Understanding Virtualization

Virtualization is the creation of an abstracted or simulated—virtual, rather than actual—version of something, such as an operating system, server, network resource, or storage device. Virtualization technology abstracts the hardware from the software, extending the life cycle of a software platform.

In virtualization, a single piece of hardware, such as a server, hosts and coordinates multiple guest operating systems. No guest operating system is aware that it is sharing resources and running on a layer of virtualization software rather than directly on the host hardware. Each guest operating system appears as a complete, hardware-based OS to the applications running on it.