Virtualization Technology
Server virtualization technology has been around for more than a decade, but many in the industry still consider it a "new" technology. Virtualization allows multiple operating systems to run on the same physical platform. Virtualization software (Virtualizers) such as Oracle's VirtualBox and VMware Workstation are installed on an existing host operating system as an application. It enables several operating systems and applications to run on one physical server or “host.” Each self-contained “virtual machine” (VM) is isolated from the others, and uses as much of the host’s computing resources as it requires.
There are many benefits to an IT organization or business when choosing to implement a server virtualization strategy.
- Operating system support. With a virtualizer, one can run software written for one operating system on another (for example Windows software on Linux) without rebooting.
- Infrastructure consolidation. One of the most common reasons for adopting full virtualization is operational efficiency. Instead of running collections of inefficient servers, one can run more than one VM on a single piece of powerful host as long as there are enough resources. Each instance can then share the server's computing resources and dramatically increasing physical server hardware usage. Migrating physical servers over to virtual machines and consolidating them onto far fewer physical servers also means reducing power consumption and air conditioning needs and trimming the building space and land requirements that have always been associated with server farm growth.
- Testing and disaster recovery. Especially with the use of snapshots, if something goes wrong, one can easily rollback to a previous snapshot and avoid the need of frequent backups and restores. In addition, software can be tested while isolated in harmless virtual partitions. VMs can even be transferred from one physical server to another. This can be done either for management reasons, to balance out loads or because a different administrator needs to run the VM, or for failover reasons – to ensure that a critical guest OS continues to function even if one physical server crashes. Furthermore, virtualization environment is also good for testing and verifying a virtual network. Multiple VMs can be setup and network together to test network protocols and that would strengthen the understanding of networking concepts.
- Replace an old or unsupported machine. It will be easier to just virtualize entire old PC running a working niche software rather than spending money to replace it. The task can easily accomplish using software such as the free VMware vCenter Converter.
Virtualization makes some things easier in life, but also introduces new security issues as well. Combining many systems onto a single physical computer can cause a larger impact if a security compromise occurs. Furthermore, as virtualization systems make it easier to share information between the systems; this convenience can prove to be an attack vector, if not carefully monitored. As such it is important to follow published guidelines for the hardening of platform itself.
Virtualization technology benefitted system testing and validation of system functionality a lot. Oracle's VirtualBox can be downloaded freely from the Internet. Vmware Player is also freely available. The only limit to the system or the number of virtual machines one can have on a host is how much free disk space, memory and CPU available. Download the software today and have it installed on your system and have a look on how wonderful the software is!
There are many benefits to an IT organization or business when choosing to implement a server virtualization strategy.
- Operating system support. With a virtualizer, one can run software written for one operating system on another (for example Windows software on Linux) without rebooting.
- Infrastructure consolidation. One of the most common reasons for adopting full virtualization is operational efficiency. Instead of running collections of inefficient servers, one can run more than one VM on a single piece of powerful host as long as there are enough resources. Each instance can then share the server's computing resources and dramatically increasing physical server hardware usage. Migrating physical servers over to virtual machines and consolidating them onto far fewer physical servers also means reducing power consumption and air conditioning needs and trimming the building space and land requirements that have always been associated with server farm growth.
- Testing and disaster recovery. Especially with the use of snapshots, if something goes wrong, one can easily rollback to a previous snapshot and avoid the need of frequent backups and restores. In addition, software can be tested while isolated in harmless virtual partitions. VMs can even be transferred from one physical server to another. This can be done either for management reasons, to balance out loads or because a different administrator needs to run the VM, or for failover reasons – to ensure that a critical guest OS continues to function even if one physical server crashes. Furthermore, virtualization environment is also good for testing and verifying a virtual network. Multiple VMs can be setup and network together to test network protocols and that would strengthen the understanding of networking concepts.
- Replace an old or unsupported machine. It will be easier to just virtualize entire old PC running a working niche software rather than spending money to replace it. The task can easily accomplish using software such as the free VMware vCenter Converter.
Virtualization makes some things easier in life, but also introduces new security issues as well. Combining many systems onto a single physical computer can cause a larger impact if a security compromise occurs. Furthermore, as virtualization systems make it easier to share information between the systems; this convenience can prove to be an attack vector, if not carefully monitored. As such it is important to follow published guidelines for the hardening of platform itself.
Virtualization technology benefitted system testing and validation of system functionality a lot. Oracle's VirtualBox can be downloaded freely from the Internet. Vmware Player is also freely available. The only limit to the system or the number of virtual machines one can have on a host is how much free disk space, memory and CPU available. Download the software today and have it installed on your system and have a look on how wonderful the software is!
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