Cloud Computing- OS Virtualization
In previous articles, we have seen a sequence of articles related to Virtualization that plays a vital role in the field of Cloud Technology. So today, we are at the end of this sequence. The following information will inform you about Operating System Virtualization in Cloud Computing.
What is Operating System Virtualization?
Beginning with simple words, Operating System Virtualization is also known as OS-Level Virtualization Technology, which runs on the OS Layer. Here the kernel available at the OS permits multiple isolated user-space instances to work. These instances are titled Containers or software containers, otherwise Virtualization Engines.
How Does OS Virtualization Work?
Operating System Virtualization runs with the help of a virtual disk, and it does not require any physical disks or any type of local storage. It can get directly connected by using any medium to a centralized server that transmits the data with a virtual disk.
But before transmitting to the same customer who acts as an end-user, the Operating System will be loaded in the System, and the booting procedure initiates.
Finally, the data will be Virtualized, and the customer will receive its data with the help of the desired network.
Components of OS Virtualization
OS Virtualization Server is the main component to operate. This server will behave as the central medium and take the responsibility to manage all the tasks. The machine is set up at the initial stage, and the connection is established with the server.
There are several possible techniques to establish a connection between the server and the System.
Every connection technique maintains a stable connection with the server by using network cards and protocols.
After arranging the servers properly, the following point is the connection between the server and virtual connections. The client will establish a connection with the server and will request for the components in the disks to run the OS.
The server will then perform the search inside the storage database to extract the elements and check for the disk assigned to the client.
After the required number of Virtual Disks are assigned to the cline, the disk will be attached to the OS Virtualization Server and the database, which consists of all the configuration and network settings connected with the server.
The server will take responsibility for taking care of the client and being unique from the operations at the back-end.
When the disk connection is made with the server, the process of data streaming begins with the server. The software responsible for initializing the Operating System to run smoothly will be streamed before other parts.
The cached data will be stored in different locations, and several products are available to collect the information.
Once the proper streaming is done with the server and Operating System is loaded, all the functions will work smoothly, and additional disks will be streamed depending on the user requirements.
Types of Operating System Virtualization
1. Linux Operating System Virtualization
VMware Workstation software is widely used in virtualizing Linux Systems. If the users want to install any of the other software with the help of Virtualization, then the user will require to install the VMware Software at the beginning.
2. Windows Operating System Virtualization
Windows Operating System Virtualization is also the same as Linux Operating System Virtualization. And if the user wishes to install any software, they must install the VMware Software first.
Types of Disks in OS Virtualization
In Linux Operating System Virtualization, there are two types of Disks. They are as follows:
1. Shared Disk
Many organizations or users can use the shared disk at the exact moment. This widespread change develops the day the organization applies individually and will clear the cache.
Other clients will not get affected when they restart the System. The System is set as default after it restarts.
2. Private Disk
A single organization or user can make use of the Private Disk. They can store their data depending on the assigned capacity.
Advantages of OS Virtualization
Operating System Virtualization removes the usage of physical space, which is used by many machines. As everything is virtual, there will be less space usage, and it will also result in cost savings.
Also, it requires no hardware, and there will be lower maintenance which results in time-saving and minimizes costs.
The number of machines still below the power consumption rate will also be lower, and with low maintenance, there will be more savings on electricity.
It will permit the organizations to develop the factors related to efficiency and make use of server hardware. Thus, it will result in a greater Return on investment on the purchase and higher operational risks.
OS Virtualization is capable of faster deployments than the traditional environment. If we discuss the traditional deployment method, every System must be loaded separately. This task is not required on Operating System Virtualization.
OS Virtualization imposes only a few or no overhead, and it has the capability of live Migration.
OS Virtualization can also use the dynamic load balancing of containers between the clusters and the nodes.
In the OS Virtualization file, a Level copy on the write mechanism is possible. As a result, it makes it simpler to back up the files, makes it more space-efficient, and easier to cache than block-level copy and writing techniques.
It is one of the decent examples of a security system as it searches for the resources in the number of mutant distrust clients.
The server hardware can be merged with the help of OS Virtualization. It is the role of the System Administrator to perform this operation. This task can be achieved by sifting the resource to a single host, combined with two containers.
Disadvantages of Operating Systems Virtualization
- Operating system Virtualization will only support one Operating System for the guest OS and for the base in a Single Server. The client is allowed to use Linux OS or Windows OS.
- The container must contain a similar OS Version along with the same patch level as the base OS.
- If the base OS gets crashed because of some issues, all virtual containers will not be available for the users to access.
Uses of OS Virtualization
- OS Virtualization is used in Virtual Hosting Environment.
- It is used for the secure allocation of finite hardware resources among several unknown and distrusting users.
- System administrator utilizes it to integrate server hardware by transferring services on a separate host.
- It will boost security by separating multiple applications into various containers.
- OS Virtualization does not depend on Hardware Virtualization to work efficiently.
Cloud Vs. Virtualization
Cloud Computing technology is specially developed for the workloads to run in the distressed system. Cloud Architecture will have virtualization, container software and a bare metal which is utilized in resource pooling, sharing the scalable resources across the Cloud network. There are a wide range of stable Operating Systems which are available in Cloud Computing like Linux for Virtual Machines. This layer of the Operating System offers users the liberty over Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud Environments.
In Virtualization the hypervisor is a key software which is available over the hardware. These resources are mostly used for storage processes, power of cloud dependent cloud based applications which have a particular runtime code and resources. These two factors are very important for deployment. But if the process is terminated it will be declared as virtualization not cloud. Virtualization provides multiple benefits such as server consolidation and better usage of hardware resources. Also, it will help in minimizing the number of resources.
Conclusion
OS Virtualization offers a broad range of benefits to users and organizations. This type of Virtualization is compatible and beneficial for every one organization.