Vmware and Xen Virtualization

Guru-host is able to offer you virtual private servers either on Xen, Microsoft Hyper-V or VMware technology. Those that are based on XEN (now with Intel Xeon Nehalem processors) are hosted on Hewlett Packard and IBM servers with dual quad core processors, DDR2 EEC FB RAM, hardware RAID6 or 10 and enterprise class SAS drives within the UK (London Redbus). Don't forget to read our frequently asked questions regarding XEN VPS.

The VMware approach to virtualization inserts a thin layer of software directly on the computer hardware or on a host operating system. This software layer creates virtual machines and contains a virtual machine monitor or “hypervisor” that allocates hardware resources dynamically and transparently so that multiple operating systems can run concurrently on a single physical computer without even knowing it.  VMware virtual machines are hosted within the UK too (BlueSquare).

Details about the XEN virtual machines

Virtual servers are behind a redundant pair of Cisco hardware firewalls. 10 custom rules can be setup at no additional cost. Contact support for additional rules. We also employ redundant Intrusion prevention systems that monitor network activity for malicious or unwanted behavior and react in real-time to block or prevent those activities.

The Xen® hypervisor is the powerful open source industry standard for virtualization, offers a powerful, efficient, and secure feature set for virtualization of x86, x86_64, IA64, PowerPC, and other CPU architectures. It supports a wide range of guest operating systems including Windows®, Linux®, Solaris®, and various versions of the BSD operating systems.
With Xen virtualization, a thin software layer known as the Xen hypervisor is inserted between the server's hardware and the operating system. This provides an abstraction layer that allows each physical server to run one or more "virtual servers," effectively decoupling the operating system and its applications from the underlying physical server.

Security

Our Self-Defending network is built around Cisco ASA Series Adaptive Security Appliances, converging firewall, IPS and VPN services. As a key component of our network, they provide proactive threat mitigation that stops attacks before they spread through the network.

All virtual servers are hardware firewall protected.

Insecure ports blocked
10 custom rules (for additional rules contact https://guru-host.eu/client/)
Secure VPN access
Intrusion prevention system
Should you choose not to be protected by this simple raise a ticket and your IP's will bypass both the firewalls and Intrusion prevention system.

Details about the VMware virtualization

Virtualizing a single physical computer is just the beginning. VMware offers a robust virtualization platform that can scale across hundreds of interconnected physical computers and storage devices to form an entire virtual infrastructure.
 

Compatibility
Just like a physical computer, a virtual machine hosts its own guest operating system and applications, and has all the components found in a physical computer (motherboard, VGA card, network card controller, etc). As a result, virtual machines are completely compatible with all standard x86 operating systems, applications and device drivers, so you can use a virtual machine to run all the same software that you would run on a physical x86 computer.

Isolation
While virtual machines can share the physical resources of a single computer, they remain completely isolated from each other as if they were separate physical machines. If, for example, there are four virtual machines on a single physical server and one of the virtual machines crashes, the other three virtual machines remain available. Isolation is an important reason why the availability and security of applications running in a virtual environment is far superior to applications running in a traditional, non-virtualized system.

Encapsulation
A virtual machine is essentially a software container that bundles or “encapsulates” a complete set of virtual hardware resources, as well as an operating system and all its applications, inside a software package. Encapsulation makes virtual machines incredibly portable and easy to manage. For example, you can move and copy a virtual machine from one location to another just like any other software file, or save a virtual machine on any standard data storage medium, from a pocket-sized USB flash memory card to an enterprise storage area networks (SANs).

Hardware Independence
Virtual machines are completely independent from their underlying physical hardware. For example, you can configure a virtual machine with virtual components (eg, CPU, network card, SCSI controller) that are completely different from the physical components that are present on the underlying hardware. Virtual machines on the same physical server can even run different kinds of operating systems (Windows, Linux, etc).

When coupled with the properties of encapsulation and compatibility, hardware independence gives you the freedom to move a virtual machine from one type of x86 computer to another without making any changes to the device drivers, operating system, or applications. Hardware independence also means that you can run a heterogeneous mixture of operating systems and applications on a single physical computer.

Posted on: 30/06/2010