virtual machine (VM)

A virtual machine (VM) is an operating system (OS) or an application environment that is installed in software that mimics 
dedicated hardware. The end-user has the same experience in a virtual machine as he would have in dedicated hardware.

The specialized software, called hypervisor, completely emulates the CPU, memory, hard drive, network and other hardware 
resources of the client or server of the PC, allowing virtual machines to share resources. The hypervisor uses native execution to share 
and manage hardware and can emulate multiple virtual hardware platforms that are isolated from each other, allowing virtual machines 
to run Windows and Linux Server OS on the same underlying physical host.

Virtualization limits cost by lack of the necessity for physical hardware systems. Virtual machines use hardware more efficiently, 
reducing hardware quantities and associated maintenance costs, and reducing energy and cooling demand. They also facilitate 
administration because virtual hardware does not fail. Administrators can take benefit of virtual environments to simplify backups, 
new implementations, basic system administration tasks, and disaster recovery.

Virtual machines do not require specialized hypervisor hardware. However, virtualization requires more storage, bandwidth, 
and processing capacity than a desktop or traditional server if the physical hardware is going to host varied running virtual machines. 
Virtual machines can be easily moved, copied and reallocated between host servers to optimize the use of hardware resources. 
Because virtual machines on a physical host can consume unequal quantities of resources (one can monopolize the available physical 
storage, while another store little), IT professionals must balance the virtual machines with the available resources.

virtual machine management

The utilization of virtual machines as well comes with several necessary management considerations, many of which can be managed 
through best practices and general system management tools that are designed to manage virtual machines. There are some risks to 
consolidation, which include overloading resources or suffering interruptions in several virtual machines due to a physical hardware outage. 
While these cost savings increase as more virtual machines share the same hardware platform, it does add risks. It is possible to place 
hundreds of (VM) virtual machines on the same hardware, but if the hardware platform fails, it could eliminate hundreds or dozens of virtual machines.

virtual machine uses

Virtual machines have multiple uses, but in general, they are implemented when the need for different operating systems and processing power 
is needed for different applications that run simultaneously. For example, if a company wants to test several web servers and small databases at the same time. 
Similarly, if a company wants to use the same server to run game software with intensive graphics and a customer service database. View the infographic to 
know about virtual machine uses.

VM vs. dual boot

Before the arrival of virtualization, an operator who wanted to run two operating systems, for example, Windows and Linux, had to run two complete operating 
systems and switch between them. While only one could be used at a time, it used the full power of the hardware. In some cases, particularly when the computer 
is not so powerful and the tasks are very demanding, some operators still prefer to use dual boot. Similarly, if the operator is working within an operating system for 
long periods of time, the power available during a dual boot may be preferable. However, when the operator needs to switch between applications on different 
operating systems often, VM is much more practical.

VM vs. emulators

An emulator is a software that allows one application to adopt the characteristics of another. For example, emulation software can be used to make a PC function as a 
game console.

VM vs. containers

Containers are similar to virtual machines, except that they only virtualize the operating system, instead of the rest of the underlying hardware. Containers contain 
the code, system tools, runtime, system libraries and the necessary configuration for multiple applications. That is why containers are often used when multiple 
applications that use the same operating system are needed. Containers are used to create distributed native cloud applications and to package legacy applications 
for greater portability and simplicity of implementation. One of the leading container developers in mid-2019 was Docker, which first arrived in the market in 2013 as a 
Linux-based container platform.

VM Vendors

Several vendors offer virtual machine software, but two major providers dominate the market: VMware (acquired by EMC in 2004, which was acquired by Dell in 2015),  
Oracle and Microsoft. Numerous open-source VM providers have also wagered their claims, such as ProxMox. VMware has a mature evolve product portfolio with 
numerous years of use in the IT industry.

Microsoft has strengthened a lot in recent years, presenting its Azure line of VM solutions. They include 11 different series ranging from its Series A, designed for 
development and test servers, low traffic web servers, small to medium databases, concept proof servers and code repositories, to its N Series, designed with 
capabilities of graphics processing unit (GPU) for computer and graphics-intensive workloads, such as high-end remote visualization, deep learning and predictive 
analysis.

Cloud computing over virtualization layers additional technologies, such as self-service provisioning and chargeback. For example, in a virtualized data center, 
IT staff will launch new virtual machines based on user demand or a new project. In a cloud environment, a user can process a virtual machine from specific resources 
and self-service catalog without interacting with the underlying physical equipment.

In this Article Cloud Computing training in Chandigarh give a brief description of Virtual Machine. I hope you like this article.