Virtualization (II)

Network Virtualization

When we think of network virtualization, we always think of VLANs but there is much more to network virtualization than just VLANs. Network virtualization is when all of the separate resources of a network are combined, allowing the administrator to share them out amongst the users of the network. Thus, it is a method of combining the available resources in a network by splitting up the available bandwidth into channels, each of which is independent from the others, and each of which can be assigned (or reassigned) to a particular server or device in real time. This allows each user to access all of the network resources from their computer either they are files and folders on the computer, printers or hard drives etc.



The theory behind network virtualization is to take many of the traditional client/server based services and put them "on the network". Certain vendors advertise virtualization and networking as a vehicle for additional services and not just as a way to aggregate and allocate network resources. For example, it's common practice for routers and switches to support security, storage, voice over IP (VoIP), mobility and application delivery.

One network vendor actually has a working card that is inserted into a router. On that card is a fully-functioning Linux server that has a connection to the backbone of the router. On that Linux server, you can install applications like packet sniffers, VoIP, security applications, and many more.
Network virtualization provides an abstraction layer that decouples physical network devices from operating systems, applications and services delivered over the network allowing them to run on a single server or for desktops to run as virtual machines in secure data centers, creating a more agile and efficient infrastructure. This streamlined approach makes the life of the network administrator much easier, and it makes the system seem much less complicated to the human eye than it really is.

Network virtualization is a versatile technology. It allows you to combine multiple networks into a single logical network, parcel a single network into multiple logical networks and even create software-only networks between virtual machines (VMs) on a physical server. Virtual networking typically starts with virtual network software, which is placed outside a virtual server (external) or inside a virtual server, depending on the size and type of the virtualization platform.

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