Virtualization

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Virtualization is the creation of a software-based (or virtual) representation of something such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources.   The primary goal of virtualization is to centralize administrative tasks while improving scalability and overall hardware-resource utilization.   It is the single most effective way to reduce IT expenses while boosting efficiency and agility for all sizes of businesses.

Common Types of Virtualization

  • Network Virtualization is a method of combining the available resources in a network by splitting up the available bandwidth into channels independent from that others.
  • Storage Virtualization is the pooling of physical storage from multiple network storage devices into what appears to be a single storage device.
  • Server Virtualization is the masking of server resources to increase resource sharing and utilization and maintain the capacity to expand later.
  • Application Virtualization allows applications to run in environments that do not suit the native application.

Benefits of Virtualization

  • Reduce capital and operating costs
  • Virtualize a physical box to a virtual environment
  • Minimize or eliminate downtime
  • Increase IT productivity, efficiency, agility and responsiveness
  • Provision applications and resources faster
  • Enable business continuity and disaster recovery
  • Simplify data-centre management
  • Build a true software-defined data centre
  • Increase system resources on the fly
  • Allows the build and creation of servers and workstations in a more efficient manner

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A virtual computer system is known as a “virtual machine” (VM):  a tightly isolated software container with an operating system and application inside.  Each self-contained VM is completely independent. Putting multiple VMs on a single computer enables several operating systems and applications to run on just one physical server, or “host”.

A thin layer of software called a hyper-v decouples the virtual machines from the host and dynamically allocates computing resources to each virtual machine as needed.

Key Properties of Virtual Machines

Partitioning

  • Run multiple operating systems on one physical machine
  • Divide system resources between virtual machines

Isolation

  • Provide fault and security isolation at the hardware level
  • Preserve performance with advanced resource controls

Encapsulation

  • Save the entire state of a virtual machine to files
  • Move and copy virtual machines as easily as moving and copying files

Hardware Independence

  • Provision or migrate any virtual machine to any physical server