The term virtualization can be applied to many different kinds of technology. It encompasses a vast array of new possibilities and it helps organizations become more efficient. What is virtualization? It’s the ability to create a virtual version of something, like an operating system, or a storage device. This is beneficial for many reasons, but the main thing is that it reduces hard costs and makes companies more efficient.

Different Areas of Virtualization

As previously mentioned, there are many different parts of virtualization. Server virtualization, for example, is one of them. This type of virtualization is beneficial because it allows you to take a single server machine and divide it into many different ones. In order for it to accomplish this, a virtual machine monitor is required. This is also known as a Hypervisor. Once this piece of software is in place multiple virtual machines can run on a single set of hardware.

There are many benefits to server virtualization. One of these benefits is that you can eliminate the reliance on multiple physical servers and just use one. This is extremely beneficial because companies, particularly large companies, can save a lot of money on maintenance costs.

Downsides to Server Virtualization

There are also some downsides to server virtualization. Some of these include security issues, the fact that it makes scalability difficult, and that the performance can be sub-par in certain circumstances.

In addition to server virtualization there are many other applications of this technology. Another of these is storage virtualization. Storage virtualization is, again, the ability to combine multiple units into one, in this case storage resources. This is helpful because it allows companies to manage storage from one central physical location. Because it is all in one location, certain tasks such as backing up data can be done much quicker.

Benefits

A few other benefits of server virtualization include:

• The process of configuration is much simpler.
• Reduced cost.
• A more balanced management of capacity.

Again, there are more benefits, and some disadvantages to this type of virtualization as well.

Virtualization Security

One of the main disadvantages, or challenges, with virtualization is security. While many different solutions are offered, they are not perfect and security is still in need of development. This is especially true with services like cloud computing, which offers a flexible solution for server capacity (among other things), but is still lacking in security.

Overall, you can see how useful virtualization technology has been to companies and organizations of all kinds. From capacity conservation to saving physical space, virtualization is proving to have more benefits than disadvantages.

To learn more about virtualization, including topics such as the developments in server virtualization, please visit www.virtualizationpractice.com.