5.4 The components and benefits of virtual computing systems

pages 139-151

what are virtual machines?

technology that enables a single, physical hardware system to be separated into multiple simulated environments

what is a hypervisor?

a hypervisor connects to the hardware and facilitates the splitting of one system into separate and distinct environments referred to as virtual machines

What is Data virtualization?

This provides processing functions that can bring data together from multiple sources, transfo

What is Desktop virtualization?

allows an organisation to install multiple operating systems onto a single machine

What is server virtualization?

Visualizing a server provides it with the ability to perform even more functions with high volumes for specific tasks

What is Operating system virtualization?

allows an organisation to run multiple operating systems side by side, for example Windows and Linux

What is Network function virtualization?

separates the network’s key functions so that they can be distributed among different environments, e.g. file sharing and ip configuration

What are some key features of virtualization?

-Increased security

-Managed execution

-Sharing

-Aggregation: Where a group of hosts are combined and presented to guests as a single virtual host

-Portability

What is Virtual client computing (VCC)?

provides desktop virtualization solutions that overcome the limitations of the conventional desktop environment

What is a virtual switch?

Software to establish a connection between the virtual and physical network. The virtual switch detects which of the virtual machines are connected to each of its virtual ports. It uses this information to forward traffic to the correct virtual machines.

What is a virtual router?

a software function that functions in the same way as a hardware based Internet Protocol router

What are the 3 types of server virtualisation?

-Full virtualisation – this uses software known as a hypervisor

-Para virtual machine (PVM) – this is similar to full virtualisation and is also based on the host/guest standard. It can run multiple operating systems

-Operating system (OS) level – this is not based on the host/guest standard. This means that the guests must use the same OS as the administrator/host

What are the advantages of server virtualisation?

-Reduction in costs

-Reduction in the number of physical servers

-Independent user environments

-Reduction in power consumption

What is a type 1 hypervisor and basic structure?

-directly runs on the physical hardware of the host machine

-a physical server

-several guest virtual machines

What is a type 2 hypervisor and the structure?

-Runs the operating system on the physical host machine and is often referred to as a ‘hosted hypervisor’

-a physical machine

-OS installed on the physical server hardware

-virtual machine instances/guest VMs

What is a hypervisor?

This is software that creates and runs VMs

What are the benefits of virtual computing systems?

-More cost-effective in larger digital environments

-Easier to manage and maintain larger environment

-Resilient as it can work even if something is missing

-Reduces power consumption

-Disaster recovery options