What is Virtualization?

[charlesprabhu]

You may have heard of VMs before, but let’s break down what virtualization is.

Prior it was common for companies to use one machine for one application.

For example, a company’s database would have its own server responsible for running the database using an operating system, such as Unix. If the same company also has an email application, it would run on a separate server dedicated for their emails using an operating system such as Linux.

[SamHobbs]

Virtual Machines were first developed about half a century ago, soon after the first computers were developed. Initially they were designed to allow many users to share one computer. For each user their session appeared to be a computer dedicated to them. VMs have evolved and now have many purposes. The fundamental feature, virtualization, is that a VM provides resources, such as devices and memory, that appear to be dedicated to the guest but are shared by the server with the other OS or OSs in the system.

A VM is not required for multiple applications in one computer. Computers have been multiprocessing for half a century without VMs.

[taxiongo]

Virtualization is technology that lets you create useful IT services using resources that are traditionally bound to hardware. It allows you to use a physical machine’s full capacity by distributing its capabilities among many users or environments.