Virtualization Management APIs: VMware, DMTF & Xen Ajit Mayya

Director of Engineering

Larry Lamers Sr. Engineering Manager

Daniel Hiltgen Staff Engineer

Goals

Participants will leave with an understanding of:The evolution of VMware’s Virtualization management interfacesVMware’s Open Interface InitiativesVMware’s involvement in industry standard organizationsVMware’s plans around extensible management architecture

Overview of Presentation

Evolution of VMware Product APIsVMware ControlVI SDK

Open Interface Initiatives Virtual Machine Disk FormatVirtual Machine Interface – Hypervisor/Guest OS InterfaceManagement InterfacePerformance

Industry StandardsDMTFOthers

Futures & RoadmapsExtensible Architecture

VMware’s Goals for Open Interfaces & Standards

“Standards, specifications, and open interfaces are what will make it possible for the entire industry to fully leverage virtualization on the x86 platforms. There should be complete transparency and unconstrained availability (standards, open interfaces) of the interfaces between the hardware and the virtualization, the virtualization and the operating system, and the format of the virtual machines.” Diane GreeneSteve Herrod – VP R&D

We will submit our interfaces and formats to the industry to accelerate this opportunity.We will adopt those formats that comply with openness and 3rd party control.Let hypervisors compete on features, partner relationships, quality, performance, price, and support.

ESX

Big Picture

Hardware

VMkernel

VSI

VC S

erve

r

Vpxd

VI API

VC UIPlug-in API3rd Party UI

Plug-in

Host agent

VI APICIMOM (Pegasus, SFCB, etc.)

CMPI

CIM XML

DriverInterface(DDK) 3rd Party Driver

Provider

char / proc

VM VMHypervisor – OS Interface

VM File format

PerformanceComparisons

Evolution of VMware’s API – VMware:Control

TechnologyPerl & COM modulesProprietary protocol

CapabilityVM monitoring & statistics gatheringVM configuration changesVM power operations

Product coverageGSXESX

Current statusDeprecated since release of VI 3 – June 2006Will be phased out at a future date

Evolution of VMware’s API – VI SDK version 1.0

TechnologyWeb services interface – HTTP, SOAP, XMLInterface specification via WSDL, programming language agnosticExtensive samples

CapabilityVM configuration and provisioningVM power operations, monitoring and statistics gatheringVM power operationsVM customization, VM cloning, Templates, VMotionScheduled tasks

Product coverageVC 1.1 – managed environments only

Current statusSupported in backward compatibility mode as of VI 3 release

VMware’s VI SDK 2.0 Key Features

TechnologyWeb services interface – HTTP, SOAP, XMLInterface specification via WSDL, programming language agnosticExtensive samples

CapabilityAll features from 1.0 VI SDKInventory traversal, traversal rules, fine grained property selectionFilter specification for object and property selectionHost Configuration• Networking configuration• Storage Configuration

Platforms Covered by VI SDK 2.0

Product Coverage VC 2.0 Managed Hosts• ESX 2.5.x, ESX 3.0ESX 3.0VMware Server support planned

ClientsAxis 1.xVS2003, VS2005VMware Perl Toolkit – available on SourceForgeSOAP 1.1 & WS-I Basic Profile 1.0

VMware Open Interface Initiatives

VM File Format - how a virtual machine is stored VMDK

Virtual Machine Interface (VMI) – Hypervisor/Guest OS Interfaceallow choice in hypervisor

Virtualization ManagementVMware Infrastructure SDKCIM SDK

Performance measurementsVirtual machine performance benchmarks

http://www.vmware.com/interfaces/ for more detail

VM File Format

VM File Format

Disk Format - how a virtual machine is stored A virtual machine encapsulates an entire server or desktop environment in a file. The virtual machine disk format specification describes and documents the virtual machine environment and how it is stored. The virtual machine disk format specification is critical to how virtual environments are provisioned, manipulated, patched, updated, scanned and backed up.

VM File Format

BeliefShould be open, available without license, and not owned by a single party

BenefitsAccelerate solutions that depend on the format (e.g., backup, system imaging, patch management, replication, virtual machine migration)Preserve customer environments if they choose to move between vendorsSimplify distribution of virtual appliances

StatusVMware VMDK format available without license (large # of downloads and tools)

Virtual Machine Interface (VMI)

HYPERVISOR/GUEST OS INTERFACE

VMI – Hypervisor/Guest OS Interface

In a fully virtualized environment, operating systems issue hardware instructions that are intercepted by the virtualization software. In certain situations it may be advantageous for the operating system inside a virtual machine to directly communicate to the underlying virtualization software. The virtual machine interface defines the mechanism for such communication to occur. These instructions enable the virtualization software to more efficiently use resources of the computer and perform tasks on behalf of operating systems running in virtual machines, such as managing memory resources.

VMI – Hypervisor/Guest OS Interface

BeliefShould be open & freely available to OS and hypervisor vendorsShould be “transparent”… the same binary should work on hardware and on a hypervisor

BenefitsCustomers benefit from ability to use same OS image everywhereISVs benefit from having fewer OS versions to certify and supportHypervisor choice can be independent of guest OS choice

StatusTechnology Preview now available, full support to follow.Working with the Linux community on common “paravirt_ops” approachUnclear as to approach Microsoft will take with enlightenments

Management

Virtualization Management

Virtualization Management

These interfaces enable management software to deploy, control, and monitor virtual machines running in different virtualization environments. These tools automatically execute many of the daily tasks in the data center, decreasing costs and increasing reliability. VMware supports a rich set of additional interfaces that allow customers to realize the full potential of virtualization.

Virtualization Management

BeliefThe common management-related functions used within virtualization should be standardizedStandards based management is focused on CIM-based models

BenefitsEnable 3rd-party management tools to work with VMware virtualization products (ESX Server, Server, Workstation, VirtualCenter, …)

StatusWorking this through the DMTF SVPC workgroup

Performance Comparisons

Performance Comparisons

BeliefProperly measuring the performance of virtualization is challengingThe industry will benefit from easy-to-run, representative, managed benchmarks

BenefitsCustomers can make better performance-focused tradeoffs in hardware and software choices

StatusVMware is working with partners on “VMmark”VMware is part of the SPEC Working Group looking into virtualization benchmarks

Industry Standards - DMTF

Leadership ParticipationSVPC Virtualization working group –• Larry Lamers – Co-chair• Daniel Hiltgen – Editor of Resource Allocation Profile• Carl Waldspurger – Editor of Processor Profile

Member Participation CIM Core working groupSVPC Cluster working groupServer Management working groupDesktop Mobile & Pre-OS working groupArchitecture working groupWIP (WBEM Infrastructure and Protocols) Generic Operations

DMTF SVPC – Phase 1 Goals

Resource Allocation ProfileAllocation Capabilities ProfileSystem Virtualization ProfileVirtual System Profile Generic Resource ProfileProcessor Resource Allocation ProfileMemory Resource Allocation ProfileNetwork Port Resource Allocation ProfileRemovable Media Resource Allocation ProfileBlock Based Storage Resource Allocation ProfileFile Based Storage Resource Allocation ProfileVirtual HBA ProfileShared HBA Profile

DMTF SVPC - Phase 2

Multi-System Virtualization ProfilePhysical PartitioningSerial and Parallel Controller Resource Allocation ProfileDisplay Controller Resource Allocation ProfileVirtual USBVirtual IBVirtual Keyboard, MouseConsole MetricsVirtual System LifecycleFarmVLANL2 SwitchNetwork BridgingTemplateTemplate Management

DMTF Initiatives

CDMAs an extension of the DMTF’s Common Information Model (CIM), the Common Diagnostic Model (CDM) specification is widely used within the industry to evaluate the health of computer systems in multi-vendor environments. The CDM initiative creates diagnostic instrumentation that can be utilized by platform management applications, and its tight synergy with the other manageability domains in CIM further enables integration of diagnostics into critical management functions.

SMASHThe DMTF's System Management Architecture for Server Hardware (SMASH) initiative, which includes the Server Management Command Line Protocol (CLP), is a suite of specifications that deliver architectural semantics, industry standard protocols and profiles to unify the management of the data center.

SMI-SThe Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) is developed by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) to standardize interoperable storage management technologies, based on the rich foundation provided by the DMTF’s CIM and WBEM. For more information, visit the SNIA’s SMI-S Web page.

Other Industry Standards Groups

PCI SIG I/O virtualization work group

Standard Performance Evaluation Corp (SPEC)Virtualization performance

SNIAFile Virtualization

Trusted Computing GroupTrusted Platform Module (TPM)

Futures & Roadmap

VI API Client side ToolkitsVI Extensibility ArchitectureXen ManagementSDK Evolution

VI SDK Toolkits

CurrentAxis, VS, other off-the-shelf SOAP toolkits

Future – VI API ToolkitsClient defined Object ModelStub generation in language of choiceHigh performance – Property collector basedEarly Access• Perl Toolkit – Open Source &

VMware supported versionsFuture Language Support• C++, Java, C#, VB, Python, PHP, ... Hardware

VMkernel

VCServer Vpxd

VI API

VI SDK Client

ESX

Host agent

VI API

Toolkit Stubs &Utilities

ESX

VI Extensibility

Hardware

VMkernel

VSI

VCServer Vpxd

VI API private

VC UIPlug-in API3rd Party UI

Plug-in

3rd Party UI

Host agent

VI APICIMOM (Pegasus, SFCB, etc.)

CMPI

CIM XML / WS-CIM

Posixsubset

3rd Party App

DriverInterface(DDK) 3rd Party Driver

private

Provider

char / proc

Xen

Xen and Management Interfaces

Hardware

Xen Hypervisor

CIMOMCMPI

CIM XML / WS-CIM

Xen-CIMProviders

Xenstore Host Utilities

Xen-RPC

libxen (C-bindings) Pyxen (python bindings)

xm

Dom0 XendVM VM

Feat

ures

/Mat

urity

Time

Specification

Implementation

Gap

Closing Remarks

Q: Why are open interfaces and formats important?A: In every industry, open interfaces and formats has been a critical enabler to accelerating ubiquitous adoption. Virtualization is no different. As great as the momentum is today for virtualization, it is still in its early stages of adoption. VMware is taking this step to spur the growth of virtualization, accelerate solution delivery to customers and achieve wide spread adoption. VMware is also taking this step because partners and customers have asked for it.Q: Why is this significant for customers?A: Open interfaces and formats will give customers access to a broader range of virtualization solutions that are also compatible across an increased number of industry products.Q: How will this benefit the industry?A: Open interfaces and formats will facilitate greater collaboration and innovation across an ecosystem of virtualization vendors and expand the market opportunities for all.Q: Why is VMware proposing these open interfaces and formats?A: The most successful interfaces and formats in the technology business have been based on de facto customer deployed standards. VMware's technology has been deployed widely for over seven years and incorporates a significant amount of real-world experience.

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Backup Slides

Open Interfaces and Formats FAQs

Q: What is VMware announcing regarding Open Interfaces and Formats?A: VMware is collaborating with a group of leading technology vendors to define open virtualization standards. As an initial step, VMware will contribute its existing frameworks and APIs to facilitate the development of these standards in an industry neutral manner.Q: What is a Hypervisor?A: A Hypervisor is a basic component of virtualization software and it provides the capabilities necessary to partition and multiplex the system. In ESX Server terminology, this roughly corresponds to the ESX Virtual Machine Monitor.Q: Which open interfaces and formats is VMware making available?A: VMware's open interfaces and formats include the following:

Virtual Machine Disk Format - Virtual machine disk formats that enable virtual machine provision, migration and maintenance across platforms. Virtual Machine Interface - APIs between hypervisors and guest operating systems. Management Interface - Framework that governs the standardized operation and management of stand-alone virtual machine environments as well as highly dynamic, data center-scale deployment of virtualized systems. Virtual machine performance benchmarks – Properly measuring the performance of virtualization

Q: Who can use these open interfaces and formats?A: VMware intends this to be an open, vendor neutral effort. Any vendor that shares in the common goal of open virtualization standards can participate.

Presentation Download

Please remember to complete yoursession evaluation form

and return it to the room monitorsas you exit the session

The presentation for this session can be downloaded at http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/vmworld/sessions/

Enter the following to download (case-sensitive):

Username: cbv_repPassword: cbvfor9v9r

Some or all of the features in this document may be representative of feature areas under development. Feature commitments must not be included in contracts, purchase orders, or sales agreements of any kind. Technical feasibility and market demand will affect final delivery.