Virtualization Concepts Lesson 004: Resources Requirements

What are the four main requirements for virtualization and virtual machines?

CPU and its virtualization extensions, system memory, storage, and networking.

What is Intel's version of CPU technology for virtualization?

Intel VT-x.

What is AMD's version of CPU technology for virtualization?

AMD-V.

What is the benefit of having a CPU installed that supports virtualization?

Significantly higher performance.

Does all virtualization software require a CPU to have virtualization support?

No.

How are virtualization extensions enabled on a system?

Through the BIOS/UEFI.

Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)

Improves the performance of virtual memory when running multiple virtual machines on a single physical host.

What is the SLAT technology called in an Intel system?

Extended Page Table (EPT).

What is the SLAT technology called in an AMD system?

Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI).

Disregarding virtualization support, what is another capability a user should look for when it comes to choosing a CPU for virtualization performance?

Multi-core hyperthreading support.

What is the limitation with ARM-based processors for virtualization?

They cannot natively host guest operating systems and cannot support x86 or x64-based operating systems.

What OSs can be run on ARM-based processors?

Any OS that is specifically made to run on an ARM-based processor.

System Memory

Amount of physical memory installed on a physical server.

What is extremely important to consider regarding hardware resources when it comes to virtualization?

How much memory can be allocated to guest operating systems.

What is the minimum amount of RAM that most OSs need to run?

4 GB.

What is important to consider regarding storage concerning virtualization?

Virtual machines take up a lot of storage (20-40 GB) except with some Linux distros.

How much storage space do some Linux distros use?

4 GB-8 GB.

What is important to consider regarding networking concerning virtualization?

Every machine is going to take up a lot of it, so make sure the a lot of bandwidth is available (at least 1 gb/s.

NIC Teaming Configuration

Allows for multiple network cards to work together in order to achieve higher speeds and act as one card.