A virtual machine (VM) is an computer system that is emulated and runs on the physical host machine. It appears to the user as a real computer system and can run a variety of operating systems, such as Windows, Linux or macOS. Virtual machines are popular because they allow multiple operating systems to be run on a single computer, which could help businesses save a lot of money.
Typically the case, each VM is the “guest” of host machines, which provide hardware resources, such as processors, hard disk drives, memory and network connections. This lets a business integrate multiple VMs on the same host computer and allows IT infrastructures to grow and shrink according to the needs. This flexibility can also help decrease the amount of time IT teams spend deploying and managing software updates, as they can do so on a server-by-server basis, rather than having to manage each physical machine.
There are two types of VM Hypervisors that are Type 2 and Type 1. Type 1 hypervisors are more performant because they run directly on a host machine without the need for a full-blown OS. Type 2 hypervisors route each VM request through the host operating system, which could slow down processing speed and creates additional burdens.
In addition to their scalability, virtual machines also help improve IT security and disaster recovery. Since the virtual environment is not dependent website of the underlying hardware, it’s much faster to restore from the VM than a physical machine in case of a downtime or natural disaster. This can prevent downtime and data loss that can directly affect your business’s bottom line.
