I/O virtualization (IOV)

Input-output virtualization (IOV) is a virtualization technique in which the upper layer protocols( ULP) with their application protocols are abstracted from the lower layer protocols( LLP), which represent the physical connections and data transport.

Since this virtualization separates the logical resources from the physical ones, individual components appear like multiple components. Data centers can thus combine the IT infrastructure ofcomputing power, storage and network technology.

In terms of I/O virtualization, there is single- root I/O virtualization( SR-IOV) and multi-root I/O virtualization( MR-IOV). SR-IOV is an extension ofPCI Express( PCIe). It allows a PCIe device to be virtualized across multiple logical partitions as if it were multiple PCIe devices. The MR-IOV components are external components that are shared across multiple domains.

As far as the structure of IO virtualization is concerned, communication takes place via a single data cable that replaces the server-side multiple cables and provides data transport to the storage systems and the networks.