Exploring Nutanix AHV: What You Need to Know

Exploring Nutanix AHV: What You Need to Know

Type-1 hypervisor Nutanix AHV (Acropolis Hypervisor) was created by Nutanix, Inc. It is a cutting-edge hypervisor that gives virtual machine operations on a Nutanix cluster virtualization services. Although AHV is free to use and administer with Nutanix Enterprise Cloud OS, it has the same core technology as Nutanix's for-profit hypervisor.

AHV is designed to deliver high performance, scalability, and simplicity, and it is well suited for use cases such as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), cloud native applications, and disaster recovery. It also includes features such as live migration, snapshots, and backup/recovery to help ensure high availability and data protection for virtualized workloads.

What is Hypervisor
Hypervisors are critical in enabling server virtualization, which in turn is critical in enabling cloud computing. Virtualization, in broad terms, refers to the use of software to imitate or emulate physical resources. In the context of server virtualization, a hypervisor is a software mechanism that generates and operates virtual machines (VMs) utilizing physical hardware resources.

Purpose of Nutanix AVH 

The purpose of Nutanix AVH (Acropolis Virtual Hypervisor) is to provide a high-performance, scalable, and secure virtualization platform for running virtual machines (VMs) on Nutanix clusters. Nutanix AVH is designed to deliver the benefits of virtualization, such as increased efficiency, flexibility, and agility, to organizations using Nutanix infrastructure.

Organizations may use Nutanix AVH to operate several VMs on a single physical server, boosting resource usage and lowering the number of physical servers needed. This can result in cost savings and better resource usage, as well as increased flexibility and scalability.

Type-1 Hypervisor Vs Type-2 Hypervisor
A type-1 hypervisor, also known as a bare-metal hypervisor, is a thin layer of software installed directly on the host machine's hardware. This type of hypervisor provides a direct connection to the physical resources of the host, enabling it to run virtual machines (VMs) more efficiently and securely.

A type-2 hypervisor, also known as a hosted hypervisor, runs as an application on an operating system. This type of hypervisor is less efficient than a type-1 hypervisor because it has to go through the host operating system to access the physical resources of the host.

Note: Nutanix AVH (Acropolis Virtual Hypervisor) is a type-1 hypervisor, not a type-2 hypervisor

Fig 1.1- Nutanix AVH Components

There are three main components in Nutanix AHV:

• KVM-kmod 
• Libvirtd
• Qemu-KVM

Nutanix AHV KVM-kmod

Nutanix AVH (Acropolis Virtual Hypervisor) with KVM-kmod is a type-1 hypervisor based on the open source KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) hypervisor that adds Nutanix upgrades and new functionality. The KVM-kmod component is a collection of kernel modules for the Linux kernel that support hardware virtualization and allow the usage of KVM for virtualization.

The Nutanix AVH with KVM-kmod provides a high-performance, scalable, and secure virtualization platform for running virtual machines on Nutanix clusters. It includes features such as live migration, snapshots, and backup/recovery to help ensure high availability and data protection for virtualized workloads. The use of the open source KVM hypervisor also helps to reduce costs and provide more flexibility compared to proprietary hypervisors.

In terms of compatibility, the Nutanix AVH with KVM-kmod is compatible with most major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and various versions of Unix. This makes it a versatile hypervisor option for organizations looking to virtualize their workloads on Nutanix clusters.

Nutanix AHV Libvirtd

Nutanix AVH (Acropolis Virtual Hypervisor) with Libvirtd is a type-1 hypervisor that manages and interacts with virtual machines (VMs) operating on a Nutanix cluster using the open source Libvirtd library. Libvirtd is a C library that offers a high-level API for controlling virtualization technologies such as KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine), which Nutanix AVH uses.

The Nutanix AVH with Libvirtd provides a scalable and secure virtualization platform for running virtual machines on Nutanix clusters. It includes features such as live migration, snapshots, and backup/recovery to help ensure high availability and data protection for virtualized workloads. The use of the open source Libvirtd library also helps to reduce costs and provide more flexibility compared to proprietary hypervisors.

In terms of compatibility, the Nutanix AVH with Libvirtd is compatible with most major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and various versions of Unix. This makes it a versatile hypervisor option for organizations looking to virtualize their workloads on Nutanix clusters.

Nutanix AHV Qemu-KVM

Nutanix AVH (Acropolis Virtual Hypervisor) with Qemu-KVM is a type-1 hypervisor that leverages the open source Qemu and KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) components to provide virtualization services for running virtual machines (VMs) on a Nutanix cluster. Qemu is a machine emulator and virtualize that can run VMs on different host architectures, while KVM provides the virtualization infrastructure for running VMs on a Linux host.

The Nutanix AVH with Qemu-KVM provides a scalable and secure virtualization platform for running virtual machines on Nutanix clusters. It includes features such as live migration, snapshots, and backup/recovery to help ensure high availability and data protection for virtualized workloads. The use of the open source Qemu and KVM components also helps to reduce costs and provide more flexibility compared to proprietary hypervisors.

In terms of compatibility, the Nutanix AVH with Qemu-KVM is compatible with most major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and various versions of Unix. This makes it a versatile hypervisor option for organizations looking to virtualize their workloads on Nutanix clusters.

Continue Reading...
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Part 2: Nutanix Storage & Cluster Nodes - The Network DNA
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