OpenVZ is based on the concept of hardware virtualization. Hardware virtualization has a base layer—a hypervisor. This layer is loaded directly on the bare server and acts as an intermediary between the server hardware and virtual machines. To allocate hardware and resources to virtual machines, OpenVZ virtualizes all hardware on the server. Once virtualized, hardware and resources can be easily assigned to virtual machines. With its virtual hardware, a virtual machine runs its own complete copies of an operating system and applications.
The following diagram shows the basic architecture of hardware virtualization.
Specifically, OpenVZ uses the KVM/QEMU hypervisor and manages virtual machines via the libvirt API.
Hardware virtualization enables you to:
- Create multiple virtual machines with different operating systems on a single physical host.
- Run multiple guest operating systems and their applications simultaneously on a single physical host without rebooting.
- Consolidate and virtualize the computing environment, reduce hardware costs, lower operating expenses, and increase productivity.
- Use open APIs and SDK for integration with in-house and third-party applications.
