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Understand virtual machines (VMs)

Virtual machines are a cornerstone of cloud computing, providing a flexible and efficient way to deploy and manage applications in the cloud. VMs offer users the ability to create isolated, scalable environments for their workloads. Understanding the concept of virtual machines VMs is helpful for leveraging the full potential of cloud computing resources.

What are virtual machines?

A virtual machine (VM) is a software-based emulation of a physical computer. It runs an operating system and applications just like a physical machine but is abstracted from the underlying hardware. This abstraction is made possible by a layer of software called a hypervisor, which manages the virtual machines and allows multiple VMs to run on a single physical server.

Key features

  • Isolation: Each VM is isolated from others, ensuring that processes running in one VM do not affect others. This isolation enhances security and stability.

  • Portability: VMs can be easily moved, copied, and backed up across physical machines, providing flexibility in resource allocation and disaster recovery.

  • Resource Allocation: VMs can be allocated varying amounts of computing resources (CPU, memory, storage) depending on the workload requirements.

  • Snapshotting: VMs can be snapshotted, capturing their exact state at a specific point in time. This snapshot can be used for backups or to quickly revert the VM to a previous state.

Virtual Machines in Rumble Cloud

In an Rumble Cloud, VMs are a fundamental building block, enabling you to deploy and manage your applications and services in a scalable and flexible manner.

  • Compute service is the OpenStack service responsible for managing the lifecycle of VMs. It handles tasks such as VM provisioning, scheduling, and resizing.

  • Images service is the image service which provides a repository for VM images. Users can upload custom images or use pre-built ones to launch VMs.

  • Network service is the networking service which provides connectivity to and between VMs. It allows users to define networks, subnets, and routers for their VMs.

  • Volumes service is the block storage service which provides persistent storage to VMs. Users can attach, detach, and manage storage volumes for their VMs.

Getting started with virtual machines

  • Launch a VM: Use the cloud console or CLI to create and launch a VM. Select an image, flavor (size), and network settings for your VM.

  • Access and manage the VM: Connect to your VM via SSH or RDP (for Linux and Windows VMs, respectively) and start deploying your applications.

  • Monitor and scale: Monitor the performance of your VM and scale resources as needed to meet the demands of your workload.

See also