Dynamic Adaptation Using Xen Thoughts and Ideas on Loadable Hypervisor Modules

The topic of virtualization has received renewed attention. Xen is a popular open source type-I hypervisor. The Xen hypervisor currently has limited capabilities for run-time modification to the core hypervisor, which impairs research into dynamic adaptation for system-level virtualization. This paper discusses recent investigations into the feasibility of extending Xen to support run-time adaptation for core hypervisor service, e.g., scheduler. The recent resurgence in virtualization has led to new avenues of research leveraging Virtual Machine Monitors (VMM), also referred to as hypervisors. These hypervisors provide the basic services needed to manage Virtual Machines (VMs) and in the case of Xen leverage existing host Operating Systems (host OS) for device drivers, etc.