Unit/Topic: 3- Compute, Storage, Network virtualization techniques

Introduction:
 ‘Virtualization‘ is defined as the act of “creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of
something, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer
network resources”
Cloud and Virtualization
 Cloud computing certainly comes under the umbrella of virtualization. I have no desire to
enter a battle regarding terminology, so I won‟t state that the cloud in itself is an entirely
virtual entity, but rather for the sake of this article, suggest that it functions as a complex
„Virtual Machine‟.
 This virtual machine allows the creation of an environment that is not logically tied to the
underlying hardware. The cloud is essentially a virtual environment that arises from the
combination of multiple virtual machines into one powerful entity. Therefore, the process
of virtualization is a key element in the creation of cloud platforms and infrastructure.

WHY DO WE NEED VIRTUALIZATION?

There are a number of huge benefits to virtualization that include the following:
 Long term cost reduction
 The ability to safely test OS, software/applications, kernels etc.
 Running applications not supported by host
 Scalability
 Disaster recovery

Types of virtualization:

 Server virtualization
o OS virtualization
o Full virtualization
o Para- virtualization
 Storage virtualization
o Direct Attached Storage (DAS)
o Network Attached Storage (NAS)
o Storage Area Network (SAN)
 Desktop/client virtualization
 Application Virtualization
 Network Virtualization
 Compute virtualization

Compute virtualization

 Compute virtualization can be defined as a technique of separating the physical hardware

from the operating systems. The benefit of this mechanism is to run multiple OSs on a
 single physical machine. The same concept can be implemented in the case of
a clustered environment or pool of machines.
 In the field of computing, virtualization means creating a virtual version of computer-
related things, like the OS, application software, network resources or even the hardware
resources. Compute virtualization helps in the simplification of traditional computing
architectures. It helps in reducing the maintenance costs, as it splits the physical server
into many smaller servers. Thus, multiple instances of different servers can be run on
different computers easily, without the requirement of powerful processing. Such a stance
has completely changed the view of the IT sector, especially with regards to the cost and
efficiency of services and software.
 Compute virtualization can be used by the IT sector for improving their computing
architecture. Many renowned companies like Citrix, VMware and Microsoft are involved
in the implementation of compute virtualization for servers.
 For the implementation of compute virtualization, the actual physical machine has to be
divided into several virtual machines. The main object that keeps all these virtual
machines together and makes them easier to manage is the hypervisor. Also known as the
monitor of the virtual machines, a hypervisor is nothing but a software layer which
intercepts the calls of the operating system and divides the labor to the available hardware
resources. Thus, hypervisors allocate a certain amount of virtual CPU and RAM to the
virtual machines.
 These are mainly of two types: Hypervisors of the first type run directly on the hardware
resources of the server, such as Microsoft‟s Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer and VMware
ESX, while those of the second type run on the existing OS. VMware Workstation and
SWSoft‟s Parallels Desktop are examples of the second type.
 Compute virtualization is different from its counterparts, namely desktop
virtualization and storage virtualization. In compute virtualization, the actual physical
server is divided into a number of virtual servers. Software is used to serve this purpose.
Each divided server is known as a virtual server and they are masked from the users.
 There are many advantages of compute virtualization and it is being used in a diverse
number of places. Some of the advantages of using compute virtualization or server
virtualization are:
o Better Security Quotient
o Better Administration
o Saving Money
o Centralized Server
o Easier Software Testing Environment

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.

 The process involves abstracting and covering the internal functions of a storage device
from the host application, host servers or a general network in order to facilitate the
application and network-independent management of storage.
  Storage virualization is also known as cloud storage.
 The management of storage and data is becoming difficult and time consuming. Storage
virtualization helps to address this problem by facilitating easy backup, archiving and
recovery tasks by consuming less time. Storage virtualization aggregates the functions
and hides the actual complexity of the storage area network (SAN).

Storage virtualization can be implemented by using software applications or appliances. There

are three important reasons to implement storage virtualization:

 Improved storage management in a heterogeneous IT environment

 Better availability and estimation of down time with automated management
 Better storage utilization

Storage virtualization can be applied to any level of a SAN. The virtualization techniques can
also be applied to different storage functions such as physical storage, RAID groups, logical unit
numbers (LUNs), LUN subdivisions, storage zones and logical volumes, etc.

The storage virtualization model can be divided into four main layers:

1. Storage devices
2. Block aggregation layer
3. File/record layer
4. Application layer

Some of the benefits of storage virtualization include automated management, expansion of

storage capacity, reduced time in manual supervision, easy updates and reduced downtime.

The three kinds of data storage:

 Direct Attached Storage (DAS) – Storage devices are directly attached to hosts server(s)
 Network Attached Storage (NAS) – Shared storage connected via the network
 Storage Area Network (SAN) – A single storage device that is utilized by multiple
servers
Network virtualization

 Network virtualization refers to the management and monitoring of an entire computer

network as a single administrative entity from a single software-based administrator‟s
console. Network virtualization also may include storage virtualization, which involves
managing all storage as a single resource. Network virtualization is designed to allow
network optimization of data transfer rates, flexibility, scalability, reliability and security.
It automates many network administrative tasks, which actually disguise a network's true
complexity. All network servers and services are considered one pool of resources, which
may be used without regard to the physical components.

 Network virtualization is especially useful for networks experiencing a rapid, large and
unpredictable increase in usage.

 The intended result of network virtualization is improved network productivity and

efficiency, as well as job satisfaction for the network administrator.
 Network virtualization involves dividing available bandwidth into independent channels,
which are assigned, or reassigned, in real time to separate servers or network devices.

 Network virtualization is accomplished by using a variety of hardware and software and

combining network components. Software and hardware vendors combine components to
offer external or internal network virtualization. The former combines local networks, or
subdivides them into virtual networks, while the latter configures single systems with
containers, creating a network in a box. Still other software vendors combine both types
of network virtualization.
Concept Map:

Virtual machine components and process of converting physical to VMs

Components of virtual machine:

 A virtual machine needs four core resources: CPU, memory, network, and storage (disk).
These resources are granted to the virtual machine through the configuration of the
virtual hardware.
 Virtual hardware: When a virtual machine is created, a default set of virtual hardware is
assigned to it. VMware provides devices and resources that can be added and
configured to the virtual machine. Not all virtual hardware devices will be available to
every single virtual machine; both the physical hardware of the ESXi host and the VM's
guest OS must support these configurations. For example, a virtual machine will not be
capable of being configured with more vCPUs than the ESXi host has CPU sockets.
 Virtual machines typically have an operating system, VMware Tools, and virtual
resources and hardware that you manage in much the same way as you would manage a
physical computer.
 You install a guest operating system on a virtual machine essentially the same way as you
install an operating system on a physical computer. You must have a CD/DVD-ROM or
ISO image containing the installation files from an operating system vendor.
 VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of the virtual
machine's guest operating system and improves management of the virtual machine. With
VMware Tools, you have much more control over the virtual machine interface.
 All virtual machines have a hardware version. The hardware version indicates virtual
hardware features supported by the virtual machine, such as BIOS, number of virtual
slots, maximum number of CPUs, maximum memory configuration, and other
characteristics typical to hardware. The hardware version of a virtual machine is
determined by the version of ESX/ESXi on which the virtual machine is created.
 The hardware devices listed in the Virtual Machine Properties editor complete the virtual
machine. Not all devices are configurable. Some hardware devices are part of the virtual
motherboard and appear in the expanded device list of the Virtual Machine Properties
editor, but you cannot modify or remove them.
 Virtual Machine Hardware
 Virtual Machine Hardware lists the hardware devices available to a virtual machine.
 Not all hardware devices are available to every virtual machine. The host the virtual
machine runs on and the guest operating system must support devices that you add or
configurations that you make. You can add or configure some virtual machine hardware,
such as USB device pass through from an ESX/ESXi host to a virtual machine, only if
the virtual machine uses hardware version 7 or later. The PCI, SIO, and PS2 controllers
are virtual hardware devices that are part of the virtual motherboard, but cannot be
configured or removed.

Process of converting physical to VMs

 System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) allows you to convert existing physical
computers into virtual machines, which is known as a P2V conversion. VMM simplifies
P2V by providing a wizard to automate much of the conversion process.
 Which Physical Computers Can I Convert? - The requirements for physical computers
depend on whether you are performing an online or offline P2V. In both cases, VMM
temporarily installs an agent on the physical source computer that you want to convert.
By using online P2V, VMM uses the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to copy data
while the server continues to service user requests. The source computer is not restarted
during the conversion. By using offline P2V, the source computer reboots into the
Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) before VMM converts the physical
disks to Virtual Hard Disks (VHDs).
 VMM does not support P2V on source computers running Windows NT Server 4.0.
However, you can use the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT) or
third-party solutions for converting computers running Windows NT Server 4.0.
 Requirements for the Host Server
  In Virtual Machine Manager, a host is a physical computer on which can deploy one or
more virtual machines. To run P2V, you need a host on which to place the image of the
source machine disks copied in VHD format while the virtual machine is being built.
 Requirements for the host server include:
 Virtual Server R2 SP1 or later
 Adequate RAM (256 MB, plus memory for the virtual machine)
 By default, the amount of memory reserved for the target host is 256 MB. This amount is
in addition to the memory required for each source computer. If the host does not have
enough memory, you will get a placement error in the Convert Physical Server Wizard.

Identifying Virtualization Candidates

The Virtualization Candidates report helps you identify underutilized computers by displaying
average values for a set of commonly requested performance counters for CPU, memory, and
disk usage, along with hardware configurations, including processor speed, number of
processors, and total RAM. You can limit the report to computers that meet specified CPU and
RAM requirements and you can sort the results by selected columns in the report.

Prioritizing Virtualization Candidates

When identifying the best candidates for P2V conversion, consider converting these types of
computers, in order of preference:

1. Non business-critical underutilized computers. By starting with the least utilized

computers that are not business critical, you can learn the P2V process with relatively
low risk. Web servers may make good candidates.

2. Computers with low utilization that are hosting less critical in-house applications.

3. Computers with higher utilization that are hosting less critical applications.

4. The remaining underutilized computers. In general, business critical applications, such as

e-mail servers and databases, that are highly utilized should only be virtualized to the
Windows Server virtualization (WSv) platform in the Windows Server 2008 operating
system.

How to Perform a P2V Conversion

During a P2V conversion, disk images of the hard disks on the source computer are copied and
formatted as virtual hard disks (.vhd files) for use in the new virtual machine.
Before You Begin
The following list includes tasks that you should perform before starting the P2V conversion:

 The first phase of a P2V conversion is to survey the hardware configuration of the source
computer and make sure the patch cache contains all necessary drivers and system files to
 support the configuration. If any drivers are missing, you will get specific error messages
indicating where to get the necessary drivers.
 Bad sectors on disk cannot be transferred during a P2V conversion. To avoid data loss,
run a disk maintenance tool such as Chkdsk on the source computer to detect and correct
any file system errors.
 To help minimize the time required for the imaging phase, perform a disk
defragmentation on the source computer's hard drives. Also, ensure that you have a fast
network connection between the source computer and the host.
 Use dynamic Virtual Hard Disks to conserve disk space. For example, if you convert 5
GB of data on a 40 GB hard drive, VMM will create a dynamically expanding VHD of 5
GB that can grow up to 40 GB.
 For offline P2V only:
 Install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) on the VMM Server. To
download WAIK, go tohttp://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=86477.
 Supply the most recent drivers. In the Convert Physical Server Wizard, supply storage
and network drivers compatible with the hardware of the source machine to be converted.
Use one of the following drivers, listed in order of priority:
o Windows Vista 32-Bit
o Windows XP 32-Bit
o Windows Server 2003 32-Bit
o Windows 2000 Server 32-Bit

Convert Physical Server Wizard

 You can use the Convert Physical Server Wizard to create a new virtual machine from a
physical source computer. For more information, see the "How to Convert a Physical
Server to a Virtual Machine" topic in VMM Help
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98991).
 After the P2V is complete, remove any unnecessary vendor-specific hardware utilities
and drivers from the virtual machine.

Performing P2V from the Command Line

You can perform a P2V conversion from Windows PowerShell by using the New-P2V cmdlet.

The P2V Process

The P2V conversion process captures an image of the source disk and modifies the operating
system and drivers to make them compatible with the Virtual Server-emulated hardware. There
are two distinct P2V processes that you can use: online and offline.
Online Conversion
Online conversion does not require you to restart the source computer. VMM uses the Volume
Shadow Copy Service (VSS) in Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP to create an
application-level image of the source machine and create an analogous virtual machine without
needing to fully shut down the source computer. The online conversion process consists of five
steps:
 1. Installing the agent on the source computer
2. Getting hardware configuration
3. Imaging
4. Fixing up
5. Creating the virtual machine

1. Virtual Machine Manager installs the VMM agent on the source computer to gather the
hardware and software configuration. After the conversion is complete, the agent is
removed.
2. VMM gathers the source computer's hardware and software configuration, as follows:
1. The VMM agent gathers information about hardware, software, services, hotfixes,
and the volume (file system, volume type, sectors). The VMM agent exports this
information to the VMM database as a machine configuration file in XML format.
2. VMM determines whether the source machine can be virtualized. VMM confirms
that the operating system is supported and that the physical configuration is
compatible with Microsoft Virtual Server. VMM verifies that the required files
are present in the patch cache and downloads any missing patches to the Patch
Import directory on the VMM server.
3. Imaging phase:
1. A Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) image is captured for each NTFS
volume. If a dynamic destination VHD format is selected, this process captures
data only, not empty spaces.
2. Data is streamed directly from the source computer to the VMM host using
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS).
3. Each physical volume becomes a separate virtual hard disk.
4. Fix-Up phase. VMM prepares the virtual hard disks and prepares for virtual machine
creation.
5. Create Virtual Machine phase:
1. VMM creates the virtual machine.
2. VMM attaches virtual hard disks, network adapters, CD-ROM, and memory.

Concept Map: