A Look at Different Virtualization Techniques

Virtualization is transforming the IT landscape gradually but steadily. It has completely revolutionized the way of computing. With the aggressive use of virtualization, organizations are increasingly reducing hardware utilization, saving energy and costs, and making it possible to run multiple applications as well as operating systems on the same server at a time. In this way, cloud computing virtualization happens to be a great catalyst that improves and enhances the utilization, efficiency, and flexibility of existing computer hardware.

Why Organizations Need Virtualization?

As we have briefly discussed above, virtualization offers several benefits to the companies. Most of them rely on this technology to save time and energy, decreasing costs and minimizing overall risk. In addition to this, the technology serves other noteworthy benefits too. Other key benefits that virtual clouds offer include- Secure remote access and data loss prevention among others.

How Virtualization Does Work?

Virtualization is performed using software that is also called as a virtualization manager. The software acts as a bridge between the hardware and the operating system. The software is the core unit that decides the share of processor and other hardware resources applications and operating systems will access.

Now, let's discuss the type of Cloud virtualization.

Hardware/Server Virtualization

This is a frequently performed virtualization technique. This helps in achieving maximum hardware utilization and application uptime. In this arrangement, many small physical servers are integrated into one large physical server to let the processor function effectively. The operating system that is running on a physical server gets converted into a well-defined OS that runs on the virtual machine.

In this case, the virtualization manager controls the processor, memory, and other components by enabling different OS to run on the same machine. This is further categorized in three types namely: Full virtualization, Para Virtualization, and Partial Virtualization.

Network Virtualization

Under this arrangement, management and monitoring of a computer network is established as a single managerial entity from a single software-based administrator’s console. The arrangement helps to improve network optimization of data transfer rates, scalability, reliability, flexibility, and security.

Using network virtualization, companies can easily automate network administrative tasks. If you run a network that is huge, rapid, and consumes massive resources, you may go for network virtualization. The primary benefit of this arrangement is improved network productivity and efficiency.

Storage Virtualization

This is another important virtualization type in cloud computing. Here, multiple network storage resources are present as a single storage device for easier and more efficient management of these resources. The benefits of this type of virtualization include improved storage management, better availability of resources, reduced downtime, and better storage utilization.

Memory Virtualization

This is a way to dissociate memory from the server. The disintegration is done to provide a shared, distributed or networked function. It eventually accelerates performance by providing greater memory capacity without any addition to the main memory.

This is why a portion of the disk drive serves as an extension of the main memory. The integration is categorized in two ways: application-level integration and operating system-level integration.

Software Virtualization:

It enables the main computer to run and create one or more virtual environments. This type of virtualization is primarily used to enable a complete computer running as a guest OS. For instance letting Linux run as a guest that is natively running a Microsoft Windows OS (or vice versa, running Windows as a guest on Linux). Virtualization is of a different kind including operating system virtualization, application virtualization, and service virtualization.

Desktop Virtualization

Desktop virtualization for the cloud provides businesses with the work convenience and security they need. As the arrangement allows access remotely, administrators can access resources and work from any location and on any PC. This virtualization offers complete flexibility for employees to work from home or on the go and protects confidential data from being lost or stolen.

Tarun Gupta

Tarun Gupta, CEO of Brainpulse Technologies, is a prolific author and digital marketing specialist. His insightful writings span SEO, content marketing, social media strategy, and email campaigns, offering invaluable expertise to businesses worldwide. Tarun’s contributions continue to shape the digital marketing landscape, guiding success in multiple niches.