A virtual machine is an emulated computer that is running on an actual host. It appears like a real computer to the user and can run different operating systems, like Windows Linux or macOS. VMs are popular as they allow for multiple operating systems to be run on one computer, which could help businesses save a lot of money.
Typically, each VM is the “guest” of the host machine, which provides hardware resources like processors, memory, hard disk drives and network connections. This allows businesses to accommodate multiple VMs onto the same host computer, allowing IT infrastructures to grow and shrink as needed. This flexibility can also help reduce the amount of time IT teams are required to deploy and maintaining software updates as they can do so by server rather than managing each individual physical machine.
There are two kinds of VM Hypervisors: Type 2 and Type 1. Type 1 hypervisors are more efficient in performance because they operate directly on the host machine without the need for a full-blown operating system. Type 2 hypervisors send each VM request through the host operating system, which could slow down processing speed and creates additional costs.
Virtual machines can help improve IT security, and also disaster recovery. Virtual machines are not dependent on the physical hardware they run on. This makes it much easier to restore the VM in the event of an outage or natural disaster. This can prevent data loss and downtime which can negatively impact your business’s bottom line.
