Network and System Management

Real Virtualization
Level 1: Step 2
NORMAL
Theme: Virtualization and Operating Systems
Due Date: 12/10/2023

Please take the following notes in consideration:

• In this assignment the questions marked with a (*) are practical and have to be shown to the
teacher.

• The remaining questions are to be answered in the written report.

Concepts
1. Identify and explain several virtual network types supported in VMware Workstation.

2. Describe the main ideas and concepts of OS-Level Virtualization:

(a) Advantages and disadvantages over other virtualization approaches;
(b) Three examples of virtualization platforms of this level.
(c) How can it, in general, and Docker in particular, contribute to service deployment
and maintenance.

3. Research and explain how virtualization techniques can contribute to the efficiency of
cloud computing.

4. What are the main differences between a cloned virtual machine and a virtual machine
snapshot. In which scenarios would you use one over the other.

Virtualization
5. (*) Using any available hypervisor software perform the following tasks:
(a) Install the current stable Debian Linux distribution in a virtual machine without a
Desktop Environment
(b) Create a snapshot for the VM you just created
(c) Install and configure MySQL or MariaDB server on the VM:
• Make the necessary changes to the VM’s network so that the database server is
accessible from anywhere
• Make sure the database root user can login from anywhere
(d) Create a full clone of the VM you created in a)
(e) Restore the VM created in a) to the state of the snapshot you created in b)

6. (*) Install docker desktop 1 on your computer and perform the following tasks:
1 Docker desktop is only available for Windows/macOS. Linux users please refer to your package manager.
Network and System Management

(a) Start a docker container with the official phpMyAdmin docker image
(b) Configure the phpMyAdmin docker image to point to the database server running
on the VM created in 5.d)

7. Which type of network was adopted in order to make the database server accessible from
anywhere in item 5.c)?

8. Is there any advantage of using the VM from item 5.a) as a template for VMs in future
assignments? Explain Why.

9. (*) Install a Windows VM2 with roughly3 the same characteristics of that running on
your computer.
(a) Use a benchmark tool of your choice to compare the single-core performance of
the VM and your computer.
(b) Try to interpret and explain to the teacher (in class) the difference in the values for:
• CPU Mark
• Graphics Mark
• Memory Mark
• Disk Mark

 Keywords 
• os-level virtualization and containers
• type-2 virtualization software
• mysql grant root
• virtual network modes
• docker compose

10. Deliverables (all deliverables submitted via discord#assignments-submission or using the

/submit command):

1. PDF file with the report

2. The file name should be l1s2n_yXXXXX_yYYYYY.pdf. This code means:
• Level 1
• Step 2
• Normal difficulty
• Students that participated in the group
• Maximum: 2 students (not necessarily the same group of l1s1e)

2 Use the official ISO image from http://microsoft.com

3 Except for the memory. . .

Page 2