When virtual is better than real [operating system relocation to virtual machines]

Abstract

This paper argues that the operating system and applications currently running on a real machine should relocate into a virtual machine. This structure enables services to be added below the operating system and to do so without trusting or modifying the operating system or applications. To demonstrate the usefulness of this structure, we describe three services that take advantage of it: secure logging, intrusion prevention and detection, and environment migration.