Performance issues in cloud computing: KVM hypervisor’s cache modes evaluation

Abstract

This paper examines the performance of bare-metal hypervisors within the context of Quality of Service evaluation for Cloud Computing. Special attention is paid to the Linux KVM hypervisors’ different cache modes. The main goal was to define analytical models of all caching modes provided by hypervisor according to the general service time equation. Postmark benchmark software is used for random performance testing with two different workloads, consisting of relatively small objects that simulate a typical mail server. Sequential performance is evaluated with Bonnie++ benchmark software. The experiments were conducted separately with a single virtual machine, and, two and three virtual machines running on the hypervisor. The interpretation of obtained benchmark results according to the proposed models is the main contribution of this research.