Virtualization and its types

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual version of something- computer hardware, storage and network.

 It allows for the distribution of a machine’s capacity among multiple user environments.

Traditionally, it was easier and more reliable to run individual tasks on individual servers: a single server hosts a single operating system that runs a single task at a time. With virtualization, one can split independent tasks onto different hardware resources. Hence, hardware resources are utilized to their maximum capacities with multiple tasks .

 The technology that enables virtualization is called the hypervisor- it gives multiple users simultaneous access to perform batch processing.

Most enterprises have single-vendor IT stacks that don’t allow their legacy applications to run on a different vendor’s hardware. With virtualization, companies can partition their servers and run multiple operating systems and versions. Hypervisors sit on top of an operating system (like a laptop), or be installed directly onto hardware(like a server). Companies such as VMware and Citrix have niche HyperV products that enable virtualization capabilities in organizations.

What is a Server?

  A server serves information to the computers that connect it. When users connect to a server, they can access files, programs and other server information.

So what is Server Virtualization?

 Server virtualization is the masking of server resources (number and identity of individual physical servers, processors, operating sytems) from server users. With the use of a virtualization application, a physical server is converted into multiple virtual machines. Each virtual server runs multiple operating systems on the same time.

What is desktop virtualization?

Desktop Virtualization or Thinclient is the concept of isolating an operating system (OS) from the client that is used to access it. The operating system resides on the server. On startup, it pulls the OS from the server. The main principle is to virtualize the desktop environment. The physical computer is converted into a ‘virtual container’ or a VM. The VM can then be moved across other physical hardware resources. The benefit is that now the workload and information are no longer tied to a single machine, but can be either moved from machine to machine (providing high availability), or colocated with other desktops (providing cost savings on physical hardware).

This ensures-

1)  Your computer never has a crash

2)  You do not need to worry about backups

3)  Move the virtualised environment to cloud

4)  Easier disaster recovery

What is network Virtualization?

 Network virtualization separates a network’s key functions (like directory services, file sharing, IP configuration) . This enables the network to be distributed across multiple environments. Virtualized networks reduce the number of physical components- like switches, routers, servers and hubs.

Various equipment and software vendors offer network virtualization by combining-

- Network hardware such as switches and network adapters

- Network elements such as firewalls

- Network storage devices

- Network mobile elements such as laptops, tablets and smartphones