Analysis of Virtual Machine Monitor as Trusted Dependable Systems

A Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) is the primary solution in data centers to support cloud computing services. Its ability to virtualize machines promises cost efficiency, ease of management, robustness, security, and scalability. However, as the complexity of computer systems is perpetually expanding, providing trustworthy and dependable systems is becoming a more crucial issue than ever. This paper investigates a VMM´s capabilities in implementing a trusted dependable system. The overview, requirements, and challenges in a VMM are given. Available VMMs in the academic communities are thoroughly examined by means of dependability such as fault tolerance, fault prevention, fault removal, and fault forecasting. Due to Xen´s and KVM´s availability and popularity, they are observed in this paper. During our analysis, we found their weaknesses in terms of dependability. By the end of the paper, recommendations for VMMs are presented.