OS Virtualization

last updated on 2009-03-27

OS virtualization is the use of software to enable a machine to run multiple operating system images at the same time. OS virtualization with Solaris Containers enables you to maintain the one-application-per-server deployment model while simultaneously sharing hardware resources.

See the Solaris Containers section of this web site and the following resources, which describe OS virtualization:

• New Net Talk Webcast: Server Virtualization Choice With Sun, a webcast that describes Sun's server and OS virtualization solutions, and explains why they are the ideal platform for virtualization and addressing key business and IT challenges

• New OS virtualization With Solaris Containers, which describes how Solaris Containers allows you to maintain the one-application-per-server deployment model while simultaneously sharing hardware resources, plus provides links to additional resources

• New Consolidation Technologies - One Size Doesn't Fit All, a blog that compares and contrasts various virtualization techniques, such as multiple-OS approaches (for example, physical domains and bare metal hypervisors) and single-OS approaches (for example, OS virtualization and resource management)

• OS Virtualization: An Introduction*, by Josh King on the LXer* Linux news site

• Parallels.com* article, OS Virtualization*, that contains a diagram and text comparing hardware (or hypervisor) virtualization technology to OS virtualization

• Wikipedia's Operating system-level virtualization* topic, which compares OS virtualization to other virtualization techniques and compares the features of various OS virtualization implementations, such as Solaris Containers and Zones, SWsoft Virtuozzo, and OpenVZ