Virtualization via KVM

Virtualization is the concept of taking a "bare metal" physical server and making "mini servers" within it using the current physical server's resources. More commonly, this is running multiple operation systems at once on a single server instance.

Within Linux is the virtualization layer or "hypervisor" called KVM ("Kernel-based Virtualization Module"). KVM is an open source virtualization technology built into Linux. Specifically, KVM lets one turn Linux into a hypervisor that allows a host machine to run multiple, isolated virtual environments called guests or virtual machines ("VMs").

KVM converts Linux into a type-1 or "bare-metal" hypervisor. All hypervisors need some operating system level components, such as a memory manager, process scheduler, input/output (I/O) stack, device drivers, security manager, a network stack, and more (if desired), to run VMs. KVM has all these components because it is part of the Linux kernel. Every VM is implemented as a regular Linux process, scheduled by the standard Linux scheduler, with dedicated virtual hardware like a network card, graphics adapter, CPU(s), memory, and disks.

Building a virtual infrastructure on a platform you are contractually tied to may limit your access to the source code. That means your IT developments are probably going to be more workarounds than innovations, and the next contract could keep you from investing in clouds, containers, and/or automation. Migrating to a KVM-based virtualization platform means being able to inspect, modify, and enhance the source code behind the hypervisor, and there is no enterprise-license agreement because there is no source code to protect. It is all Free/Open Source Software and free in cost (as in $0)!

Please free free to inquire more about using KVM on Linux via our Contact page via the "Virtualization" subject with more details for your organization's specific needs.