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Chapter 2. Architecture

2.1. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager
2.1.1. Interfaces for Accessing The Manager
2.1.2. Components that Support the Manager
2.2. Red Hat Virtualization Hypervisor
2.3. Storage
2.4. Network
A Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environment consists of:
Each of these entities consists of a number of components which are transparent to users and administrators. These components interact to enable the efficient virtualization of workloads using Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization.

2.1. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager

The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager provides centralized management for a virtualized environment. You can use a number of different interfaces to access the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager. Each interface facilitates access to the virtualized environment in a different manner.
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager Architecture
Figure 2.1. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager Architecture

The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager provides graphical interfaces and an Application Programming Interface (API). Each interface connects to the Manager, an application delivered by an embedded instance of the JBoss Enterprise Application Platform. There are a number of other components which support the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager in addition to JBoss Enterprise Application Platform.

2.1.1. Interfaces for Accessing The Manager

User portal
The user portal is the primary method of delivering Virtual Desktop Infrastructure to end users. Desktop virtualization provides users with a desktop environment that is similar a personal computer's desktop environment. You can access the user portal through a web browser which will allow you to display and access a user's assigned virtual desktops. The actions available to a user in the user portal are set by a system administrator. Standard users can start, stop, and use desktops that are assigned to them by the system administrator. Power users can perform some administrative actions. Both types of user access the user portal from the same URL, and are presented with options appropriate to their permission level on login.
  • Standard User Access
    Standard users are able to power their virtual desktops on and off and connect to them through the user portal. Direct connection to virtual machines is facilitated with Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environments (SPICE) or Virtual Network Computing (VNC) clients. Both protocols provide the user with an environment similar to a locally installed desktop environment. The administrator specifies the protocol used to connect to a virtual machine at the time of the virtual machine's creation.
    More information on the actions available from the user portal as well as supported browsers and clients can be found in the User Portal Guide.
  • Power User Access
    The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization User Portal provides power users with a graphical user interface that enables them to connect to, manage, and monitor virtual resources. Power users can connect to multiple virtual machines using any web browser. The Power User Portal allows system administrators to delegate some administration tasks. For example, power users can manage virtual resources that have been assigned to them. In addition to the tasks that can performed by standard users, power users can:
    • Create, edit, and remove virtual machines.
    • Manage virtual disks and network interfaces.
    • Assign user permissions to virtual machines.
    • Create and use templates to rapidly deploy virtual machines.
    • Monitor resource usage and high-severity events.
    • Create and use snapshots to restore virtual machines to previous states.
    The power user portal allows virtual machine administration tasks to be delegated. It saves tasks at the data center level for the environment administrator.
Administration portal
The Administration Portal is the graphical administration interface of the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager server. It allows administrators to monitor, create, and maintain all elements of the virtualized environment using their web browsers. Tasks which can be performed from the Administration Portal include:
  • Creation and management of virtual infrastructure (networks, storage domains).
  • Installation and management of hosts.
  • Creation and management of logical entities (data centers, clusters).
  • Creation and management of virtual machines.
  • Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization user and permission management.
The administration portal is displayed using the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a presentation layer currently only available on the Microsoft Windows platform. It uses vector graphics to render and manipulate user interfaces and the screen elements they contain. Because Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization relies on the use of WPF, the Administration Portal can currently only be accessed from machines which run Microsoft Windows.
Administration Portal functions are discussed in further detail in the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Administration Guide. Information on the browsers and platforms that are supported by the Administration Portal can be found in the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Installation Guide.
Representational State Transfer (REST) API
The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization REST API provides a software interface for the interrogation and control of the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environment. The REST API ensures that scripts that interact with the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager are not restricted to specific programming languages or platforms. The REST API can be used by any programming language that supports HTTP actions.
The REST API provides developers and administrators with the ability to:
  • Integrate with enterprise IT systems.
  • Integrate with third party virtualization software.
  • Perform automated maintenance and error checking tasks.
  • Use scripts to automate repetitive tasks in a Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environment.
See the REST API Guide for the API specification and usage examples.

2.1.2. Components that Support the Manager

JBoss Enterprise Application Platform
JBoss Enterprise Application Platform is a Java based application server. It provides a framework to support efficient development and delivery of cross-platform Java applications. The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager is delivered using JBOSS EAP.

Important

The version of the JBoss Enterprise Application Platform bundled with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager is not to be used to serve other applications. It has been customized for the specific purpose of serving the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager. Using the JBoss Application Platform that is included with the Manager for additional purposes adversely affects its ability to to service the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environment.
Gathering Reports and Historical Data
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager includes a data warehouse that collects monitoring data for hosts, virtual machines, and storage. A number of pre-defined reports are available. Customers can analyze their environments and create reports using any query tools that support SQL. Refer to Section 9.2, “Configuration History Views” and Section 9.1, “Statistics History Views” for more information.
The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager installation program creates two databases. These databases are created on the Postgres instance selected during installation.
  • The rhevm database is the primary data store used by Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager. Information about the virtualization environment such as its state, configuration, and performance are stored in this database.
  • The rhevm_history database contains configuration information and statistical metrics which are collated over time from the rhevm operational database. The configuration data in the rhevm database is examined every minute, and changes are replicated to the rhevm_history database. Tracking the changes to the database provides information on the objects in the database. This enables you to analyze and enhance the performance of your Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environment and resolve difficulties.
    For more information on generating reports based on the rhevm_history database see the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Administration Guide.

RHEVM History Service

The replication of data in the rhevm_history database is performed by the RHEVM History Service. This service must be manually configured to start automatically in the service Manager before building reports.
Directory services
Directory services provide a centralized network-based registry for the storage of information. Types of information stored include application settings, user profiles, group data, policies, and access control. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager has traditionally relied on directory services provided by Active Directory. Beginning in Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.0, there are now several options choices of directory service provider. If you are already using Active Directory for authentication you can continue to do so. Alternatively you can use IPA for directory services including authentication of users as well as retrieving and maintaining their access controls. There is also a local, internal domain for administration purposes only. This internal domain has only one user: the admin user.
See Chapter 7, Directory Services for more information on Directory Services.