HP Integrity Virtual Machines
Encyclopedia
Integrity Virtual Machines is software from Hewlett-Packard
that allows multiple virtual machines to run concurrently on any Itanium
server
running HP-UX
, notably the HP Integrity
line. It is part of HP's Virtual Server Environment suite.
The product is optimized for server
use.
to virtualize Itanium, with the help of Jean-Marc Chevrot and of a "virtual team" of experienced HP engineers. A prototype of Integrity Virtual Machines was then developed between 2000 and 2003 by Christophe de Dinechin, Todd Kjos and Jonathan Ross. It was then turned into a full-fledged product by a larger team of experienced OpenVMS
, Tru64 Unix
and HP-UX
kernel engineers.
accessed using a web browser
.
Essential commands include:
The user interface is integrated in the HP Integrity Virtual Machines Manager.
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
that allows multiple virtual machines to run concurrently on any Itanium
Itanium
Itanium is a family of 64-bit Intel microprocessors that implement the Intel Itanium architecture . Intel markets the processors for enterprise servers and high-performance computing systems...
server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
running HP-UX
HP-UX
HP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
, notably the HP Integrity
HP Integrity
HP Integrity is series of Hewlett-Packard server computers produced by Hewlett-Packard since 2003, based on the Itanium processor architecture...
line. It is part of HP's Virtual Server Environment suite.
The product is optimized for server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
use.
History
Christophe de Dinechin initiated a skunkworks projectSkunkworks project
A skunkworks project is one typically developed by a small and loosely structured group of people who research and develop a project primarily for the sake of radical innovation. The term typically refers to technology projects, and originated with Skunk Works, an official alias for the Lockheed...
to virtualize Itanium, with the help of Jean-Marc Chevrot and of a "virtual team" of experienced HP engineers. A prototype of Integrity Virtual Machines was then developed between 2000 and 2003 by Christophe de Dinechin, Todd Kjos and Jonathan Ross. It was then turned into a full-fledged product by a larger team of experienced OpenVMS
OpenVMS
OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
, Tru64 Unix
Tru64 UNIX
Tru64 UNIX is a 64-bit UNIX operating system for the Alpha instruction set architecture , currently owned by Hewlett-Packard . Previously, Tru64 UNIX was a product of Compaq, and before that, Digital Equipment Corporation , where it was known as Digital UNIX .As its original name suggests, Tru64...
and HP-UX
HP-UX
HP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
kernel engineers.
- Version 1.0 and 1.2, released in 2005, ran HP-UXHP-UXHP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
in virtual machines. - Version 2.0, released in November 2006, additionally supports Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005...
, CD and DVD burners, tape driveTape driveA tape drive is a data storage device that reads and performs digital recording, writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and long archival stability.A tape drive provides...
s and VLAN. - Version 3.0, released in June 2007, supports LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
Red Hat Enterprise LinuxRed Hat Enterprise LinuxRed Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64... - Version 3.5, released in late 2007, supports SUSE Linux Enterprise ServerSUSE Linux Enterprise ServerSUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a Linux distribution supplied by SUSE and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for servers, mainframes, and workstations but can be installed on desktop computers for testing as well. New major versions are released at an interval of 3-4 years, while...
, HP-UX 11i v3 guests, new service packs for Windows and Linux guests, and accelerated virtual I/O for HP-UX guests, enabling better I/O performance and a larger number of devices. - Version 4.0, released in September 2008, runs on HP-UXHP-UXHP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
11.31 (also known as 11i v3), supports 8 virtual CPUs, capped CPU allocation (in addition to CPU entitlement as in previous releases), additional support for accelerated virtual I/O (AVIO), and a new VM performance analysis tool. Version 4.0 also includes beta functionality such as on-line migration and support for OpenVMSOpenVMSOpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
guests. - Version 4.1, released in April 2009, supports Online VM Migration which allows customers to migrate active guests from one VM Host to another VM Host without service interruption. It also provides support for SSH third-party alternatives for secure communications, accelerated virtual I/O (AVIO) for networking on Windows and Linux guests, support for ignite and VxVM backing stores.
- Version 4.2, released March 2010, supports encryption during a VM migration, brings support for newer Itanium hardware and VM Guest OS versions, contains software allowing for VMs as Serviceguard packages and Serviceguard Nodes, and support for automatic memory reallocation.
- Version 4.2.5, released September 2010, brings support for the HP Integrity Superdome 2HP SuperdomeThe HP Superdome is a high-end server computer developed and produced by Hewlett-Packard. The latest version of product, "" was introduced in 2010. Superdome 2 scales from 2 to 32 sockets and 4 TB of memory. When introduced in 2000, the Superdome used PA-RISC processors...
, as well as suspend and resume support for a VM. - Version 4.3, released March 2011, brings support for the Intel® Itanium® Tukwila processorTukwila (processor)Tukwila is the code-name for the generation of Intel's Itanium processor family following Itanium 2 and Montecito. It was released on 8 February 2010 as the Itanium 9300 Series. While its features have not been publicly disclosed in detail, it utilizes both multiple processor cores and SMT...
, an NVRAM Edit utility, a Virtual iLO Remote Console, 16 virtual CPUs for guests, 128GB for guest memory, 256 AVIO storage devices, the support for Fiber Channel over EthernetFibre Channel over EthernetFibre Channel over Ethernet is an encapsulation of Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet networks. This allows Fibre Channel to use 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks while preserving the Fibre Channel protocol...
, and the support of NFSNFSNFS may mean:* Network File System , the Network File System protocol developed by Sun Microsystems* NFS , a former Icelandic television news service* National Financial Switch, a bank network in India...
backing stores. .
Capabilities
Exact specifications depend on the precise version and system configuration.- The host configurations are the same as those supported by HP-UXHP-UXHP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984...
, and can include 128 physical cores and 1TB of main memory. - More than 250 guests can run concurrently, although the optimal number is generally lower, depending on host memory and processor configuration.
- Guests can have multiple virtual CPUsSymmetric multiprocessingIn computing, symmetric multiprocessing involves a multiprocessor computer hardware architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory and are controlled by a single OS instance. Most common multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture...
, the maximum number in supported configurations being 4 with releases before 4.0, then 8 with release 4.0, and 16 with release 4.3. - Guests can be configured with up to 128G of memory with version 4.3. In recent releases, memory can be adjusted dynamically for HP-UX guests.
- Virtual devices can be added or removed dynamically. The number of virtual devices allowed in supported configurations depends on the release. Versions after 4.3 support up to 256 when accelerated virtual I/Os are used.
- The CPU allocation for virtual machines can be adjusted dynamically with a granularity of 1% or 1MHz. CPU time is allocated by a fair-share schedulerFair-share schedulingFair-share scheduling is a scheduling strategy for computer operating systems in which the CPU usage is equally distributed among system users or groups, as opposed to equal distribution among processes....
, which delivers better CPU utilization for SMPSymmetric multiprocessingIn computing, symmetric multiprocessing involves a multiprocessor computer hardware architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory and are controlled by a single OS instance. Most common multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture...
guests than a more simplistic gang schedulerGang schedulingIn Computer science, Gang scheduling is a scheduling algorithm for parallel systems that schedules related threads or processes to run simultaneously on different processors...
.
User interface
Integrity Virtual Machines can be created and managed using a command line interface or a graphical user interfaceGraphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
accessed using a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
.
Essential commands include:
-
hpvmcreateto create virtual machines -
hpvmstatusto display status information -
hpvmstartandhpvmstopto start and stop virtual machines -
hpvmmodifyto modify existing virtual machines -
hpvmconsoleto simulate a hardware console -
hpvmmigrateto perform on-line or off-line guest migration -
hpvmsarto show performance information about the running guests. -
hpvmsuspendandhpvmresumeto suspend and resume virtual machines
The user interface is integrated in the HP Integrity Virtual Machines Manager.
External links
- Product description at Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
- Architecture overview
- White papers on HPVM
- Release note for version 4.3