HP-UX System Administrator's Guide: Overview

2 HP-UX Virtualization Technologies
Enterprise computing is now heavily focused on enabling you to use your computing
resources as efficiently as possible by extracting the most performance from each of
your server’s resources. Many technologies are available to help you configure HP
enterprise servers to suit almost any need, and to adjust your configuration as your
computing needs change with minimal disruption to your business.
Collectively, these technologies are known as virtualization technologies. They allow you
to group and divide your physical computing resources to function as customized
virtual resources in order to properly size them for maximum efficiency.
This chapter discusses many of the key virtualization technologies available with
HP-UX, what resources they allow you to configure, and how they relate to each other.
Understanding Virtualization Technologies
Because there are now so many ways to configure the resources of your systems and
your network, it can be a bit confusing trying to determine which technology (or
combination of technologies) best suits your needs.
This document provides general information about each of the technologies and how
they relate to each other. Where possible, it provides pointers to where you can find
more detailed information.
In addition, HP offers technical consulting services to help you tailor these virtualization
technologies to best suit your needs.
Virtualization Technology Categories
Virtualization technologies and their associated products fall into six basic categories
based on the number of cores, servers, and operating system instances involved. The
matrix in Figure 2-1 “Virtualization Technology Categories Matrix” shows these
categories and how they align with processing cores, servers, and operating system
instances.
Understanding Virtualization Technologies 23