Microsoft Virtual Server:Overview and Roadmap

Mike NeilProduct Unit ManagerWindows Virtualizationmikeneil @ microsoft.comMicrosoft Corporation

Session OutlineSession Outline

Overview of Virtual Server 2005Overview

Architecture

Usage scenarios

Server configurations

Server Virtualization RoadmapVirtual Server 2005 SP1

Overview of enhancements

Windows virtualization futures

Session GoalsSession Goals

Attendees should leave this session with the following

A solid overview of Microsoft Virtual Server 2005

A better understanding of the roadmap for Microsoft Virtual Server and Windows virtualization

Virtual Server 2005: OverviewVirtual Server 2005: Overview

Windows server virtual machine solutionRTM’d October 2004

Hosted on Windows Server 2003 (32-bit)Windows XP supported for non-production use

Supported guests:Windows NT4

Windows Server 2000

Windows Server 2003

Many x86 operating systems run, but are not Supported

Virtual Server is licensed per physical machineStandard Edition $499 (1-4P)

Enterprise Edition $999 (unlimited)

Virtual Server 2005: OverviewVirtual Server 2005: Overview

Windows service with a web interface

Designed for remote administrationFully documented COM API for scripting and ISVs

Virtualizes everything you find in a x86 system

Provides virtual disks (VHD), virtual networking and virtual video

Virtual Server 2005: ArchitectureVirtual Server 2005: Architecture

Provided by:

Microsoft

ISV

OEM

Virtual Server

Designed for Windows Server Hardware

Windows Server 2003 or XP

Kernel VMM.sys

Ring 0

Ring 3

Host OS

Virtual ServerService

Ring 0

Ring 1

Ring 3

Guest OS

VMM.sys

Windows (NT4, 2000, 2003)

GuestApplications

VS Additions

IIS

Virtual ServerWebApp

Virtual Server 2005: Usage ScenariosVirtual Server 2005: Usage Scenarios

Production server consolidationConsolidation of low-utilization workloads

Early adopters running around 3 workloads per CPU

Physical constraints one of the key drivers

Development and testRapid provisioning of virtual machines

Undo-disks and saved states help reproduce issues

MSDN licensing covers scenarios

Legacy application re-hostingConsolidate legacy OS and application on 2003

Legacy OS is still a management issue

Reduces costs of older hardware

Virtual Server 2005: Server ConfigurationsVirtual Server 2005: Server Configurations

MemoryA virtual machine needs as much memory as a physical machine

Plus overhead (~25MB per virtual machine)

Overhead for MMU virtualization, video emulation, etc

CPUVirtual Server provides CPU allocation controls

Maximum (not to exceed)

Reserve (will always have enough)

Weights (weighted average)

One virtual processor per virtual machineScales multiple virtual machines across multiple processors

Virtual Server 2005: Server ConfigurationsVirtual Server 2005: Server Configurations

I/OVirtual machines will be sharing disk and networking paths

A virtual machine doesn’t do less I/O than aphysical machine

Configure systems with multiple I/O pathsMultiple spindles for disks

Controllers can become the bottleneck

Multiple NICs for performance, isolation and resilience

Fault resilient hardwareWith consolidation, all your eggs are in one basket

Server Virtualization RoadmapServer Virtualization Roadmap

TodayVirtual Server 2005 RTM

Virtual Server 2005 SP1 Beta

This yearVirtual Server 2005 SP1 RTM

FutureWindows virtualization

Windows hypervisor

Virtual Server 2005 SP1: OverviewVirtual Server 2005 SP1: Overview

64-bitx64 hosts - 32-bit guests

Windows Server 2003 Standard x64 Edition

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

64-bit port of VMM and serviceBetter scaling from larger kernel address space

x64 systems typically can have more RAM

Additional guest supportedWindows Server 2003 Standard Edition Service Pack 1

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2

Virtual Server 2005 SP1: OverviewVirtual Server 2005 SP1: Overview

Performance enhancementsImproved shadow page table management

Improved performance of guest process switching and memory intensive application

65% increase in internal TPC-C in memory tests

Early customer saw a 50% drop in CPU utilization

PXE bootingEmulated Ethernet card now supports PXE booting

No need for a RIS floppy

Integrates virtual machines into deployment infrastructure

Virtual Server 2005 SP1: OverviewVirtual Server 2005 SP1: Overview

Other improvementsBug fixes

Improved Hyperthreading support

F6 Disk (SCSI driver)

Virtual disk pre-compactor

Open necessary ports at install time

Reserve space for saved states

Windows VirtualizationWindows Virtualization

Virtualization for Windows ServerWindows hypervisor

Uses Intel VT and AMD “Pacifica” virtualization extensions

Very thin layer of software below all OSes

Provides basic mechanisms for creating partitions

Does not contain device drivers

Virtualization stackRuns as a foundation role with a minimal set of components

Provides the virtualization and emulation of devices

WMI interface for management and configuration

Virtualization Service Providers (VSPs)Hardware sharing architecture

Microsoft will provide storage, network, video, USB, input, time

Windows Virtualization: ArchitectureWindows Virtualization: Architecture

Designed for Windows Server Hardware

WindowsKernel

VirtualizationService

Providers(VSPs)

Primary Partition

VMService

Child Partitions

Windows hypervisor

Applications

Ring “-1”

MinWin

IHVDrivers

VMBus

WMI Provider

VM WorkerProcesses

Ring 0

Ring 3

VirtualizationServiceClients(VSCs)

VMBus

Virtualization Stack

WindowsKernel

Enlightenments

Windows VirtualizationWindows Virtualization

Some proposed features32-bit and 64-bit guests

x64-only hosts

Guest multiprocessing

Virtualized devices (VSPs)

WMI management and control API

Save & restore

Snapshoting

Server-specific featuresCPU and I/O resource controls

Tuning for NUMA

Dynamic resource addition & removal

Live migration

Community ResourcesCommunity Resources

Windows Hardware & Driver Central (WHDC)www.microsoft.com/whdc/default.mspx

Technical Communitieswww.microsoft.com/communities/products/default.mspx

Non-Microsoft Community Siteswww.microsoft.com/communities/related/default.mspx

Microsoft Public Newsgroupswww.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups

Technical Chats and Webcastswww.microsoft.com/communities/chats/default.mspx

www.microsoft.com/webcasts

Microsoft Blogswww.microsoft.com/communities/blogs

Additional ResourcesAdditional Resources

Email: msvirtex @ microsoft.com

Web Resourceshttp://www.microsoft.com/virtualserver

MSDN for Virtual Server 2005 COM APIhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/msvs/msvs/portal.asp

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