Secure Virtualization and Multicore Platforms State-of-the-Art report

SVaM

Development of a virtualization systems architecture course for the information sciences and technologies department at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

Virtualization is a revolutionary technology that has changed the way computing is performed in data centers. By converting traditionally siloed computing assets to shared pools of resources, virtualization provides a considerable number of advantages such as more efficient use of physical server resources, more efficient use of datacenter space, reduced energy consumption, simplified system administration, simplified backup and disaster recovery, and a host of other advantages. Due to the considerable number of advantages, companies and organizations of various sizes have either migrated their workloads to virtualized environments or are considering virtualization of their workloads. As per Gartner Magic Quadrant for x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure 2013 , roughly two-third of x86 server workloads are virtualized [1]. The need for virtualization solutions by companies and organizations has increased the demand for qualified virtualization professionals for planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining virtualized infrastructure of different scales. Although universities are the main source for educating IT professionals, the field of information technology is so dynamic and changing so rapidly that not all universities can keep pace with the change. As a result, providing the latest technology that is being used in the information technology industry in the curriculums of universities is a big advantage for information technology universities. Taking into consideration the trend toward virtualization in computing environments and the great demand for virtualization professionals in the industry, the faculty of Information Sciences and Technologies department at RIT decided to prepare a graduate course in the master\u27s program in Networking and System Administration entitled Virtualization Systems Architecture , which better prepares students to a find a career in the field of enterprise computing. This research is composed of five chapters. It starts by briefly going through the history of computer virtualization and exploring when and why it came into existence and how it evolved. The second chapter of the research goes through the challenges in virtualization of the x86 platform architecture and the solutions used to overcome the challenges. In the third chapter, various types of hypervisors are discussed and the advantages and disadvantages of each one are discussed. In the fourth chapter, the architecture and features of the two leading virtualization solutions are explored. Then in the final chapter, the research goes through the contents of the Virtualization Systems Architecture course

Scheduling in virtual infrastructure

For the execution of the scientific applications, different methods have been proposed to dynamically provide execution environments for such applications that hide the complexity of underlying distributed and heterogeneous infrastructures. Recently virtualization has emerged as a promising technology to provide such environments. Virtualization is a technology that abstracts away the details of physical hardware and provides virtualized resources for high-level scientific applications. Virtualization offers a cost-effective and flexible way to use and manage computing resources. Such an abstraction is appealing in Grid computing and Cloud computing for better matching jobs (applications) to computational resources. This work applies the virtualization concept to the Condor dynamic resource management system by using Condor Virtual Universe to harvest the existing virtual computing resources to their maximum utility. It allows existing computing resources to be dynamically provisioned at run-time by users based on application requirements instead of statically at design-time thereby lay the basis for efficient use of the available resources, thus providing way for the efficient use of the available resources.En la ejecución de aplicaciones científicas, existen diversas propuestas cuyo objetivo es proporcionar entornos adecuados de ejecución que oculten la complejidad de las infraestructuras distribuidas y heterogéneas subyacentes a las aplicaciones. Recientemente, la virtualización ha emergido como una prometedora tecnología que permite abstraer los detalles del hardware, mediante la asignación de recursos virtualizados a las aplicaciones científicas de altas necesidades de cómputo. La virtualización ofrece una solución rentable y además permite una gestión flexible de recursos. Este nivel de abstracción es deseable en entornos de Grid Computing y Cloud Computing para obtener una planificación adecuada de tarea (aplicaciones) sobre los recursos computacionales. Este trabajo aplica el concepto de virtualización al sistema gestor dinámico de recursos Condor, mediante la utilización de Condor Virtual Universe para conseguir una máxima utilización de los recursos computacionales virtuales. Además, permite que los recursos de cómputo existentes sean proporcionados dinámicamente en tiempo de ejecución por los usuarios, en función de los requisitos de la aplicación, en lugar de mantener la definición estática definida en tiempo de diseño, y así sentar las bases del uso eficiente de los recursos disponibles.En l'execució d'aplicacions científiques, existeixen diverses propostes amb l'objectiu de proporcionar entorns adequats d'execució que amaguin la complexitat de les infraestructures distribuïdes i heterogènies subjacents a les aplicacions. Recentment, la virtualització ha sorgit com una prometedora tecnologia que ha de permetre abstraure els detalls del hardware, mitjançant l'assignació de recursos virtualitzats a les aplicacions científiques amb altes necessitats de còmput. La virtualizatzació ofereix una solució rentable i a més permet una gestió flexible de recursos. Aquest nivell d'abstracció es desitjable en entorns de Grid Computing i Cloud Computing per a obtenir una planificació adequada del treball (aplicacions) sobre els recursos computacionals. Aquest treball aplica el concepte de virtualització al sistema gestor dinàmic de recursos Condor, mitjançant la utilització de Condor Virtual Universe per aconseguir una màxima utilització dels recursos computacionals virtuals. A més, permet que els recursos de còmput existents siguin proporcionats dinàmicament en temps d'execució pels usuaris, en funció dels requisits de l'aplicació, en lloc de mantenir la definició estàtica definida en temps de disseny, i així assentar unes bases per l'ús eficient dels recursos disponibles

Virtualization Components of the Modern Hypervisor

Virtualization is the foundation on which cloud services build their business. It supports the infrastructure for the largest companies around the globe and is a key component for scaling software for the ever-growing technology industry. If companies decide to use virtualization as part of their infrastructure it is important for them to quickly and reliably have a way to choose a virtualization technology and tweak the performance of that technology to fit their intended usage. Unfortunately, while many papers exist discussing and testing the performance of various virtualization systems, most of these performance tests do not take into account components that can be configured to improve performance for certain scenarios. This study provides a comparison of how three hypervisors (VMWare vSphere, Citrix XenServer, and KVM) perform under different sets of configurations at this point and which system workloads would be ideal for these configurations. This study also provides a means in which to compare different configurations with each other so that implementers of these technologies have a way in which to make informed decisions on which components should be enabled for their current or future systems

ARTIFACT MITIGATION IN HIGH-FIDELITY HYPERVISORS

The use of hypervisors for cyber operations has increased significantly over the past decade, resulting in an associated increase in the demand for higher-fidelity hypervisors. These hypervisors would not exhibit the markers, or artifacts, that expose the presence of the virtualized environments present in most currently available virtualization solutions. To address this, we present an in-depth examination of a subset of virtualization artifacts in order to design and implement a software solution that will reduce the detectability via mitigation of these artifacts. Our analysis includes performant measures of a bare metal machine, a virtualized machine without our mitigations, and a virtualized machine with our mitigations. The analysis also includes a measure of our implemented system's simulated sensor output. Results of the implementation are analyzed to determine the potential performance impact, the accuracy of our system's simulated output, and whether our mitigation technique is appropriate for extending high-fidelity hypervisors.Outstanding ThesisLieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release. distribution is unlimite

How Virtualized Environments Affect Computer Forensics

Virtualized environments can make forensics investigation more difficult. Technological advances in virtualization tools essentially make removable media a PC that can be carried around in a pocket or around a neck. Running operating systems and applications this way leaves very little trace on the host system. This paper will explore all the newest methods for virtualized environments and the implications they have on the world of forensics. It will begin by describing and differentiating between software and hardware virtualization. It will then move on to explain the various methods used for server and desktop virtualization. Next, it will describe the fundamentals of a traditional forensic investigation and explain how virtualization affects this process. Finally, it will describe the common methods to find virtualization artifacts and identify virtual activities that affect the examination process. Keywords: Hardware-assisted, Hypervisor, Para-virtualization, Virtual Machine, virtualization, VMware, Moka5, MojoPac, Portable Virtual Privacy Machine, VirtualBox

Artifact Mitigation in High-Fidelity Hypervisors

17 USC 105 interim-entered record; under temporary embargo.U.S. Government affiliation is unstated in article text