Hardware virtualization is a technology that enables multiple virtual machines (VMs) to run on a single physical server. Each virtual machine is isolated from the others and operates as if it were running on its own dedicated hardware, even though the underlying physical resources are shared among multiple VMs. This allows organizations to achieve better resource utilization, increased agility, and reduced costs, as multiple virtual machines can run on a single physical server, reducing the need for additional hardware.

Compute virtualization is typically achieved through the use of virtualization software, or hypervisors, such as VMware, Hyper-V, or Xen, which creates virtualized versions of the underlying physical hardware, including the CPU, memory, storage, and network interfaces. These virtualized resources are then assigned to individual virtual machines, which run their own operating systems and applications.

By abstracting the underlying physical hardware, compute virtualization allows organizations to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical server, effectively pooling their computing resources and reducing the need for additional hardware. This results in increased resource utilization, improved scalability, and reduced costs.

• What are the benefits?
• What is a hypervisor?
  • Examples of Type 1 hypervisors:
  • Examples of Type 2 hypervisors:
• How do hypervisors virtualize CPU?
• How do hypervisors virtualize memory?
• How do hypervisors virtualize networking?
• How do hypervisors virtualize storage?
• Which hypervisors do cloud providers use?
• What is the AWS Nitro Hypervisor?
• Virtualization vs Containerization:

What are the benefits?

There are several benefits to using compute virtualization:

1. Resource utilization: Compute virtualization allows multiple virtual machines to share the same physical resources, resulting in higher resource utilization and improved efficiency.
2. Scalability: Virtual machines can be easily added or removed as needed, allowing organizations to scale their computing resources up or down as required.
3. Cost savings: By reducing the need for additional hardware, compute virtualization can help organizations save money on hardware and maintenance costs.
4. Disaster recovery and business continuity: Virtual machines can be easily moved between physical servers, allowing organizations to quickly recover from hardware failures or other disruptions.
5. Testing and development: Compute virtualization allows developers and testers to easily create and run multiple virtual machines, each with its own operating system and applications, enabling efficient testing and development workflows.
6. Flexibility: Virtual machines can be easily configured and customized, allowing organizations to quickly adapt to changing business needs.
7. Security: Compute virtualization provides an additional layer of security by isolating virtual machines from each other, reducing the risk of data breaches or other security incidents.

Overall, compute virtualization offers organizations a flexible, cost-effective, and scalable solution for managing their computing resources, improving efficiency and reducing costs.

What is a hypervisor?

A hypervisor is a type of software that enables virtualization. It creates and manages virtual machines (VMs), allowing multiple VMs to run on a single physical server. Each virtual machine operates as if it were running on its own dedicated hardware, even though the underlying physical resources are shared among multiple VMs.

The hypervisor acts as a layer between the physical hardware and the virtual machines, abstracting the underlying hardware and providing a virtualized version of the resources to the VMs. This includes virtual versions of the CPU, memory, storage, and network interfaces, among other things.

There are two main types of hypervisors: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 hypervisors, also known as bare-metal hypervisors, run directly on the physical hardware, creating a virtualized environment at the hardware level. Type 2 hypervisors, also known as hosted hypervisors, run on top of a host operating system and create a virtualized environment at the software level.

Hypervisors are essential for compute virtualization, providing the underlying infrastructure for running virtual machines and enabling organizations to achieve better resource utilization, increased agility, and reduced costs.

How do hypervisors virtualize CPU?

A hypervisor virtualizes the CPU by presenting a virtual CPU (vCPU) to each virtual machine (VM) that runs on the hypervisor. The vCPU operates as if it were a physical CPU, but it is actually a software-based virtual representation of the physical CPU.

The hypervisor intercepts and translates CPU instructions and memory accesses from the VMs into physical CPU instructions and memory accesses to the underlying physical hardware. This allows multiple VMs to run on the same physical hardware, each with its own virtual CPU and memory, as if each VM were running on its own dedicated hardware.

The hypervisor also manages CPU time sharing and resource allocation, ensuring that each VM has a fair share of the physical CPU resources and preventing one VM from monopolizing the physical CPU. This enables multiple VMs to run on the same physical hardware simultaneously, even though they are sharing the underlying physical resources.

In summary, the hypervisor virtualizes the CPU by providing a virtual representation of the physical CPU to each VM and managing the allocation of CPU resources to ensure that each VM has a fair share of the physical CPU resources.

How do hypervisors virtualize memory?

A hypervisor virtualizes memory by creating a virtual memory space for each virtual machine (VM) that runs on the hypervisor. The virtual memory space is a software-based representation of physical memory, and each VM operates as if it has its own dedicated physical memory.

The hypervisor manages the allocation of physical memory to each VM, ensuring that each VM has the memory resources it needs to run. When a VM needs to access its virtual memory, the hypervisor translates the virtual memory addresses into physical memory addresses, allowing the VM to access the underlying physical memory.

The hypervisor also manages memory paging and swapping, which allows the physical memory to be dynamically reallocated among the VMs as needed. This enables multiple VMs to run on the same physical hardware, each with its own virtual memory, as if each VM were running on its own dedicated hardware.

In summary, the hypervisor virtualizes memory by creating a virtual memory space for each VM, managing the allocation of physical memory to each VM, and translating virtual memory addresses into physical memory addresses, allowing each VM to access the underlying physical memory.

How do hypervisors virtualize networking?

A hypervisor virtualizes networking by creating virtual networks and virtual network devices for each virtual machine (VM) that runs on the hypervisor. The virtual networks and virtual network devices operate as if they were physical networks and physical network devices, but they are actually software-based representations of the physical network and network devices.

The hypervisor intercepts and translates network traffic from the VMs into physical network traffic to the underlying physical network, and vice versa. This allows each VM to communicate with other VMs and with the physical network as if it were a physical machine with its own physical network connection.

The hypervisor can also provide network isolation and security by creating isolated virtual networks and network devices for each VM, allowing VMs to communicate with each other in a controlled manner. This helps to prevent unauthorized access to the VMs and the virtual networks and helps to secure the virtualized environment.

In summary, the hypervisor virtualizes networking by creating virtual networks and virtual network devices for each VM, intercepting and translating network traffic, and providing network isolation and security for the virtualized environment.

How do hypervisors virtualize storage?

A hypervisor virtualizes storage by creating virtual storage devices for each virtual machine (VM) that runs on the hypervisor. The virtual storage devices are software-based representations of physical storage devices and provide the VMs with the illusion of having their own dedicated physical storage.

The hypervisor intercepts storage requests from the VMs and translates them into physical storage requests to the underlying physical storage devices. This allows each VM to access its own virtual storage as if it were a physical storage device, while the hypervisor manages the allocation of physical storage resources to the VMs.

The hypervisor can also provide advanced storage features such as snapshots, cloning, and live migration of VMs between physical storage devices, allowing for dynamic and flexible management of storage resources.

In summary, the hypervisor virtualizes storage by creating virtual storage devices for each VM, intercepting storage requests from the VMs, and translating them into physical storage requests, providing each VM with the illusion of having its own dedicated physical storage.

Which hypervisors do cloud providers use?

Cloud providers use a variety of hypervisors, depending on their infrastructure, services offered, and customer requirements. Some of the most popular hypervisors used by cloud providers include:

1. VMware vSphere: This is a type 1 hypervisor that is widely used by enterprise-level cloud providers for virtualizing servers and desktops.
2. Microsoft Hyper-V: This is a type 1 hypervisor that is widely used by cloud providers that offer Windows-based services.
3. KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine): This is an open-source type 1 hypervisor that is widely used by cloud providers that offer Linux-based services.
4. Xen: This is an open-source type 1 hypervisor that is widely used by cloud providers for virtualizing servers and desktops.
5. Oracle VirtualBox: This is a type 2 hypervisor that is widely used by cloud providers for virtualizing desktop and laptop systems.

Cloud providers may also use a combination of hypervisors, depending on the specific needs of their infrastructure and customers. For example, a cloud provider may use VMware vSphere for virtualizing servers and Oracle VirtualBox for virtualizing desktops.

In summary, cloud providers use a variety of hypervisors, including type 1 hypervisors such as VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM, and type 2 hypervisors such as Oracle VirtualBox, depending on their infrastructure, services offered, and customer requirements.

What is the AWS Nitro Hypervisor?

The AWS Nitro Hypervisor is a type 1 hypervisor that works by using a combination of hardware virtualization and custom software components to provide virtualization services for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances.

The Nitro Hypervisor is integrated into the EC2 instances and runs on custom AWS Nitro System hardware that is designed specifically for cloud computing. This hardware includes specialized components for network and storage virtualization, allowing for faster and more secure communication between instances.

The Nitro Hypervisor uses a microkernel architecture, where the core virtualization functions are provided by a small, highly secure kernel, while additional functions such as network and storage virtualization are provided by user-space components. This allows for faster and more secure communication between instances, as well as improved performance compared to traditional hypervisors.

In summary, the AWS Nitro Hypervisor works by using a combination of hardware virtualization and custom software components to provide virtualization services for EC2 instances. The Nitro Hypervisor is integrated into the EC2 instances and runs on custom AWS Nitro System hardware, using a microkernel architecture to provide improved security and performance compared to traditional hypervisors.