Empowering IT solutions with server virtualization
Joonas Niemi · Theseus (Ammattikorkeakoulujen) · 2012
This thesis explains the migration of traditional server environments to a virtualized server platform. The thesis describes different areas of virtualization, virtualization technologies and explains why virtualization is chosen in corporations. The thesis was carried out as a commission to Erasmus Student Network (ESN), whose server was designed to be migrated to multiple virtual servers with open source platform Xen. Xen is part of the Citrix family and is the creator of paravirtualization technology. Virtualization is not a new technology. It was first introduced in 1960s by IBM. Virtualization is a technology where logical operations are separated from the physical environment. Virtualization gives the possibility to run several virtual servers, application or complete systems from a single hardware. In virtualization, hardware utilization resources are used more efficiently, compared to one computer-one operating system model. Virtualized operating systems are separated entities, therefore, the data is isolated from each other, making them more secure and easier to administrate. ESN is a Europeanwide student organization supporting international students in 37 countries and over 400 higher educational institutes. ESN offers several IT services, for example, web pages, online user database and electronic sign up system. All the services are located in one physical server, which was sliced in to five virtual servers. The practical work was carried ou under the supervision of ESN IT Committee.