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Introduction to the Xen Virtual Machine

vivek, Fri, 2005-09-02 18:57

Xen is the new kid in the virtualization arena, receiving well deserved attention from the industry and the academia, with some really big players betting on it.

Xen is an open source virtual machine monitor, or hypervisor, developed by the University of Cambridge. It has a design goal of being able to run 100 full featured OS instances on a single typical computer. Xen provides secure isolation, resource control, quality of service guarantees, and live migration of virtual machines.

Linux Journal is featuring an introductory article on Xen and its design. A nice, moderately technical read: Introduction to the Xen Virtual Machine

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I am not really a Xen
Submitted by vivek on Fri, 2005-09-02 21:42.

I am not really a Xen expert, in fact I haven't even tried it. AFAIK (from what I have read), load balancing in this context should not be confused with other aggregation services such as clustering, distributed computing etc. Xen helps utilize the resources better. An OS can only multiplex cpu(s) to processes to a certain extent without wastage. Xen claims that it can help make use of the CPU in the best possible way by multiplexing cpu(s) to OSes, and thus is immensely useful in Server Consolidation. Security and sandboxing are other major features. As you said, if one instance does fail, the other OS instances will always be ready to provide services (say a web server) - similar to having multiple physical nodes.

Users like you and me may not find it all that useful, other than having fun. But fact is, due to the reduced TCO, its not the MNCs but smaller companies that are going to gain more from this. Server Consolidation seems to be the Buzzword these days.

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