Unit 3: Virtualization in

Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing- Pokhara University

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Virtualization in Cloud
Computing

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1. Introduction to Virtualization Technology
● Virtualization technology is the method that enables several virtual
environments or instances to run on a single physical machine.

● It entails the development of virtual copies of computer hardware

platforms, operating systems, storage devices, and other resources.
● This helps to maximize the use and sharing of physical resources.
● A few advantages of virtualization technology include better hardware usage,
lower costs, scalability, and more flexibility in managing computing resources.

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1. Introduction to Virtualization Technology
• The primary component of virtualization is the hypervisor, also known as a virtual
machine monitor (VMM), which creates and manages virtual machines (VMs) on the
physical server.
• There are two main types of hypervisors:
• Type 1, also known as bare-metal hypervisors, run directly on the
hardware, and
• Type 2, known as hosted hypervisors, run on top of an existing
operating system.
• Virtualization technology also enhances system reliability and fault tolerance by isolating
virtual machines from each other.
• If one virtual machine crashes, it does not affect others running on the same physical
server.
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A simple Virtualization visual

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Virtualization in AWS
● Virtualization plays a crucial role in the infrastructure of Amazon Web
Services (AWS).
● AWS EC2 is a scalable virtual server platform that utilizes
virtualization technology extensively.
● It allows users to provision and manage virtual machines, known as
EC2 instances, on- demand.

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Virtualization in AWS
● These instances are created and run on physical servers using
virtualization techniques.
● AWS employs a customized version of the Xen hypervisor, an open-
source hypervisor technology, as the foundation for its virtualization
infrastructure.
● The Xen hypervisor enables the creation and management of
virtual machines on AWS.

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Virtualization in AWS
● AWS provides virtualized storage services through Elastic Block Store
(EBS).
● EBS allows users to create virtual storage volumes and attach them to
EC2 instances.
● AWS VPC is a networking service that allows users to create isolated
virtual networks within the AWS cloud.
● VPC employs virtualization to logically separate different
environments and provide secure and controlled communication
between resources.

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Why Virtualization is Important in Cloud
Computing?
• Virtualization is the foundation of cloud computing.
• It enables cloud service providers (CSPs) to deliver scalable, elastic,
and shared resources efficiently.
• Cloud services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) are built upon virtualization
technologies.

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Basic Working of Virtualization:
• A Hypervisor (Virtual Machine Monitor - VMM) manages the
hardware resources.
• Virtual Machines (VMs) are created, each with its own OS and
applications.
• The hypervisor allocates resources (CPU, RAM, storage) dynamically.
• VMs operate independently as if they are running on dedicated
hardware.

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Key Components of Virtualization:
Component Role
Software layer that manages VMs and
Hypervisor
allocates hardware resources.
Emulated computers with their own OS
Virtual Machines (VMs)
and applications.
The physical hardware running the
Host Machine
hypervisor and VMs.
The operating system installed inside a
Guest OS
virtual machine.

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Virtualization vs. Traditional Computing

Traditional Computing Virtualization

Multiple OS instances on a single
One OS per physical machine.
machine.
Low resource utilization. High resource optimization.
Hardware dependency. Hardware abstraction and portability.
Scaling requires new hardware. Easy scaling through VM provisioning.

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Advantages
• Resource Efficiency: Maximizes hardware usage.
• Cost Reduction: Less hardware needed, lower power & cooling costs.
• Flexibility & Scalability: Easy to add/remove resources.
• Isolation & Security: VMs are isolated from each other.
• Disaster Recovery: Snapshots, backups, and easy restoration.
• Simplified Management: Centralized management of resources.

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2. Hypervisor and its types
● It’s is a software or firmware layer that enables the creation and
management of virtual machines (VMs) on a physical server or
host machine.
● Also known as Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM).
● It abstracts and allocates the physical resources of a host machine, like
CPU, memory, storage, and networking, among multiple virtual
machines.

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2. Hypervisor and its types
● There are two types of Hypervisors- Type 1 and Type 2.
● Type 1 hypervisors (also known as bare-metal hypervisor) run
directly on the host machine's hardware.
● They have direct access to the underlying hardware resources and
manage the virtual machines without relying on an operating system.
Examples of Type 1 hypervisors include VMware ESXi, Microsoft
Hyper-V, and XenServer.

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2. Hypervisor and its types
● They have direct access to the underlying hardware resources and
manage the virtual machines without relying on an operating system.
● Examples of Type 1 hypervisors include VMware ESXi, Microsoft
Hyper-V, and XenServer.

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2. Hypervisor and its types
● Type 2 hypervisors (also called hosted hypervisors), are installed and
run on top of an existing operating system.
● They rely on the underlying host operating system to manage
hardware resources and provide services to virtual machines.
● Examples of Type 2 hypervisors include VMware Workstation, Oracle
VirtualBox, and Microsoft Virtual PC.

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Hypervisor and Types

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Hypervisor
• A hypervisor, also known as a Virtual Machine
Monitor (VMM), is software, firmware, or hardware
that creates and runs virtual machines (VMs).
• The hypervisor is responsible for abstracting and
allocating physical resources (CPU, memory, storage,
etc.) to virtual instances, ensuring isolation and
independence between the virtual machines and
their applications.
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Key Roles of a Hypervisor
• Resource Management: Allocates physical resources to each VM
while optimizing overall system performance.
• Isolation: Ensures that each VM operates independently, with failures
or crashes in one VM not affecting others.
• Hardware Abstraction: Acts as a mediator between the physical
hardware and virtualized environments.
• Monitoring and Control: Manages the lifecycle of VMs, including
creation, modification, and deletion.

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Types of Hypervisors
• Hypervisors are broadly categorized into two types based on their
architecture:
• Type 1 Hypervisor (Bare-Metal Hypervisor)
• Type 2 Hypervisor (Hosted Hypervisor)

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Type 1 Hypervisor (Bare-Metal Hypervisor)
• Definition: Runs directly on the physical hardware without requiring
an underlying operating system (OS).
• Characteristics:
• Lightweight and highly efficient since they bypass the need for a host
OS.
• Primarily used in enterprise and data center environments.
• Provides better performance, scalability, and security compared to
Type 2 hypervisors.

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Examples:
• VMware ESXi: Widely used for server virtualization.
• Microsoft Hyper-V: Integrated with Windows Server for robust
virtualization.
• Xen: Open-source hypervisor used by AWS and other cloud providers.
• KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine): Linux-based and built directly
into the Linux kernel.

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• Advantages:
• Direct access to hardware resources, resulting in minimal latency.
• High reliability and performance for large-scale virtualization.

• Use Cases:
• Enterprise-grade virtualization.
• Cloud computing platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.

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2. Type 2 Hypervisor (Hosted Hypervisor)
• Definition: Runs on top of an existing host operating system. The host
OS manages the hardware, while the hypervisor creates and manages
virtual machines.
• Characteristics:
• Easier to set up and use, making it suitable for personal and small-
scale use.
• Heavier than Type 1 hypervisors because they rely on the host OS for
hardware interaction.

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2. Type 2 Hypervisor (Hosted Hypervisor)
• Examples:
• Oracle VirtualBox: A free, open-source hypervisor for desktops.
• VMware Workstation: A commercial hypervisor for developers and IT
professionals.
• Parallels Desktop: Popular for macOS users to run Windows VMs.

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• Advantages:
• Simplifies testing and development tasks in isolated environments.
• Compatible with a wide range of host operating systems.
• Disadvantages:
• Additional overhead due to the dependency on the host OS.
• Reduced performance compared to Type 1 hypervisors.
• Use Cases:
• Development and testing of software.
• Personal use for running multiple OS environments on a single machine.
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3. Virtual Machine (VM)
● It’s a software emulation of a physical computer system, including
its hardware components and operating system, running on a host
machine.
● Consists of several key components, like virtual processors (CPUs),
memory, virtual disks, virtual network interfaces, and a virtual BIOS.
● A hypervisor is responsible for creating, managing, and running virtual
machines on a physical host machine.

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3. Virtual Machine (VM)
● It abstracts the physical hardware resources and provides
them to the virtual machines.
● Virtual machines abstract the underlying physical hardware,
allowing multiple VMs to run on a single physical host
simultaneously.
● Each VM operates independently of others, as if it were
running on a dedicated physical machine.

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Virtual Machine(VM) in AWS
● EC2 is the core service in AWS that enables
users to create and manage virtual machines,
known as EC2 instances, in the cloud.

● AWS offers a wide range of EC2 instance

types, each optimized for different workloads
and performance requirements as needed by
the user.

● These instance types provide varying

combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and
networking resources.

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3.1. VM management and configuration
• VM management involves the provisioning of virtual machines.
• This includes creating, starting, stopping, and terminating instances
based on demand and resource requirements.
• Also allocating resources such as CPU, memory, storage, and network
bandwidth to virtual machines.
• This ensures that each VM has the necessary resources to run its
workloads effectively.

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3.1. VM management and configuration
• VM management enables scaling of virtual machine resources to
meet changing demands.
• This can involve vertical scaling (increasing resources within a single
VM) or horizontal scaling (adding or removing VM instances).
• VM management involves the provisioning of virtual machines.

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3.1. VM management and configuration
• VM also needs configuring various settings and parameters for virtual
machines.
• These include operating system configurations, network settings,
security policies, and software installations.
• VM configuration is important because VMs, like any other computer
operating system, can be configured to the needs of a user or group of
users.

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3.1. VM management and configuration
• Each virtual machine needs to be configured within the confines of its
resources.
• If you configure your VM to only use the resources it needs,
overall functioning will improve.
• Proper VM configuration can also help you maximize VM operational
efficiency.

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4. Virtualization Level?
• The level of virtualization refers to which part of the IT infrastructure
is abstracted and virtualized. Virtualization can happen at multiple
layers:
• Hardware
• Operating System
• Application
• Storage
• Desktop
• Each level serves different purposes and solves different problems.

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Types of Virtualization Levels

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1. Hardware Virtualization
Definition:
Hardware virtualization abstracts physical hardware to create multiple Virtual
Machines (VMs), each with its own OS, running on the same physical machine.
How it Works:
•Managed by a Hypervisor (Type 1 or Type 2).
•Hardware resources (CPU, RAM, storage) are divided among VMs.
Examples:
•VMware ESXi (Type 1 Hypervisor)
•KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
•Microsoft Hyper-V
Use Case Example:
•Nabil Bank, Nepal: Uses hardware virtualization to run multiple isolated server
instances for core banking applications on limited physical servers.
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2. Operating System Virtualization
Definition:
OS-level virtualization allows multiple isolated user-space instances (containers)
to run on a single OS kernel.
How it Works:
•Uses container technologies like Docker.
•Lightweight compared to hardware virtualization.
•No need for separate OS for each instance.
Examples:
•Docker
•LXC (Linux Containers)
Use Case Example:
•Khalti Digital Wallet: Uses Docker containers to deploy microservices, enabling
isolated and scalable application modules for payment services.
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3. Storage Virtualization
Definition:
Combines multiple physical storage devices into a single virtual storage pool,
making management and allocation easier.
How it Works:
•Storage devices are abstracted.
•Presented as a unified logical storage resource.
•Managed through Storage Area Networks (SAN) or Network Attached Storage
(NAS).
Examples:
•VMware vSAN (Virtual SAN)
•OpenStack Cinder
Use Case Example:
•Nepal Telecom (NTC): Uses storage virtualization to manage customer data and
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4. Application Virtualization
Definition:
Runs applications in isolated containers without requiring them to be installed on
the local machine.
How it Works:
•Applications are streamed or run in a sandboxed environment.
•Users can run apps regardless of the underlying OS.
Examples:
•VMware ThinApp
•Citrix XenApp
•Microsoft App-V
Use Case Example:
•Schools & Colleges in Nepal: Deploy application virtualization to allow students to
use licensed software (e.g., MATLAB, SPSS) on thin clients without installation.
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5. Desktop Virtualization
Definition:
Provides virtual desktops to end-users, hosted on centralized servers, accessed
via thin clients or remote desktop software.
How it Works:
•Uses Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).
•End-users access desktop environments remotely.
•Centralized control and easier maintenance.
Examples:
•VMware Horizon
•Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops
Use Case Example:
•Tribhuvan University: Provides virtual lab environments to students through
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Comparison Table of Virtualization Levels

Level Key Focus Tools & Technologies Example in Nepal

Hardware VMware ESXi, KVM, Nabil Bank’s virtualized
Virtual Machines
Virtualization Hyper-V data center
Khalti microservices
OS Virtualization Containers Docker, LXC
deployment
VMware vSAN, Nepal Telecom’s data
Storage Virtualization Unified Storage Pool
OpenStack Cinder management
Schools using licensed
Application Run apps without
ThinApp, XenApp software on virtual
Virtualization install
apps
VMware Horizon, Citrix Tribhuvan University’s
Desktop Virtualization Virtual Desktops
VDI remote labs
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Benefits of Different Virtualization Levels
Level Benefit
Efficient resource utilization,
Hardware
isolation
Lightweight, fast deployment,
OS
microservices
Simplified storage management,
Storage
scalability
Platform independence, ease of
Application
access
Desktop Centralized control, remote access
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4. Virtualization
•
Level
Virtualization occurs at multiple levels.

• Each level provides its own benefits and functionality, allowing for the efficient utilization
of resources, isolation, scalability, and flexibility.

• Hardware Virtualization:
• This level of virtualization involves creating virtual machines (VMs) that emulate
complete hardware environments.

• It allows multiple operating systems to run concurrently on a single physical machine

by abstracting and sharing the underlying hardware resources.

• Software Virtualization:
• Known as application virtualization or process virtualization, allows multiple
applications or processes to run independently on a single operating system instance.

• It provides isolation and encapsulation for applications, enabling them to run without
conflicts.

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[Link]
•
Virtualization Level
System Virtualization:
• Also referred to as containerization or operating system-level virtualization, allows multiple isolated
instances of an operating system to run on a single physical machine.

• Each instance, called a container, shares the host machine's operating system kernel while providing
process-level isolation.

• Data Virtualization:
• Data virtualization involves abstracting, integrating, and presenting data from multiple sources as a unified
virtualized data layer.

• Provides a logical view of data, allowing applications and users to access and manipulate data from diverse
sources without the need for physical data movement or replication.

• Networking Virtualization:
• Enables the creation of virtual networks that operate independently of the physical network infrastructure.

• It abstracts network resources, such as switches, routers, and firewalls, allowing for the creation of virtual
networks, subnets, and security groups within a shared physical network infrastructure.

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Containerization:
• Applications and their dependencies can be bundled up as separate
units, or containers, using the lightweight virtualization technique of
containerization.
• Applications can run consistently and reproducibly in multiple
computer environments thanks to containers, which offer this
environment for them.
• Because containers are portable, applications can operate without
modification from development to production on a variety of
systems.

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Containerization:
• As several containers can execute on a single host while sharing the kernel
of the underlying operating system, containerization increases resource
usage.
• Popular containerization technologies include runtimes like containerd and
runc as well as Docker, which makes it easier to create and manage containers.

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Kubernetes
• An open-source container orchestration platform that automates
the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized
applications.
• Provides a framework for running containers in a clustered
environment, abstracting the underlying infrastructure and
providing scalability and resilience.
• Manages container lifecycles, handles scaling based on resource
demands, and ensures high availability and fault tolerance through
self-healing capabilities.

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Kubernetes
• Offers features like load balancing, storage orchestration, service
discovery, and automated rollbacks.
• It supports horizontal scaling, allowing applications to scale up or
down based on demand, and provides robust monitoring and logging
capabilities.
• Kubernetes has a large and active community, extensive ecosystem
support and integration.

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Containerization and Kubernetes in AWS
• AWS offers Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Amazon
Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) as container orchestration
solutions.
• ECS allows you to run containers without directly managing the
underlying infrastructure, providing a scalable and fully managed
environment for containerized applications.
• AWS also supports Docker, the popular containerization
platform, allowing you to easily package and deploy applications
as containers in AWS.
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Containerization and Kubernetes in AWS
• Amazon EKS is a fully managed Kubernetes service provided by
AWS.
• EKS allows you to run Kubernetes clusters on AWS
infrastructure without the need to install, operate, and
manage the Kubernetes control plane.
• EKS simplifies the management of Kubernetes clusters, enabling
you to focus on deploying and scaling your applications rather
than managing the underlying infrastructure.

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