Virtualization

Virtualization is a technology that allows you to create virtual computing environments instead of physical ones. The process itself is similar to creating one or more virtual computers within a single physical machine.

The concept of virtualization was invented back in the sixties of the last century to use the power of one server by several people at the same time. Nowadays, this technology allows users to:

• run applications designed for a third-party operating system;
• segment large systems into many smaller pieces;
• improve server utilization by multiple users at the same time;
• isolate and protect programs from third-party processes running on the same host.

Types of virtualization

There are five main types of virtualization:

• data virtualization – allows you to combine and work with data from multiple sources and provide on-demand access to it;
• desktop virtualization – allows an administrator to deploy and operate a desktop environment simultaneously on hundreds of physical computers;
• server virtualization – extends the functionality of specific server functions and allows them to be partitioned in such a way that components can be used to serve multiple functions;
• OS-level virtualization – allows multiple operating systems to be deployed on a single computer;
• virtualization of network functions – reduces the number of physical components, such as cables or routers, needed to create independent networks.

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Virtual machines and hypervisors

Virtualization technology is not possible without hypervisors – special software that allows multiple guest machines to run at the same time. Some hypervisors run directly on the physical hardware, while others run on top of the operating system.

A virtual machine uses software rather than a physical computer to perform calculations. Virtual machines are often used by cloud services for cost-effective and flexible computing.