[Haifux] [WINTER PROJECT OFFER] virtualization - rational memory overcommitment

[Orna Agmon Ben-Yehuda]

Hello Systems People,

In virtual machines, the host (hypervisor) can allocate memory to
different guest virtual machines as it sees fit. In particular, it can
let a guest have less physical memory than the guest thinks it
needs. This is called memory overcommitment, and it allows the
hypervisor to run more guest virtual machines at the same time than
would otherwise be possible. It is used in cloud computing and in
data-centers all over the world. There are various mechanisms for
over-committing memory, but the most interesting mechanism is the
ballooning mechanism, which enables balancing memory on the fly
between unmodified guests without requiring their explicit
cooperation. The key questions are: how much physical memory should be
allocated to each guest? How much does each guest really need? Who
would benefit most from a given amount of memory?

Muli Ben-Yehuda and I are offering a Technion academic project in
virtualization, dealing with a novel approach to memory overcommitment
for uncooperative guest operating systems. The project involves
designing and implementing the new approach, and will lead to at least
one scientific publication. The project can later be developed into a
full Master's thesis, which unites areas of systems and
virtualization, game theory, and security.

Please contact me or Muli for further information.

-- 
Orna Agmon Ben-Yehuda.
http://ladypine.org
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