Overview

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Course Information Sheet

  • Title: Virtualization Fundamentals
  • Prerequisites: None. Basic computer literacy is assumed.
  • Duration: 12 hours (8 sessions of 1.5 hours each).
  • Objectives:
  • Understand the core concepts of hypervisor-based virtualization.
  • Gain practical skills to create, configure, and manage virtual machines (VMs).
  • Learn to manage VM states and networking for various use cases.
  • Assessment: Continuous assessment (Practical Labs), final exam.

8-Session Breakdown

Session 1: Introduction to Virtualization

  • Lesson: What is virtualization? Key concepts (Host vs. Guest), benefits (consolidation, isolation, portability), and common use cases (development, testing, servers). A brief history of virtualization.
  • Lab/Assessment: Research and compare three different virtualization solutions available today (e.g., VMware, KVM, Hyper-V).

Session 2: Hypervisors Deep Dive

  • Lesson: Understanding the role of the hypervisor. In-depth comparison of Type 1 (Bare-metal) and Type 2 (Hosted) hypervisors.
  • Lab/Assessment: Install VirtualBox on a host machine and explore its global settings and preferences.

Session 3: Creating Your First Virtual Machine

  • Lesson: Step-by-step walkthrough of the VM creation wizard. Allocating virtual hardware (CPU, RAM). Creating and attaching a virtual hard disk. Mounting an ISO image for OS installation.
  • Lab/Assessment: Create a new VM and install a lightweight Linux distribution (e.g., Lubuntu or Debian Netinstall).

Session 4: VM Hardware and Configuration

  • Lesson: Modifying VM settings. Understanding different virtual disk formats (VDI, VMDK, QCOW2) and their characteristics (fixed vs. dynamically allocated).
  • Lab/Assessment: Add a second virtual hard disk to your VM. Resize the RAM and CPU allocation and observe the performance impact.

Session 5: Virtual Networking

  • Lesson: Exploring different virtual network modes: NAT, Bridged, Host-Only, and Internal Networking. Understanding the use case for each mode.
  • Lab/Assessment: Configure two VMs. One in Host-Only mode to communicate only with the host, and another in Bridged mode to get an IP from the local network. Verify connectivity.

Session 6: Snapshots for State Management

  • Lesson: The power of snapshots. How to create, revert to, and delete snapshots. Understanding the snapshot tree and potential pitfalls.
  • Lab/Assessment: On your Linux VM, install a web server. Take a snapshot. "Break" the web server configuration. Revert to the snapshot to restore functionality.

Session 7: Cloning and Templates

  • Lesson: Creating copies of VMs. Full clones vs. Linked clones: understanding the difference in disk usage and independence. Using a master VM as a template.
  • Lab/Assessment: Create a "master" Linux VM. Create one full clone and one linked clone from it. Verify that they all run independently.

Session 8: Automation and Portability

  • Lesson: Introduction to VM automation with tools like Vagrant. Understanding the Vagrantfile. The importance of importing/exporting VMs in the Open Virtualization Format (OVF).
  • Lab/Assessment: Install Vagrant. Use a public Vagrant box to spin up a pre-configured VM with a single command (vagrant up).

Glossary of Terms

  • Cloning: The process of creating an exact copy of a virtual machine. A full clone is an independent copy, while a linked clone depends on the original VM.
  • Guest OS: The operating system running inside a virtual machine.
  • Host OS: The operating system running on the physical computer where the hypervisor is installed.
  • Hypervisor: The software that creates and runs virtual machines. Type 1 runs directly on the host's hardware, while Type 2 runs on a conventional operating system.
  • ISO Image: A file containing the complete contents of an optical disc (CD, DVD, etc.), often used to install operating systems on VMs.
  • KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine): A Type 1 hypervisor built into the Linux kernel.
  • NAT (Network Address Translation): A virtual network mode where the VM shares the host's IP address and is typically not directly accessible from the external network.
  • Bridged Networking: A virtual network mode that connects the VM to the physical network as if it were another physical machine, getting its own IP address.
  • Host-Only Networking: A virtual network mode that creates a private network between the host and its VMs, with no external access.
  • Snapshot: A saved state of a virtual machine at a specific point in time, including its memory, settings, and disk state.
  • Vagrant: A tool for building and managing virtual machine environments in a single workflow, often used for development environments.
  • Virtual Machine (VM): A software-based emulation of a physical computer that can run its own operating system and applications.
  • Virtual Disk: A file on a host file system that appears as a physical hard disk to a guest operating system (e.g., VDI, VMDK files).
  • VirtualBox: A popular, cross-platform Type 2 hypervisor for desktop use.
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