Today I started writing a whitepaper for work about Virtualization. Typically, I like to have an "Executive Summary" for these types of documents, an abstract that allows people to read a paragraph or two and get the main point of the paper. Then, I'll hyperlink too articles that explain the basics of topics I don't want to cover in depth, or have been covered better elsewhere.
I wanted to start out with a link to a good basic definition of Virtualization, or to be more specific, Hardware Virtualization. To my chagrin, I couldn't find a good definition. The definitions that I could easily find all include the word Virtual. It's sloppy, like defining the word "Jumping" as "To Jump", or "Computing" as "To Compute". I'm sure there are good definitions out there, but in my cursory look, I couldn't find them. If you have a source, please leave it in the comments.
So, here's my crack at defining Operating System Virtualization...
Operating System Virtualization is a technology which creates a layer of abstraction between the actual computer hardware that an Operating System is executing on and the hardware itself. This layer of abstraction is called the Hypervisor. The Hypervisor runs on the base hardware and Operating System, sometimes called the "Host" Operating System and is capable of running one or more "Virtual Machines" that run as "Guest" Operating Systems. The Hypervisor isolates the Guests from the Host, and from one another, and provides them with access to the hardware resources they need to run.
I'm tempted to dive right into the discussion of Benefits, but that's what the whitepaper is for. Let me know if you have any suggestions about definitions for me.
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Maybe, "Virtualization is the process of running multiple computing environments on a shared hardware".
ReplyDeleteWhen I talk Virtualization with folks I like to draw an analogy with a car pool.
So, "Virtualization (Car Pooling) is the process of running multiple computing environments (transporting passengers) on a shared hardware (a car)".
The main reason I do this is because folks generally understand the benefits of carpooling.
Carpooling shares space on the road - 4 cars take more space than 1.
Carpooling reduces energy consumption - 4 cars use less fuel than 1.
Carpooling utilizes normally wasted resources - 3 empty passenger seats are wasted.
Carpooling provides redundancy - Car breaks down? Just get into one of the other guy's car.
Carpooling reduces cost - 4 cars + fuel for 4 cars + maintenance for 4 cars, etc.
Anyways.. that's just me. Hope it helps!