VIRTUALIZATION
Virtualization provides many benefits to an organization as it allows multiple business units to use the same server hardware for diverse purposes. By enabling virtualization technologies, system administrators can improve the overall utilization of existing equipment and provide additional services for lower cost.
Virtualization consists of a host system that provides one or more virtualized machine (guest system) environments. The BSDP candidate should be familiar with the virtualization technologies available for BSD systems and be able to configure host and guest virtualization on their BSD of choice.
Create and install a jail.
Importance: 3.8, Frequency: 2.2, Bloom: K,C,A
Concept:
dru@ retired 08/10 as merged into 3.9.2
21. Prepare a host system for jails.
Importance: 3.8, Frequency: 2.0, Bloom: K,C,A
Concept:
@@@jpb: Note: This objective was integrated into objective 3.9.1 and removed from this section during the July 18, 2010 SME session.
3.9.3. Start or shutdown a virtualized guest system.
Importance: 3.8, Frequency: 2.5, Bloom: K,A
Concept: reworded so not BSD specific
Once installed, a virtualized guest system can be treated as any other installed operating system. The system administrator needs to know how to properly shutdown or start the guest system.
BSDP candidates should know the procedure for properly starting or shutting down a guest system within their virtualized environment.
Practical:
tools provided by virtualization software of choice
Estimated Time:
5 minutes to properly start or shutdown a guest system.
Manage a jail.
Importance: 3.7, Frequency: 2.1, Bloom: K,C,A
Concept:
dru@ objective removed 08/10 as redundant--concepts covered by other objectives in this domain
3.9.4. Clone a virtualized instance.
Importance: 3.5, Frequency: 1.9, Bloom: K,C,A
Concept: objective reworded so works on all BSDs
It is often useful to make a clone of a virtualized instance that can be used as a backup or installed as a separate guest with a different name and IP address. How this is accomplished depends upon the virtualization software being used. If the virtualization software does not provide a tool for this purpose, the administrator can consider creating a snapshot of the guest.
BSDP candidates should be able to replicate a guest system and install it as a separate instance.
Practical:
tool provided by virtualization software or installed from packages/pkgsrc
DragonFly BSD: hammer(8)
FreeBSD: zfs(1M), mksnap_ffs(8)
NetBSD: lvcreate(8), lvm(8)
Estimated Time:
30 minutes to clone a guest system according to a specification.
173. Upgrade a host system that contains jails.
Importance: 3.7, Frequency: 1.8, Bloom: K,C,A
Concept:
dru@ this objective was removed 09/10 as redundant: does not test anything not covered in upgrading a system
3.9.1. Configure a BSD system to host virtualized environments.
Importance: 3.6, Frequency: 1.8, Bloom: K,A
Concept:
Some preparation is required before a BSD system can host virtual environments. Depending upon the system and application used, the system administrator may have to perform one or more of the following tasks: install and configure software, prepare a vkernel(7) environment, install a privileged Xen Dom(0), or setup a jail(8) directory tree.
BSDP candidates should be able to perform the steps required to setup their virtualization software of choice on a BSD system.
Practical:
Virtualization software of choice either installed with BSD or from packages/pkgsrc
Estimated Time:
30 minutes to prepare the system to host virtual environments.
3.9.2. Create a virtual environment and install a BSD system as a guest.
Importance: 3.6, Frequency: 1.9, Bloom: K,A
Concept: objective reworded for clarification
Once the host system is prepared, virtual environments can be created and installed with a guest operating system. Depending upon the virtualization product being used, the system administrator may need to perform one or more of the following tasks: install a world, create a Xen Dom(U), or create and start a jail.
BSDP candidates should be able to create a virtualized environment and install a BSD operating system as a guest virtual machine.
Practical:
tools provided by virtualization software of choice
Estimated Time:
30 minutes to install a BSD guest system according to a specification.