If you grew up several decades ago, then you would know the impact
that vritualisation has played in both the server as well as the desktop
space. It has allowed companies to reduce the total number of physical
servers within the network while also allowing for extra capabilities
such as high availability, redundancy, clustering and so on. It has also
allowed private users to experiment with a multitude of different
operating systems and applications without having to possess a
expensive, high-end hardware in your home network.
Of
late, I've been working on a project that requires the evaluation of
current software based Unified Threat Management (UTM) devices.
Obviously, I've tried using the usual suspects in terms of
virtualisation such as VMWare, Xen, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, Proxmox, and
VirtualPC, in both Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisor format.
However,
I've found the most versatile for my needs has been, 'VMWare Server'.
It can sit as an application on top of an existing Operating System, it
can run other 'Hypervisors' within itself (such as XenServer and ESX/i),
virtual hardware is reasonably easy to add/remove/configure, and there
are reasonable logs and diagnostic messages for when and if a problem
arises.
That does not mean that it is not without its
'quirks' though. Due to the way 'virtual networks' work you'll need to
set read/write permissions on relevant /dev/vmnet? device files in order
to achieve promiscuous mode automatically (this can also be achieved by
setting them up
manually using the 'promisc' option with the 'ifconfig' command and
while 'iptraf' does provide the option the various /dev/vnet? device
files do not seem to show up as options).
Switching to a singular technology can also lead to unusual consequences during 'changing times'.
I
personally experienced a strange issue of sorts with VMWare whereupon switching
between the various NIC modes (host/NAT/custom/bridge) would not take effect
when using a particular VM appliance but did using others. The only way
to get around it was by re-creating the VM.
Note, that in many cases performance and functionality of guest
Operating Systems can be increased through add-ons such as VMWare Tools
and third-party tools. Also, there may be a significant performance
overhead/hit depending on your existing setup.
Not
surprisingly, hardware technology has made significant strides towards
commoditisation in consumer class hardware. In most cases, modern CPU's
will have such capabilities built into their existing architecture. I
used to use upgraded Dell Optiplex GX280/GX520 desktops because they
were smaller, consumed less power, and were quite simply quieter. If you
don't have specific, 'Whitebox Virtualisation Hardware' though there are
options available should you wish to customise ESX/i or provide enhanced
driver support.
http://forums.juniper.net/t5/Training-Certification-and/Request-for-an-excellent-JUNOS-Simulator-and-Practice-lab/td-p/74674
- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/
- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/
