[clug] Why virtual x86 machines?

[Kim Holburn]

On 2020/08/21 11:45 pm, Hugh Fisher via linux wrote:
> If a machine is idling away happily, so what? Why do we think it
> worthwhile or necessary to reach a level of utilization?
> 
> I assume it's not hardcore Protestant theology, "the Devil finds work
> for idle CPUs".
> 
> For environmental / monetary reasons, if you have expensive CPUs it is
> worthwhile to have the minimum number of systems running with as much
> utilization as required. But it seems to me that this is an industry
> choice, not the only way to do things.

For a long time I have used almost the opposite system to
virtualisation, although virtualisation is growing on me.

I have been working on home systems, especially home network security.
To call home network security pretty poor is a major understatement.  I
like to have small servers to create network infrastructure.  DNS,
syslog, LDAP, things like that.  I like them physically separate, on the
basis that there are often ways to penetrate the virtual barriers and
small so they don't end up loaded with too many applications.  Also for
homes, I don't like large noisy power hungry servers.  RaspberryPis are
perfect for this type of use.


Kim

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Kim Holburn
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