Virtualization
All in Operations & Infrastructure
An Introduction to Virtualization
The IT industry makes heavy use of buzzwords and ever changing terms to define itself. Sometimes the latest nomenclature the industry uses is a particular technology such as x86 or a concept such as green computing. Terms rise and fall out of favor as the industry evolves. In recent years the term virtualization has become the industry’s newest buzzword. This raises the question … just what is virtualization? The first concept that comes to the mind of the average industry professional is running one or more guest operating systems on a host. However, digging a little deeper reveals this definition is too narrow. There are a large number of services, hardware, and software that can be “virtualized”. This article will take a look at these different types of virtualization along with the pros and cons of each.
What is virtualization?
Before discussing the different categories of virtualization in detail, it is useful to define the term in the abstract sense. Wikipedia uses the following definition: “In computing, virtualization is a broad term that refers to the abstraction of computer resources. Virtualization hides the physical characteristics of computing resources from their users, be they applications, or end users. This includes making a single physical resource (such as a server, an operating system, an application, or storage device) appear to function as multiple virtual resources; it can also include making multiple physical resources (such as storage devices or servers) appear as a single virtual resource...”
In layman’s terms virtualization is often:
1. The creation of many virtual resources from one physical resource.
2. The creation of one virtual resource from one or more physical resource.
The term is frequently used to convey one of these concepts in a variety of areas such as networking, storage, and hardware.
History
Virtualization is not a new concept. One of the
An Introduction to Virtualization
The IT industry makes heavy use of buzzwords and ever changing terms to define itself. Sometimes the latest nomenclature the industry uses is a particular technology such as x86 or a concept such as green computing. Terms rise and fall out of favor as the industry evolves. In recent years the term virtualization has become the industry’s newest buzzword. This raises the question … just what is virtualization? The first concept that comes to the mind of the average industry professional is running one or more guest operating systems on a host. However, digging a little deeper reveals this definition is too narrow. There are a large number of services, hardware, and software that can be “virtualized”. This article will take a look at these different types of virtualization along with the pros and cons of each.
What is virtualization?
Before discussing the different categories of virtualization in detail, it is useful to define the term in the abstract sense. Wikipedia uses the following definition: “In computing, virtualization is a broad term that refers to the abstraction of computer resources. Virtualization hides the physical characteristics of computing resources from their users, be they applications, or end users. This includes making a single physical resource (such as a server, an operating system, an application, or storage device) appear to function as multiple virtual resources; it can also include making multiple physical resources (such as storage devices or servers) appear as a single virtual resource...”
In layman’s terms virtualization is often:
1. The creation of many virtual resources from one physical resource.
2. The creation of one virtual resource from one or more physical resource.
The term is frequently used to convey one of these concepts in a variety of areas such as networking, storage, and hardware.
History
Virtualization is not a new concept. One of the