Systems Architecture
Virtualization
Hypervisors, virtual machines and why they matter.
- 8 notes
- 62 minutes of reading
- Hypervisors: type 1 versus type 2What a hypervisor does, the difference between type 1 (bare-metal) and type 2 (hosted) hypervisors, common products, hardware support for virtualisation, and how to choose for a lab or a data centre. 7 min · Beginner
- Virtual machine lifecycle: templates, snapshots and cloningHow to manage virtual machines from creation to retirement using templates, full and linked clones, guest customisation and snapshots, with the common snapshot mistakes that cause outages and sprawl. 8 min · Beginner
- Virtual networking: virtual switches, port groups and VLANsHow virtual machines connect to the network: virtual NICs, virtual switches, port groups, VLAN tagging, uplink teaming and network modes, with design tips and security settings. 9 min · Intermediate
- Storage virtualisation and datastoresHow hypervisors present storage to VMs: virtual disk formats, datastores on block, file and software-defined storage, thin and thick provisioning, and features such as storage migration and policies. 8 min · Intermediate
- Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)How virtual desktop infrastructure works: brokers, gateways and display protocols, pooled versus persistent desktops, cloud desktop services, sizing, user experience and security benefits. 8 min · Intermediate
- High availability and live migration for virtual machinesHow virtualisation clusters keep VMs running: HA restart after host failure, live and storage migration, automatic load balancing, fault tolerance, admission control and the networking needed to support them. 9 min · Intermediate
- Securing virtualisation platformsHow to secure hypervisors, management servers, virtual networks and VMs: key threats such as VM escape and hypervisor ransomware, hardening the management plane, segmentation, encryption, backup protection and monitoring. 9 min · Advanced
- Virtualisation and virtual machines for beginnersHow one physical computer can run many virtual computers, why it matters, and how to use it for your own practice lab. 4 min · Basics