Virtualization

[carl owen]

What is Virtualization ?

Basically, Virtualization is just seperating an individual Hardware or Software component into a number of different parts in such a way that they do not effect each others existence. Alternatively, Virtualization can also be used to make a single platform actually involving more than one hardware or software components.

Virtualization can be done in two ways :

Partitioning the hardware :

This basically means that you are seperating the hardware of the server and running different or same operating systems on different parts. This has an advantage as it seperates the resources of the server for Different operating systems.

This also has a disadvantage, infact some of them. If hardware partitioning is required for Different operating systems then make sure that it will require a higher configuration Dedicated server and this is because of the resources utilized by different operating systems. Hardware partitioning can also be considered opposite to Virtualization as this does not justify Virtualization correctly.

Hypervisor Technology :

This technology is used nowadays and this technology does justification with the term "Virtualization". This is basically done with the help a software layer which separates the hardware and the operating system in such a way that they do not affect each other. Even if you use the hardware and software, you won't know that you are actually sharing a Dedicated server. This is considered to be the best benefit.

As Hypervisor technology justifies the true meaning of Virtualization, this is considered to be the best technology for Virtualization.

Benefits of Virtualization :

1) Cost of Hardware.

The Dedicated server costs higher as it involves the cost of Hardware. If Hypervisor technology is used on the same Dedicated server then there is no need to purchase another one and this reduces the cost of the Hardware.

2) System resources are optimized :

It is not necessary that the users using the same hardware will require the same amount of resources at the same point of time. Some may require more and some may not need that much. If the hardware is separated without using Hypervisor technology the hardware of the server may be concentrated and may damage some area of the hardware as it is used more in some area and less in another one. But if Hypervisor technology is used, this will not be the problem as it balances the resources assigned to each part, say operating system and provides the operating system resources when the need arises.

[BodShane]

Virtualization and Virtual Private Servers have definitely changed the concepts of traditional hosting packages. They have been known for their cost effective solutions with features similar to a dedicated server. Infact, some even name VPS's as Virtual Dedicated Servers.

Regards,

Shane Phillips

[Christina]

The disadvantages of Hyper-V tend to be heavily hardware dependent and it usually require hardware acceleration, such as Intel’s “VT” or AMD’s “Pacifica” extensions which is present in the latest Xeon chips. Hyper-V require modified OS kernels and special paravirtualized device drivers to be run in the VM environment to facilitate enhanced I/O and networking performance.

[MattBarthorp]

Yes Indeed, hypervisor technology has changed the way , virtual machines interact with the physical hardware.This new technology has enabled the manufacturer to compete with other different server virtualization products and services available in the market. It has provided additional capabilities to the IT sector. Hyper V has the ability to offer better support to the host functionality, support for the guest sessions, administration support and improvements in the reliability of the server.Microsoft has managed to make major improvements to the virtual host capabilities of Hyper V are the core functional additions to Windows Server 2008. These improvements relate to security, reliability and performance. The most significant addition to Hyper V is the new virtual switch that provides greater flexibility for managing the network communication among guest images and internetworking infrastructure of an organization.
It important to run a Hyper V host server on 64 bit system. This is for providing more memory in the host server to distribute among guest sessions.
Hyper V Administration tool enables the Hyper V administrator to create special network segments to ensure the virtual guest sessions to specific network adapters in host servers to ensure that the virtual guests can be connected to network segments to meet the needs of the organization.

Matt

[carl owen]

Hyper V is the new technology for creating the virtual environment and it seems that Microsoft will surely make a mark with this one. Certainly, there are some changes and improvements made in the latest version of Hyper V but will it be able to compete with the existing technology of Virtualization, mainly Virtuozzo is the most important question