers (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)

Containers virtualize the operating system, allowing applications and their dependencies to be packaged into lightweight, portable units. Unlike VMs, containers share the
host OS kernel, making them much faster to start and requiring fewer resources. Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for orchestrating containerized applications
at scale.

Serverless Computing (Functions as a Service - FaaS)

Serverless computing abstracts away the underlying infrastructure entirely. Developers write functions that are executed in response to events, and the cloud provider
dynamically manages all resource provisioning, scaling, and maintenance. While the user doesn't see it, virtualization and containerization are heavily used behind the
scenes to power serverless platforms.

MicroVMs and Unikernels

MicroVMs (e.g., AWS Firecracker) are ultra-lightweight virtual machines designed for rapid startup and minimal overhead, ideal for serverless and container workloads
requiring strong isolation. Unikernels are specialized, single-purpose machine images that include only the application and necessary OS components, eliminating the need
for a full operating system.

Edge Computing Virtualization

As computing moves closer to data sources at the edge, virtualization is crucial for managing diverse hardware and software environments. Edge virtualization allows for
efficient deployment and orchestration of applications on resource-constrained devices with low latency requirements.

These trends highlight a continuous drive towards greater efficiency, agility, and abstraction in cloud computing, with virtualization remaining a core underlying principle, even if its
form factor evolves.
Key Takeaways & Open Discussion
As we conclude our seminar on virtualization structures in cloud computing, let's recap the essential points and open the floor for your questions and insights.

Key Takeaways
Virtualization is the fundamental enabler of cloud computing, allowing resource abstraction, isolation, and efficiency.
The hypervisor is the core component, managing and orchestrating virtual machines on physical hardware.
Compute, Network, and Storage virtualization are the three pillars forming a complete virtualized infrastructure.
All cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) heavily rely on virtualization to deliver their services.
While offering significant benefits like cost savings and agility, virtualization also poses challenges related to security and
management complexity.
The future of virtualization is evolving towards containers, serverless, and microVMs, pushing efficiency and abstraction further.

Open Discussion