CLOUD COMPUTING VIRTUALIZATION

Virtualization is a technique, which allows to share single physical

instance of an application or resource among multiple organizations or
tenants (customers). It does so by assigning a logical name to a
physical resource and providing a pointer to that physical resource
when demanded.

Virtualization Concept
Creating a virtual machine over existing operating system and
hardware is referred as Hardware Virtualization. Virtual Machines
provide an environment that is logically separated from the underlying
hardware.

The machine on which the virtual machine is created is known as host

machine and virtual machines referred as a guest machine. This virtual
machine is managed by a software or firmware, which is known as
hypervisor.

HYPERVISOR

Hypervisor is a firmware or low-level program that acts as a Virtual

Machine Manager. There are two types of hypervisor:

Type 1 hypervisor runs on bare system. LynxSecure, RTS

Hypervisor, Oracle VM, Sun xVM Server, VirtualLogic VLX are
examples of Type 1 hypervisor. The following diagram shows the
Type 1 hypervisor. The Type 1 hypervisor does not have any host
operating system because they are installed on a bare system.

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Type 2 hypervisor is a software interface that emulates the devices
with which a system normally interacts. Containers, KVM, Microsoft
Hyper V, VMWare Fusion, Virtual Server 2005 R2, Windows Virtual PC
and VMWare workstation 6.0 are examples of Type 2 hypervisor. The
following diagram shows the Type 2 hypervisor.

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Types of Hardware Virtualization

Here are the three types of hardware virtualization:

a) Full Virtualization
b) Paravirtualization
c) Emulation Virtualization

FULL VIRTUALIZATION

In Full Virtualization, the underlying hardware is completely simulated.

Guest software does not require any modification to run.

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PARAVIRTUALIZATION

In Paravirtualization, the hardware is not simulated. The guest

software run their own isolated domains.

EMULATION VIRTUALIZATION

In Emulation, the virtual machine simulates the hardware and hence

become independent of the it. In this, the guest operating system does
not require modification.
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VMware vSphere is highly developed infrastructure that offers a
management infrastructure framework for virtualization. It virtualizes
the system, storage and networking hardware.

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VIRTUALIZATION IN CLOUD COMPUTING

Virtualization is the "creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version

of something, such as a server, a desktop, a storage device, an
operating system or network resources". In other words, Virtualization
is a technique, which allows to share a single physical instance of a
resource or an application among multiple customers and
organizations. It does by assigning a logical name to a physical
storage and providing a pointer to that physical resource when
demanded.

WHAT IS THE CONCEPT BEHIND THE VIRTUALIZATION?

Creation of a virtual machine over existing operating system and

hardware is known as Hardware Virtualization. A Virtual machine
provides an environment that is logically separated from the
underlying hardware. The machine on which the virtual machine is
going to create is known as Host Machine and that virtual machine is
referred as a Guest Machine

TYPES OF VIRTUALIZATION

1. Hardware Virtualization.
2. Operating system Virtualization.
3. Server Virtualization.
4. Storage Virtualization.

1) HARDWARE VIRTUALIZATION:

When the virtual machine software or virtual machine manager (VMM)

is directly installed on the hardware system is known as hardware

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virtualization.The main job of hypervisor is to control and monitoring
the processor, memory and other hardware resources. After
virtualization of hardware system we can install different operating
system on it and run different applications on those OS.

Usage: Hardware virtualization is mainly done for the server

platforms, because controlling virtual machines is much easier than
controlling a physical server.

2) OPERATING SYSTEM VIRTUALIZATION:

When the virtual machine software or virtual machine manager (VMM)

is installed on the Host operating system instead of directly on the
hardware system is known as operating system virtualization.

Usage: Operating System Virtualization is mainly used for testing the

applications on different platforms of OS.

3) SERVER VIRTUALIZATION:

When the virtual machine software or virtual machine manager (VMM)

is directly installed on the Server system is known as server
virtualization.

Usage: Server virtualization is done because a single physical server

can be divided into multiple servers on the demand basis and for
balancing the load.

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4) STORAGE VIRTUALIZATION:

Storage virtualization is the process of grouping the physical storage

from multiple network storage devices so that it looks like a single
storage device.
Storage virtualization is also implemented by using software
applications.

Usage: Storage virtualization is mainly done for back-up and recovery

purposes.

HOW DOES VIRTUALIZATION WORK IN CLOUD COMPUTING?

Virtualization plays a very important role in the cloud computing

technology, normally in the cloud computing, users share the data
present in the clouds like application etc, but actually with the help of
virtualization users shares the Infrastructure.

The main usage of Virtualization Technology is to provide the

applications with the standard versions to their cloud users, suppose if
the next version of that application is released, then cloud provider has
to provide the latest version to their cloud users and practically it is
possible because it is more expensive.

To overcome this problem we use basically virtualization technology,

By using virtualization, all severs and the software application which
are required by other cloud providers are maintained by the third party
people, and the cloud providers has to pay the money on monthly or
annual basis.

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Mainly Virtualization means, running multiple operating systems on a
single machine but sharing all the hardware resources. And it helps us
to provide the pool of IT resources so that we can share these IT
resources in order get benefits in the business.

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HOW VIRTUALIZATION WORKS?

Virtualization in Cloud Computing is a process in which the user of

cloud shares the data present in the cloud which can be application
software etc. It provides a virtual environment in the cloud which can
be software hardware or any other thing. In virtualization, the server
and the software application which are required by the cloud
providers maintain by the third party and in this, the cloud provider
please some amount to the third party. It is done because it will be
costly if a new version of an application is released and it has to be
introduced to the customers.

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It can be also explained in a way that with the help of Hypervisor
which is software the cloud customer can access server. A hypervisor
is connectivity between the server and the virtual environment and
distributes the resources between different virtual environments.

Benefits of Virtualization

Virtualizations in Cloud Computing has numerous benefits, let’s

discuss them one by one:

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SECURITY

During the process of virtualization security is one of the important

concerns. The security can be provided with the help of firewalls,
which will help to prevent unauthorized access and will keep the data
confidential. Moreover, with the help of firewall and security, the data
can protect from harmful viruses malware and other cyber threats.
Encryption process also takes place with protocols which will protect
the data from other threads. So, the customer can virtualize all the
data store and can create a backup on a server in which the data can
store.

FLEXIBLE OPERATIONS

With the help of a virtual network, the work of it professional is

becoming more efficient and agile. The network switch implement
today is very easy to use, flexible and saves time. With the help of
virtualization in Cloud Computing, technical problems can solve in
physical systems. It eliminates the problem of recovering the data
from crashed or corrupted devices and hence saves time.

ECONOMICAL

Virtualization in Cloud Computing, save the cost for a physical

system such as hardware and servers. It stores all the data in the
virtual server, which are quite economical. It reduces the wastage,
decreases the electricity bills along with the maintenance cost. Due to
this, the business can run multiple operating system and apps in a
particular server.

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ELIMINATES THE RISK OF SYSTEM FAILURE

While performing some task there are chances that the system might
crash down at the wrong time. This failure can cause damage to the
company but the virtualizations help you to perform the same task in
multiple devices at the same time. The data can store in the cloud it
can retrieve anytime and with the help of any device. Moreover, there
is two working server side by side which makes the data accessible
every time. Even if a server crashes with the help of the second server
the customer can access the data.

FLEXIBLE TRANSFER OF DATA

The data can transfer to the virtual server and retrieve anytime. The
customers or cloud provider don’t have to waste time finding out hard
drives to find data. With the help of virtualization, it will very easy to
locate the required data and transfer them to the allotted authorities.
This transfer of data has no limit and can transfer to a long distance
with the minimum charge possible. Additional storage can also provide
and the cost will be as low as possible.

PROS OF VIRTUALIZATION

1. It can lower overall capital expenditures

With virtualization, you will no longer need to purchase a server for
each of the applications you are going to implement in your
organization. You will be able to host multiple virtual servers on a
single physical machine, which means that you will have lower overall
capital expenditures.

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2. It can reduce IT costs

This is one of the biggest advantages associated with using this

technology in your IT infrastructure, where you do not have to invest
in equipment that are incredibly expensive and in-house IT
professionals to be able to easily access various software and servers.
Also, virtualization is contrived to be affordable, as you do not have to
purchase hardware outright, which means more savings. You simply
pay a third party, who own and maintain all servers, for their
virtualization services without having to spend additional costs.

3. It automates routine tasks

This technology allows you to automate your important routine IT

tasks. Something that is as simple as patches for your operating
system will become simpler and quicker.

4. It makes a business energy-efficient

Virtualization is seen as revolutionary advancement due to a number

of reasons, and one of those having the most impact is energy
savings. By implementing such a technology in your business, you will
be able to lessen your carbon footprint immensely, which would
eventually make a big difference overall. If your organization is
environmentally conscious, then virtualization is the way to go.

5. It promotes greater redundancy

Virtualization technologies can help you improve your uptime by

allowing greater security and safety while reducing points of contact.

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6. It greatly helps with development

This technology is observed to be very helpful in development

environments. For example, if you are running several websites, you
can make the coding process of these sites easier by using a
virtualized server.

7. It allows for faster deployment

In a virtualized environment, provisioning would become quick and

simple. You should know that deploying virtual machines is simpler
than deploying the older physical versions.

LIST OF CONS OF VIRTUALIZATION

1. It requires high upfront expenditures

Though it was stated that virtualization is cost-effective, when you

implement such a strategy from the ground up, it would mean that are
you are going to have to invest more money in hardware in the near
future. Nevertheless, you will definitely save in the long run, but take
note that implementation can get costly.

2. It comes with limitations

One major disadvantage of using virtualization is that it involves

various limitations. Take note that not all servers and applications are
virtualization-friendly, which means that some aspects of the IT
infrastructure of your business might not be compatible with
virtualized solutions. You should consider the fact that there are still
vendors that do not fully support virtualized environments.

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3. It puts data at risk

Since data is crucial to your business, it is of utmost importance that

you only choose virtualization solutions that offer adequate data
protection. Remember that not having your own server can put your
data at risk, making it vulnerable.

4. It comes with the danger of server sprawl

While virtualization is very easy to deploy, there is always the risk that
new servers would be added even if they are not necessary. For
instance, instead of having 10 virtual servers that you really need, you
might have 20 or more.

5. It comes with issues of availability and scalability

Most of the time, the terms availability and scalability are intertwined
when it comes to networking, as both are relevant to server
virtualization after all. Availability would become a problem if
virtualized servers go offline and every website they host would also
fail. Scalability is even trickier, considering that virtualization offers a
means for several small businesses to share the costs associated with
hosting. As you can see, while a business may start out small, there is
always the possibility that it could grow big and easily dominate a
virtualized server, robbing resources from other websites.

6. It has security flaws

The process of virtualization is designed to separate virtualized

resources, but there are still cases where servers were accidentally
visible to other people who were not supposed to see them.
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7. It comes with the risk of bleed-overs

Bleed-overs are possible issues to be aware of when subscribing to a

virtualized server, occurring when the contents of a certain server
affect other servers. For instance, a chat room that occasionally hosts
live discussions with IT industry professionals would experience its
chat members receiving a pop-up window stating that they already
exceeded the total bandwidth allocation and being booted out of the
chat room. What’s worse, this can still happen even if your internet
service provider (ISP) was not limiting bandwidth consumption. The
thing is, there might be another site that is hosted on the same server
implementing a shareware bandwidth limitation program, which can
limit bandwidth for the server as a whole.

Many businesses and organizations of today are already taking

advantage of virtualization because most of their operations are highly
dependent on IT processes. This is regarded as a wise investment that
makes management of data more efficient and convenient. However,
for your organization, you must make sure that you are aware of both
the advantages and advantages of using virtualization to ensure that
you will be able to implement and manage it properly.

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Virtualization - Xen: Paravirtualization

Xen is an open source hypervisor based on paravirtualization. It is the

most popular application of paravirtualization. Xen has been extended
to compatible with full virtualization using hardware-assisted
virtualization. It enables high performance to execute guest operating
system. This is probably done by removing the performance loss while
executing the instructions requiring significant handling and by
modifying portion of the guest operating system executed by Xen, with
reference to the execution of such instructions. Hence this especially
support x86, which is the most used architecture on commodity
machines and servers.
Xen Architecture and Guest OSnManagement

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Above figure describes the Xen Architecture and its mapping onto a
classic x86 privilege model. A Xen based system is handled by Xen
hypervisor, which is executed in the most privileged mode and
maintains the access of guest operating system to the basic hardware.
Guest operating system are run between domains, which represents
virtual machine instances.

In addition, particular control software, which has privileged access to

the host and handles all other guest OS, runs in a special domain
called Domain 0. This the only one loaded once the virtual machine
manager has fully booted, and hosts an HTTP server that delivers
requests for virtual machine creation, configuration, and termination.
This component establishes the primary version of a shared virtual
machine manager (VMM), which is a necessary part of Cloud
computing system delivering Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
solution.

Various x86 implementation support four distinct security levels,

termed as rings, i.e., Ring 0, Ring 1, Ring 2, Ring 3

Here, Ring 0 represents the level having most privilege and Ring 3
represents the level having least privilege. Almost all the frequently
used Operating system, except for OS/2, uses only two levels i.e. Ring
0 for the Kernel code and Ring 3 for user application and non-privilege
OS program. This provides a chance to the Xen to implement
paravirtualization. This enables Xen to control unchanged the
Application Binary Interface (ABI) thus allowing a simple shift to Xen-
virtualized solutions, from an application perspective.

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Due to the structure of x86 instruction set, some instructions allow
code execution in Ring 3 to switch to Ring 0 (Kernel mode). Such an
operation is done at hardware level, and hence between a virtualized
environment, it will lead to a TRAP or a silent fault, thus preventing
the general operation of the guest OS as it is now running in Ring 1.

This condition is basically occurred by a subset of system calls. To

eliminate this situation, implementation in operating system requires a
modification and all the sensitive system calls needs re-
implementation with hypercalls. Here, hypercalls are the particular
calls revealed by the virtual machine (VM) interface of Xen and by use
of it, Xen hypervisor tends to catch the execution of all the sensitive
instructions, manage them, and return the control to the guest OS
with the help of supplied handler.

Paravirtualization demands the OS codebase to be changed, and hence

all operating systems can not be referred as guest OS in a Xen-based
environment. This condition holds where hardware-assisted
virtualization can not be free, which enables to run the hypervisor in
Ring 1 and the guest OS in Ring 0. Hence, Xen shows some limitations
in terms of legacy hardware and in terms of legacy OS.

In fact, these are not possible to modify to be run in Ring 1 safely as

their codebase is not reachable, and concurrently, the primary
hardware hasn’t any support to execute the in a more privileged mode
than Ring 0. Open source OS like Linux can be simply modified as its
code is openly available, and Xen delivers full support to virtualization,
while components of Windows are basically not compatible with Xen,
unless hardware-assisted virtualization is available. As new releases of

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OS are designed to be virtualized, the problem is getting resolved and
new hardware supports x86 virtualization.

Virtualization - VMware: Full Virtualization

In full virtualization primary hardware is replicated and made available

to the guest operating system, which executes unaware of such
abstraction and no requirements to modify. Technology of VMware is
based on the key concept of Full Virtualization. Either in desktop
environment, with the help of type-II hypervisor, or in server
environment, through type-I hypervisor, VMware implements full
virtualization. In both the cases, full virtualization is possible through
the direct execution for non-sensitive instructions and binary
translation for sensitive instructions or hardware traps, thus enabling
the virtualization of architecture like x86.

Full Virtualization and Binary Translation

VMware is widely used as it tends to virtualize x86 architectures, which

executes unmodified on-top of their hypervisors. With the introduction
of hardware-assisted virtualization, full virtualization is possible to
achieve by support of hardware. But earlier, x86 guest operating
systems unmodified in a virtualized environment could be executed
only with the use of dynamic binary translation.

Since the set of sensitive instruction is not a subset of privileged

instruction, x86 architecture design is not satisfy the first theorem of
virtualization. Due to this different behavior occurs while such
instructions are not run in the Ring 0, which is normal in a
virtualization environment where the guest OS is run in Ring 1.
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Basically, a trap is created, and the method in which it manages
differentiation of the solution in which virtualization is applied for x86.
In dynamic binary translation, the trap encounters the translation of
interrupts or offending instructions into a corresponding set of
instructions that establishes the same target without making
exceptions. In addition, to expand performance, the corresponding set
of instruction is cached, so the translation is not important anymore
for further encounters of the same instructions. Below is the figure
which demonstrates it.

Full Virtualization Reference Model

The major benefit of this approach is that guests can run unmodified in
a virtualized environment, which is an important feature for operating
system whose source code does not existed. Binary translation is
portable for full virtualization. As well as translation of instructions at
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runtime presents an additional overhead that is not existed in other
methods like paravirtualization or hardware-assisted virtualization.
Contradict, binary translation is only implemented to a subset of the
instruction set, while the others are manged through direct execution
on the primary hardware. This depletes somehow the impact on
performance of binary translation.

Binary Translation: Binary translation is one specific approach to

implementing full virtualization that does not require hardware
virtualization features. It involves examining the executable code of
the virtual guest for "unsafe" instructions, translating these into "safe"
equivalents, and then executing the translated code.

Advantages of Binary Translation –

1. This kind of virtualization delivers the best isolation and security

for Virtual Machine.
2. Truly isolated numerous guest OS can execute concurrently on
the same hardware.
3. It is only implementation that needs no hardware assist or
operating system assist to virtualize sensitive instruction as well
as privileged instruction.

Disadvantages of Binary Translation –

1. It is time consuming at run-time.

2. It acquires a large performance overhead.
3. It employs a code cache to stock the translated most used
instructions to enhance the performance, but it increases
memory utilization along with the hardware cost.
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4. The performance of full virtualization on the x86 architecture is
80 to 95 percent that of the host machine.

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