INFO 2004 Chap.9 Compute Foundations: Virtualisation and Containers
Compute Foundations: Virtualisation and Containers
The compute sequence starts below the cloud-service layer. A computer combines processing, arithmetic and logic, control and memory; the von Neumann model gives a shared architecture for understanding how instructions and data are processed. Virtualisation then abstracts physical processing into virtual CPUs and virtual machines.
From there the course compares four compute forms: bare-metal servers, virtual machines, containers and microservices. Containers-as-a-Service and Function-as-a-Service extend the abstraction discussion without replacing the underlying distinctions. The crucial reasoning move is to separate isolation boundary, packaging boundary and application boundary.
A virtual machine includes a virtualised machine environment; a container packages an application and its dependencies more lightly; a microservice is an application-design choice and may run in containers but is not synonymous with them. This chapter has the deepest captured teaching prose and supplies the vocabulary needed before AWS services are compared.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Core computer components
- 02
Von Neumann architecture
- 03
CPU virtualisation and the vCPU concept
- 04
Bare-metal servers
- 05
Virtual machines
- 06
Containers and Containers-as-a-Service
- 07
Microservices and Function-as-a-Service
Choose the right compute abstraction for three constraints
- 1Direct hardware access points toward bare metal because the abstraction layer is deliberately minimised.
- 1A legacy application needing its own machine environment points toward a virtual machine.
- 1A packaged component with its dependencies points toward a container; independent application responsibility may support a microservice design.
- 1Explain that container and microservice answer different questions—runtime packaging and application decomposition.
Key terms
- Von Neumann architecture
- A computer architecture framing processing, control, memory, instructions and data as one system.
- Virtualisation
- Abstraction of physical computing resources so virtual environments can use them.
- vCPU
- A virtual representation of CPU capacity presented to a virtual machine.
- Bare metal
- A compute form that uses physical server resources without a virtual-machine layer.
- Virtual machine
- A virtualised machine environment with its own operating context.
- Container
- A lighter application packaging and runtime boundary for code and dependencies.
- Microservice
- An independently focused application component; an application architecture concept rather than a synonym for container.
- FaaS
- Function-as-a-Service, a model in which functions run without the customer provisioning the underlying servers.
Compute Foundations: Virtualisation and Containers FAQ
Why does the course start with computer architecture?
It establishes the physical and virtual layers beneath cloud compute services.
What is the difference between a VM and a container?
A VM represents a virtual machine environment; a container is a lighter packaging and runtime boundary for an application and its dependencies.
Is every container a microservice?
No. Container describes packaging and runtime; microservice describes application decomposition and responsibility.
What is a vCPU?
A virtual CPU representation presented through virtualisation.
Assessment move
Draw the abstraction ladder from physical components to vCPU, virtual machine, container and application component. For each rung, write what is abstracted, what boundary is created and what operational responsibility remains. Rehearse comparisons as mechanisms and trade-offs before attaching AWS service names in the next chapter.
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