Benefits of Intel VT

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Last Modified On :   July 17, 2007 9:51 AM PDT
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Challenge

Prepare applications to obtain the benefits of hardware-based virtualization as a means of addressing the limitations of software-based virtualization. As hardware that supports Intel® Virtualization Technology becomes widely deployed, many organizations will be concerned with preparing their application infrastructures for these new capabilities.

Solution

IT sites need to do nothing to their applications to benefit from Intel Virtualization Technology. In fact, this is the primary goal of Intel Virtualization Technology: to run any application without modification in a virtual machine (VM). Intel Virtualization Technology is primarily oriented towards engineers at vendors of virtual machine monitors (VMMs) who can exploit the features to deliver better virtualization software. By making use of Intel Virtualization Technology, the new VMM products will be more robust, they will provide enhanced capabilities, and the will be more reliable and secure:

  • Robust: VMMs will be able to run off-the-shelf OSs and applications without any special steps.
  • Enhanced: Intel Virtualization Technology enables VMMs to run 64-bit guest OSs – a first on 32-bit Intel® architecture.
  • More reliable: Due to the hardware support, VMMs can now be smaller, less complex, and more efficient. This improves reliability and availability and reduces the potential for software conflicts.
  • More secure: The use of hardware transitions in the VMM strengthens the isolation of VMs and further prevents corruption of one VM from affecting others on the same system.

 

Few technologies deliver so much benefit without requiring sites to change or upgrade their software. To make use of Intel Virtualization Technology, simply make sure to include it when specifying your virtualization solutions.

This item is part of a series of related pieces that together address the issues associated with software-based virtualization and how they are addressed using hardware-based virtualization:

 

Sources

Intel® Virtualization Technology: A Primer