OPERATING SYSTEM &
VIRTUALIZATION
LESSON 2
Role of the Operating System (OS) in a Platform
➢ The OS acts as a bridge between hardware and software.
➢ Manages:
• Processes (task scheduling, multitasking)
• Memory (RAM allocation)
• File systems
• Device I/O
• User interfaces
Examples:
•Desktop: Windows, Linux, macOS
•Mobile: Android, iOS
•Server: Ubuntu Server, Windows Server
Key OS Functions
Function Description
Executes and manages multiple
Process Management
applications
Memory Management Allocates memory to programs
File System Management Organizes and provides access to data
Device Management Controls peripheral devices
Security & Access Control User authentication, permissions
Virtualization Concepts
Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of
something—like an OS, server, or storage device.
Types of Virtualization
1. Hardware Virtualization (Virtual Machines via VMware, VirtualBox)
2. OS-level Virtualization (Containers via Docker, LXC)
3. Storage Virtualization
4. Network Virtualization
Hypervisors - is the software layer that enables virtualization by allowing
one physical computer to run multiple isolated operating systems (VMs) at
the same time.
•Software that enables virtualization.
•Type 1 (Bare-metal): Installed directly on hardware (e.g., VMware ESXi)
•Type 2 (Hosted): Runs on a host OS (e.g., VirtualBox)
Hardware Virtualization
Hardware virtualization (also called server virtualization) is the process of
creating virtual versions of physical hardware components—such as CPUs,
memory, storage, and network interfaces—so that multiple virtual
machines (VMs) can run independently on a single physical machine.
How It Works?
At the heart of hardware virtualization is the hypervisor—a software layer that
separates physical hardware from the virtual machines and manages their execution.
Components:
1.Physical Host Machine – The real computer/server.
2.Hypervisor – The virtualization layer that allocates physical resources to VMs.
3.Virtual Machines (VMs) – Independent "virtual computers" with their own OS,
applications, and virtual hardware.
Virtual Machine (VM)
• A Virtual Machine (VM) is a software-based emulation of a physical computer. It
runs an operating system and applications just like a real physical machine, but it's
hosted inside a window on your actual computer.
• A virtual machine is like a computer inside your computer.
How It Works?
1.Physical Machine (Host):
The real computer running the virtualization software.
2.Hypervisor (Virtualization Software):
Software that creates and manages VMs by allocating resources (CPU, memory,
storage) from the host machine.
3.Virtual Machine (Guest):
A fully isolated virtual system that has:
1. Its own virtual CPU, memory, hard disk, network card
2. Its own operating system (Windows, Linux, etc.)
OS-Level Virtualization
• OS-level virtualization, also known as container-based virtualization, allows
multiple isolated user-space instances (called containers) to run on a single
operating system kernel.
• Unlike hardware virtualization, which emulates an entire hardware stack for
each virtual machine, OS-level virtualization shares the host OS kernel and only
isolates the application and its environment.
Storage Virtualization
• Storage virtualization is the process of abstracting physical storage resources (like
hard drives or SSDs) from multiple devices and presenting them as a single,
unified virtual storage pool.
• This allows better storage management, flexibility, and scalability by decoupling
storage from the underlying hardware.
Network Virtualization
• Network virtualization is the process of combining hardware (like routers,
switches, and firewalls) and software network resources into a single, software-
based, virtual network.
• It allows you to create multiple isolated virtual networks that run on top of the
same physical infrastructure.
How It Works
•Physical network hardware stays in place.
•A virtualization layer abstracts that hardware.
•This layer allows you to:
• Create virtual switches, routers, firewalls, and load balancers.
• Segment networks virtually without changing the physical cabling.
• Manage traffic using software-defined rules.
Examples of OS-Level Virtualization Tools
Tool Description
Most popular container platform,
Docker widely used in development and
DevOps.
Low-level containerization
LXC (Linux Containers)
technology using the Linux kernel.
A daemonless Docker alternative
Podman
that supports rootless containers.
OS-level virtualization for Linux,
OpenVZ used for hosting multiple Linux
instances.
Benefits of Virtualization
▪ Resource Efficiency: Run multiple VMs on one physical
server
▪ Isolation: Faults in one VM don’t affect others
▪ Scalability: Easily spin up/down instances
▪ Cost Saving: Reduced hardware needs
Virtualization vs. Containers
➢ A container is a lightweight, portable, and self-sufficient unit that packages an
application and all its dependencies (code, libraries, runtime, system tools) so it
can run reliably in any computing environment.
Key Features of Containers:
Feature Description
Shares the host OS kernel, making it smaller than
Lightweight
virtual machines
Runs the same on any platform that supports
Portable
containers (e.g., dev laptop, cloud server)
Each container runs in its own isolated
Isolated
environment
Fast Startup Much quicker to start than a virtual machine
Built once and deployed many times without
Immutable
change
Tools Used for Containers:
▪ Docker – Most popular container platform
▪ Kubernetes – For managing and orchestrating many containers
▪ Podman – Docker alternative with better rootless security
▪ LXC/LXD – Linux containers
Feature Virtual Machines Containers
OS Each has its own OS Share host OS
Speed Slower startup Fast startup
Isolation Full isolation Process-level isolation
Tools VMware, Hyper-V Docker, Kubernetes
Platform Examples Using Virtualization
▪ AWS EC2: Uses Xen/KVM for VM instances
▪ Docker: Used to package and deploy apps in isolated
environments
▪ VMware vSphere: Manages enterprise virtualization
