1. Virtual Machines: Versatile Platforms for Systems and Processes
J. E. Smith
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ravi Nair
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center

2. INTRODUCTION
This material is based on the book, Virtual Machines: Versatile Platforms for Systems and Processes, Copyright 2005 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. It has been used and/or modified with permission from Elsevier Inc.

3. Course Objectives Study VM architectures and applications
Study key implementation technologies
Focus on architecture and microarchitecture aspects
Cover significant case studies
Introduction

4. Introduction Why are virtual machines interesting?
They allow transcending of interfaces
(which often seem to be an obstacle to innovation)
They enable innovation in flexible, adaptive software & hardware, security, network computing (and others)
They involve computer architecture in a pure sense
Virtualization will be a key part of future computer systems
A fourth major discipline? (with HW, System SW, Application SW)
Introduction

5. Advantages of Standard Interfaces
Major design tasks are decoupled
In space and time
Different hardware and software development schedules
Software can run on any machine
supporting a compatible interface
MacIntosh apps.
Windows apps.
Linux apps
Figs1/compat1
MacOS
Windows
Linux
PowerPC
x86
x86
Introduction

6. There are also disadvantages…
Software compiled for one ISA will not run on hardware with a different ISA
Apple Mac (PowerPC) binaries on an x86?
Even if ISAs are the same, OSes may differ
Windows NT applications on a Solaris x86?
Binary may not be optimized for the specific hardware platform it runs on
Intel Pentium 4 binaries on an AMD Athlon?
MacIntosh apps
Windows apps.
Figs1/clash
MacOS
Linux
x86
x86
Introduction

7. Disadvantages (contd.)
Innovation may be inhibited by fixed ISA
Hard to add new instructions
OR remove obsolete ones
What was the most recent (successful) new ISA?
Or new OS?
Difficult for software to interact directly with implementation
Performance features
Power management
Fault tolerance
Software is supposed to be implementation independent
Introduction

8. Hardware Resources
Conventional system software manages hardware resources directly
An OS manages the physical memory of a specific size
I/O devices are managed as physical entities
Difficult to share resources except through OS
All users of hardware must use the same OS
All users are vulnerable to attack from other users sharing the resource (via security holes in OS)
Introduction

9. Abstraction Computer systems are built on levels of abstraction
file
abstraction
Higher level of abstraction hide details at lower levels
Example: files are an abstraction of a disk
Introduction

10. Virtualization An isomorphism from guest to host
Map guest state to host state
Implement “equivalent” functions e (S ) i S i S j
Guest V( S ) i V( S ) j e
'(S ') i S ' S ' i j
Host
Introduction

11. Virtualization Similar to abstraction Construct Virtual Disks
Except
Details not necessarily hidden
Construct Virtual Disks
As files on a larger disk
Map state
Implement functions
VMs: do the same thing with the whole “machine”
file
virtualization
Introduction

12. The “Machine” Different perspectives on what the Machine is:
OS developer
Compiler developer
Application programmer
Instruction Set Architecture
ISA
Major division between hardware and software
Application
Programs
Libraries
Operating System
Execution Hardware
Application Program Interface
API
User ISA + library calls
Application Binary Interface
ABI
User ISA + OS calls
Memory
Translation
System Interconnect
(bus)
I/O devices
Main
and
Memory
Networking
Introduction

13. The “Machine” Different perspectives on what the Machine is:
OS developer
Instruction Set Architecture
ISA
Major division between hardware and software
Application
Programs
Libraries
Operating System
Execution Hardware
Memory
Translation
System Interconnect
(bus)
I/O devices
Main
and
Memory
Networking
Introduction

14. The “Machine” Different perspectives on what the Machine is:
Compiler developer
Application
Programs
Libraries
Operating System
Execution Hardware
Application Binary Interface
ABI
User ISA + OS calls
Memory
Translation
System Interconnect
(bus)
I/O devices
Main
and
Memory
Networking
Introduction

15. The “Machine” Different perspectives on what the Machine is:
Application programmer
Application
Programs
Libraries
Operating System
Execution Hardware
Application Program Interface
API
User ISA + library calls
Memory
Translation
System Interconnect
(bus)
I/O devices
Main
and
Memory
Networking
Introduction

16. Virtual Machines add Virtualizing Software to a Host platform
and support Guest process or system on a Virtual Machine (VM)
Example: System Virtual Machine
Applications
Applications
Guest OS OS
Figs1/fx32
Virtualizing
VMM
Software
Virtual
Machine
Hardware
Host
"Machine"
Introduction

17. The Family of Virtual Machines
Lots of things are called “virtual machines”
IBM VM/370
Java
VMware
Some things not called “virtual machines”, are virtual machines
IA-32 EL
Dynamo
Transmeta Crusoe
Introduction

18. Taking a Unified View
“The subjects of virtual machines and emulators have been treated as entirely separate. … they have much in common. Not only do the usual implementations have many shared characteristics, but this commonality extends to the theoretical concepts on which they are based”
-- Efrem G. Wallach, 1973
Introduction

19. Major Program Interfaces
ISA Interface -- supports all conventional software
Application Software
System Calls
Operating System
System ISA
User ISA
ISA
System Calls
User ISA
System ISA
ABI
Application Software
Operating System
Application Binary Interface (ABI)
-- supports application software only
Figs1/isaint (modified)
Figs1/abiint (modified)
Introduction

20. System Virtual Machines
Provide a system environment
Constructed at ISA level
Persistent
Examples: IBM VM/360, VMware, Transmeta Crusoe
guest
guest
guest
guest
guest
guest
process
process
process
process
process
process
Guest OS
Guest OS2
VMM
VMM
HOST PLATFORM
virtual
network communication
Introduction

21. System Virtual Machines
Native VM System
VMM privileged mode
Guest OS user mode
Example: classic IBM VMs
User-mode Hosted VM
VMM runs as user application
Dual-mode Hosted VM
Parts of VMM privileged; parts non-privileged
Example VMware
Virtual
Machine
Host OS
Hardware
VMM
Virtual
Machine
Host OS
Hardware
VMM
Virtual
Machine
VMM
Hardware
Non-privileged
modes
Privileged
Mode
Introduction

22. Process VMs
Execute application binaries with an ISA different from hardware platform
Couple at ABI level via Runtime System
Examples: IA-32 EL, FX!32
Guest
Application Process
Application Process
Runtime
Virtualizing
Software
Figs1/fx32
Virtual OS
Machine
Host
Machine
Hardware
Introduction

23. Process Virtual Machines
Constructed at ABI level
Runtime manages guest process
Not persistent
Guest processes may intermingle with host processes
As a practical matter, guest and host OSes are often the same
Dynamic optimizers are a special case
Examples: IA-32 EL, FX!32, Dynamo
HOST OS
Disk
file sharing
network communication
guest
process
create
host
runtime
Introduction

24. Same-ISA Dynamic Binary Optimizers
Optimize Binary at Runtime
An ABI level optimization
A type of Process VM
Example HP Dynamo
Can optimize for dynamic properties of program
Can optimize for a specific processor implementation
HP Apps
UNIX
HP PA
Figs1/dynamo
Introduction

25. HLL VMs Java and CLI are recent examples
Binary class files are distributed
“ISA” is part of binary class format
OS interaction via APIs (part of VM platform)
Java Binary Classes
Java VM
Architecture
Figs1/javasim VM VM VM
implementation
implementation
implementation
Sparc
x86
Apple
Workstation PC
Mac
Introduction

26. High Level Language Virtual Machines
Raise the level of abstraction
User higher level virtual ISA
OS abstracted as standard libraries
Process VM (or API VM)
HLL Program
Intermediate Code
Memory Image
Object Code (
ISA )
Compiler front-end
Compiler back-end
Loader
Portable Code
Virtual ISA
Host Instructions
Virt. Mem. Image
Compiler
VM loader
VM Interpreter/Translator
Traditional
HLL VM
Introduction

27. Co-Designed VMs Perform both translation and optimization
VM provides interface between standard ISA software and implementation ISA
Primary goal is performance or power efficiency
Use proprietary implementation ISA
Transmeta Crusoe and IBM Daisy best-known examples
X86 Apps
Windows
VLIW
Figs1/virtmach (with modifications)
Introduction

28. Composition apps 1 OS 1 apps 2 OS 1 ISA 2 Introduction
Similar to figs1/variety
ISA 2
Introduction

29. Composition: Example Java application JVM Linux x86 VMware Windows x86
Crusoe VLIW
Code Morphing
Figs1/multvms
Introduction

30. Summary (Taxonomy) VM type (Process or System)
Host/Guest ISA same or different
Multiprogrammed
Systems
Java VM
MS CLI
Transmeta
Crusoe
same ISA
different
ISA
Process VMs
System VMs
Virtual PC
for Mac
IBM VM/370
VMware HP
Dynamo
IA-32 EL
FX!32
Figs1/taxonomy modified?
Introduction

31. Course Topics Introduction & VM Overview
Emulation: Interpretation & Binary Translation
Process VMs & Dynamic Translators
Dynamic Binary Optimization
Co-Designed VMs
HLL VMs
System VMs
Emerging Applications
Introduction

32. Case Studies Shade Sun WABI Compaq FX!32 HP Dynamo VMware
Transmeta Crusoe
IBM Daisy
Intel VT-x
…. and others
Introduction