Demystifying VirtualizationPosted May 29th, 2010The buzz around the word Virtualization has been there for quite some time and it has been covered in a number of ways by the media as a must-have technology. Industry analysts have even gone to the extent of remarking that if you do not have the virtualization technology, you are indeed very low down the growth ladder. It is not a new concept and it was IBM in 1960 that created the driving force behind virtualization by unraveling the elements like “Time Sharing” and partitioning of mainframe hardware. The question to ask then is: What is Virtualization? Any single answer would not be apt here; however a simplistic definition can be worked out. In plain terms, virtualization is nothing but a technology way of making a physical computer act as if it were two or more computers or even an entirely different computer altogether. It can be conceived as a single abstraction layer separating the physical infrastructure from an operating system. Virtualization makes it possible for a single physical computer to run several virtual machines simultaneously with diverse operating systems in isolation. Further it is possible to inter-operate these virtual machines or they can function in total ignorance of the other. Each of the virtual machine functions with its own set of virtual processor, Network Adapter, Memory, Hard Drive, etc. and is then loaded with its separate operating system & applications. The Virtualization technology comes with various organizational benefits like:- Reduction in Business Continuity Costs- The costs and continuity of business is tremendously brought down by virtualization encapsulation and abstraction giving organizations disaster recovery solutions and greater availability. Maximize resources- Virtualization actually solves a most recurring problem of low server utilization when applications run on dedicated servers across server environment. Compute capacity on each server is maximized in a big way by server consolidation increasing ROI on future and extant server expenditure. Solve security Concerns- Virtualization in contrast to an atmosphere where physical systems are separated from others from firewalls, here systems are housed in the same physical server while remaining in their own sandbox environment, sealed off from the rest on the basis of virtualization configurations. Fast Response to business Requirements- It is no secret that deploying physical resources pose management issues and adaptation related issues. In contrast, virtualization results in faster setup and delivery and efficient solutions quite necessary for IT deployment. To cut a long story short, virtualization means a good sign for the server and web hosting marketplace. With growing acceptance and popularity of virtualization, it is sure that it’s prices would will continue to fall to a considerable extent. Munesh Singh Jadoun
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