KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is the leading open source complete virtualization solution on X86 hardware and it supports all major operating systems including Linux and Windows. KVM enables organizations to be agile by providing robust flexibility and scalability that fit their specific business demands. KVM converts the Linux kernel into a bare metal hypervisor and it leverages the advanced features of Intel VT-X and AMD-V X86 hardware, thus delivering unsurpassed performance levels. In addition, KVM incorporates Linux security features including SELinux(Security-Enhanced Linux) developed by the US Security Agency to add access controls, multi-level and multi-category security as well as policy enforcement. As a result, organizations are protected from compromised virtual machines which are isolated and cannot be accessed by any other processes.

Much like Linux itself, server virtualization technology is following the now-familiar trajectory toward open and standard implementations. Just as industry-standard x86 processors have steadily replaced proprietary processors, and Linux has replaced many proprietary operating systems, so too open source KVM hypervisor technology now competes directly with other virtualization solutions. This progress has been aided by the fact that industry- standard x86 processors and systems have grown increasingly more powerful, in terms of processing, memory, and I/O—and now represent attractive shared resources. In addition, the integration of key virtualization technology at the processor level by both Intel (Intel® VT) and AMD (AMD-V) has enabled virtualization to be deeply integrated at the Linux kernel level, yielding significant benefits in terms of performance, scalability, and security.

Analysis shows that KVM can be 60-90% less expensive than other solutions, while offering the same core functionality.

KVM represents a truly open solution that delivers real value in terms of functionality. Organizations save on licensing costs while enjoying the technical and financial advantages of an open multi-vendor ecosystem.

In recent performance evaluations, KVM has consistently matched up with leading proprietary technologies, demonstrating the highest performance benchmarks. SPECvirt_sc2010 is the first vendor-neutral benchmark designed to measure the performance of data center servers that are used for server virtualization.

These results show that KVM delivers a higher performance level than VMware in the 2, 4, 8 socket categories. In layman terms, the higher the performance, the more workloads that can be run on that virtualization solution. Here, the top KVM score represents 552 high-performing virtual machines running on a single x86 server.

Because it’s built on top of Linux, KVM is able to utilize the advanced security capabilities of Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux). This enables KVM to provide Mandatory Access Control security between virtual machines.

In addition, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 with the KVM hypervisor on IBM systems has been awarded the Common Criteria certification at Evaluation Assurance Level 4+ (EAL4+), meeting government security standards, and allowing open virtualization to be used in homeland security projects.

Given the growing complexity of virtualized infrastructure, enterprise-grade management is absolutely critical to success. OVA supports the oVirt Project for virtual data management; the first truly open and comprehensive data center virtualization management initiative related to KVM virtualization.

oVirt is a feature-rich server virtualization management system with advanced capabilities for host and guest operating systems; including high availability, live migration, storage management, system scheduler, and more. oVirt components are designed and tested to work together, and represent a comprehensive ecosystem of projects delivering a complete integrated platform on a well-defined release schedule. In addition, oVirt provides a crucial venue for user and developer cooperation.

The barriers for deploying KVM technology in the enterprise are low, both for green-field deployments, and as an alternative or replacements for other virtualization technologies.

KVM is being used to support a number of compelling use cases across a wide variety of organizations, and the OVA anticipates growing adoption in the following key areas:

KVM is provided as a standard component of popular Linux distributions including:

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Servers (RHEV) gives you near-bare-metal and better-than-bare-metal performance, and industry-leading scalability for enterprise workloads.

If you want to use the latest version of KVM kernel modules and supporting userspace, you can download the latest version from Sourceforge.net.

Why should your organization join the OVA?

• Gain increased visibility for your KVM-based solution as part of the open virtualization ecosystem
• Network with other members and learn how to grow your revenue by adding value to KVM-based virtualization
• Enhance your brand recognition to the global market by taking advantage of the awareness that OVA is creating for open virtualization
• Leverage the OVA to strengthen your sales and marketing initiatives - participate in events, ads, press, social media, presentations, collateral, and more—sponsored by the OVA
• Contribute to OVA-generated publications, presentations, solution briefs, press, and social media

What marketing activities can members participate in?

• Dedicated section on the OVA Website where members can upload their OVA related materials
• Speaking opportunities in the OVA webinars and various OVA sponsored events
• Social media marketing activities and PR activities for OVA and the members
• Trade show presence at OVA booth during major industry events
• Networking opportunities within the industry
• Co-branded documentation such as success stories, white papers and more

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Find out how hundreds of companies have benefited from using KVM.

Comprised of leading virtualization, data center, and cloud solution providers, the Open Virtualization Alliance’s goals are:

To accomplish our goals, the Open Virtualization Alliance works to: