Is there a way to enable masking of server resources from the users of servers? Indeed, it is possible, through server virtualization, wherein a physical server is divided into many isolated and unique virtual servers with the aid of a software application. In the process of server virtualization, the number as well as the identities of physical servers, operating systems and processors are included and each virtual server runs its own operating system.
Server
virtualization plays an important role in the efficient operation of a data
center, where all the servers are abstracted for the creation of a fully
virtualized ecosystem. Such a virtualized infrastructure aids in maximizing
processor utilization as well as renders running workloads more reliable.
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Server
Virtualization Explained
A
physical server refers to a data center hardware, which has memory, network
interface components, storage and compute. It is deployed on-premises. Physical
servers have various configurations which include blade, rack and tower. The
choice with regard to these configurations impact budget, space inside the data
center, performance and scalability.
Server
virtualization abstracts the attributes of a physical server into multiple
virtual assets. The performance and function of a physical infrastructure is
emulated by it, through the use of a layer of abstraction that is
software-based.
A
traditional server ties all the components to a single hardware. This doesn’t
result in efficient utilization as most enterprises have server space that is
in excess of that being used by them, as well as few workloads on those systems
which use the entire capacity. With regard to virtualization, individual
workloads and tasks are not tied directly to any specific hardware. This
enhances efficiency. Despite requiring hardware, the availability is flexible
with virtual servers and depends on the requirements of the enterprise rather
than being restricted by hardware limitations.
Importance
of Server Virtualization
Server
virtualization ensures cheaper operating costs and provides a very
cost-effective solution for making web hosting services available as well as
for utilizing effectively an enterprise’s resources that are related to its IT
infrastructure.
Virtualization
of servers does away with the issue of data centers getting overcrowded with
underutilized servers that lead to squandering of resources. In the absence of
server virtualization, servers end up utilizing a significantly small part of
their processing power and many servers remain idle due to the fact that the
workload gets allocated to a certain portion of the servers in the network.
Since each virtual server is capable of running its own operating system and
applications, server virtualization leads to enhanced resource utilization,
increased capacity of each physical machine and better performance of
applications. Additionally, it gets rid of server complexity and ensures that
workload gets deployed swiftly.
In
a nutshell, technologies involved in virtualization focus on achieving
optimized availability of a physical server by ensuring that resources are
provisioned promptly.
Components
of Server Virtualization
Many
components are used by server virtualization, based on the approach. These
components are, a host machine, virtual machines, a hypervisor, containers and
hypercalls. Let us touch upon these briefly. A host machine refers to the
physical server hardware. Virtualization takes place in it. VM is the
abbreviation for a virtual machine. A VM has those assets which are abstracted
from the server environment. A specialized software that is used for the
purpose of creating and maintaining virtual machines is known as a hypervisor.
It is capable of being run on bare metal servers or of being hosted atop an
existing OS (operating system).
A
unique user environment that is created in a virtualized operating system is
referred to as a container. A container is usually deployed inside a hypervisor
or a VM. This helps to provide an extra layer of isolation from the main host
operating system of the server. With the presence of a container engine, many
containers become capable of utilizing the same interfaces as well as the
shared libraries of a host OS. Messages that are exchanged between
para-virtualized hypervisors and operating systems, for the purpose of sharing
resources with the aid of an API (Application Programming Interface), are known
as hypercalls.
Server
Virtualization Approaches
The
approaches to server virtualization can be of three types and the selection of
any specific approach over the others will be based on the requirements as well
as the limitations of the enterprise that is opting for virtualization. The
three types of server virtualization approaches are, full virtualization,
para-virtualization and OS-level virtualization.
Full
virtualization involves creating and maintaining VMs that are fully autonomous.
These virtual machines don’t need any modification in order for these to
function with different OS. An API is
used in paravirtualization for transmitting hypercalls between the hypervisor
and operating systems. This enables each virtual machine to be aware of and
interact with the other VMs for sharing resources. Another type of
virtualization approach, which is known as OS-level virtualization, takes place
without a hypervisor. In this type of approach, the operating system of a
physical server is capable of carrying out virtualization by functioning in a
similar way as a hypervisor and creating many user environments that are called
containers.
Benefits
of Server Virtualization
Server
virtualization benefits enterprises in numerous ways to increase their
efficiency. It makes it possible to bring down operating costs as well as
deploys workloads more swiftly and aids in improving disaster recovery.
Servers
that are virtualized usually consume less energy when compared to traditional
infrastructure. Additionally, these offer greater availability by utilizing
less amount of hardware. This reduces the operating costs substantially.
Virtual machines can be set up more quickly. Faster deployment of workloads
ensures enhanced server productivity. Another important benefit has to do with
disaster recovery as VMs make it easier to back up as well as replicate data to
other VMs. In the event that a disaster is encountered, any lost data can be
easily and swiftly restored by virtual machines.
Drawbacks
of Server Virtualization
Server
virtualization has certain drawbacks that needs to be brought to light. These
drawbacks have to do with expensive capital investment as well as getting
performance that isn’t reliable at all times. Moreover, it is not possible to
virtualize all applications.
The
initial cost involved in acquiring a virtualized server is generally more than
that needed for a bare metal one. Another drawback of server virtualization is
that applications that are business-critical usually deliver slightly inferior
performance on it, when compared to their performance on bare metal servers.
Moreover, every application is not capable of being virtualized, which is one
major drawback of server virtualization.
Source:https://htswebhosting.wordpress.com/2021/03/08/benefits-drawbacks-of-server-virtualization/
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