Virtualization Operations


  • virtualization is a necessity for:
    • managing costs of hosting multiple customers
    • ensuring scalability
    • providing high uptime

Key Concepts

  • Distributed resource scheduling
    • is the ability to manage resources across a cluster or environment in a way that optimizes reliable and consistent service delivery
    • focuses on providing resources to virtual machines to ensure they meet performance service-level requirements
    • allows migration of systems to other infra during maintenance
  • Dynamic optimization
    • describes an optimization process that assesses performance or other factors and takes action to meet desired targets
    • relies on real-time data and defined goals to determine configuration and resources changes
  • Maintenance mode
    • in virtualized environments, allows hosts to be removed from a cluster in a safe way to allow for system or hardware maintenance
    • transfers running guest OS to other nodes in a cluster
      • then marks system as being in maintenance mode
  • High availability (HA)
    • virtualization enables high availability of services
    • guest OS an be moved to other hardware if failure occurs
    • virtualization allows hardware abstraction, enabling a failed device can be remapped to a working system component
  • Containerization
    • places an app or service with all its libraries and components in a bundled form that can be run on an underlying environment
    • does not virtualize the entire OS
      • just application environment
    • container security is similar to virtualization security
      • requires images to be secured
      • environment, orchestration platform, and runtimes must be kept secure
        • patching, secure configuration, monitoring and management
      • container registries need to be secure
        • signing containers, managing secrets, validating signatures
      • Resources
  • Ephemeral computing
    • leverages the ability to quickly stand up virtual systems, then shut down when no longer needed to meet demand
    • enables horizontal scaling
  • Serverless
    • replaces constant running servers with code that runs when needed
    • charged on an as-used basis
      • efficient use of resources