Understanding the Sun xVM Hypervisor Architecture

Understanding the Sun xVM Hypervisor Architecture

by Michael Haines and David Edmonson
May, 2008

This comprehensive Sun BluePrints article discusses the Solaris xVM hypervisor architecture, a new approach to virtualization for x86 and x64 systems that makes it possible to run multiple disparate operating systems and applications on a single server.

• Chapter 1. Introduction
• Chapter 2. Creating Efficient Datacenters
  • Virtualization is the Key
    • Types of Virtualization
    • Dynamic System Domains
    • Operating System Virtualization
    • Resource Management
    • Virtual Machines
  • Sun xVM Hypervisor Architecture Overview
    • Virtual CPUs
    • Memory
  • Running the Solaris OS in the Control Domain
  • Running Multiple Operating Systems
• Chapter 3. Basic Control Domain Verification
  • Preparing for Guest Domain Installation
    • Checking the Sun xVM Hypervisor Packages and the Control Domain
    • Creating the Right domU Management Environment
      • Using Solaris ZFS
      • Setting Up Files
  • Basic Installation Using virt-install
    • Installation via the Command Line
    • Installation with Solaris JumpStart™
  • Configuring Domains to Automatically Start at Boot Time
• Chapter 4. Virtual Machine Management
• Chapter 5. Advanced Installation and Configuration
  • Creating the Configuration File
    • Directives Used in the Solaris x86 xVM Domain Configuration File
    • Example Configuration File
    • Installing the First Guest Domain
  • Creating a Guest Domain Using the Command Line
  • Creating a Guest Domain Using Interactive Mode
  • Accessing Virtual Block Devices and Block Storage
  • Dynamically Allocating and Deallocating Virtual CPUs
  • Sun xVM Hypervisor Networking Infrastructure
    • Inter-Domain Networking
    • General Facilities
    • Guest Domains---domU
    • The Control Domain---dom0
      • The Back-end GLDv3 Driver---xnbu
      • Layering Over a GLDv3 Driver---xnbo
  • Integration into the Sun xVM Hypervisor Toolset
• Chapter 6. Migration of Virtual Machine Instances
  • Migration
  • Live Migration
    • Benefits of Live Migration
    • The Live Migration Process
    • Observing the Live Migration Process
• Chapter 7. Troubleshooting
  • Differences from a Standard Environment
  • Understanding Resource Virtualization
  • Crash Dumps
  • Observability
  • Dynamic Tracing
• Chapter 8. Hardware-Assisted Virtualization
  • Installing Unmodified Operating Systems
• Chapter 9. For More Information
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
  • Ordering Sun Documents
  • Accessing Sun Documentation Online
• Appendix A. Glossary
  About the Authors

  Michael Haines is a Senior Engineer at Sun. Since joining Sun in 1989, Michael has worked in various engineering roles, with emphasis on the Solaris Operating System, naming services, and more recently virtualization technologies. Michael is also the co-author of two Sun BluePrints books: LDAP in the Solaris Operating Environment, and Solaris and LDAP Naming Services, and has written many other Sun publications.

  David Edmondson is a Senior Staff Engineer in the Solaris Engineering organization at Sun. Since joining Sun eight years ago, David has worked mostly in the areas of networking capability and performance. David is the engineering lead for the networking components of Sun xVM Server, having spent the last three years focusing on virtualization support in the Solaris Operating System.

  Acknowledgements

  The authors wish to thank the following individuals for their contributions to this article:

  • John Levon
  • Mark Johnson
  • Ryan Scott
  • Ed Pilatowicz
  • Ryan Scott
  • Joe Bonasera
  • Russ Blaine
  • Chris Beal

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