Virtualization
Virtualization is, from a computer science and engineering perspective, the abstraction of a physical computing environment using generated virtual resources to create a logical simulated environment.
There are many types of virtualization, but they all do one of two things:
-Create a larger working environment.
Multiple working environments created from a single physical computing environment result in a smaller but similar working environment, whereas a larger working environment is built upon many physical computing environments to create one working environment. So virtualization, in a general sense, either creates a smaller or larger working environment that is similar to the underlying hardware.
The most recognizable virtualization that everyone can relate to is the partitioning of a hard disk drive (HDD). In a personal computer (PC) environment, a large HDD is usually divided into smaller partitions. Each partition is then identified as a separate disk drive to the system user. But in reality each separate disk drive is from the same HDD with the same underlying characteristics. In this case, smaller logical working environments are created from one physical environment similar to the underlying hardware.
In the other case, a set of HDDs can be combined to create one larger storage space. This larger storage space is viewed as one homogeneous disk to the system user, which is commonly referred to as a logical volume group (LVG). The LVG comprises the HDDs with the same underlying characteristics, so a larger logical working environment is built from more than one physical environment that is similar to the underlying hardware.
There are many types of virtualization being used today. The most common types of virtualization are:
Server virtualization
Server virtualization creates multiple virtual servers within a single physical server. These virtual servers are independent working environments that use virtual resources, where the virtual resources are an abstraction of the underlying hardware from the physical server. As a result, the virtual resources share the same characteristics as underlying hardware. So the virtual server is exactly like the physical server, only smaller in capacity. The types of virtual resources that are used by the virtual server include CPU and memory, which can be shared or dedicated resources among the virtual servers hosted on a single physical server.
For instance, two enterprise servers each have two 4-core CPUs. These two enterprise servers are both under utilized. If the capacity allows, you can have two virtual servers on one enterprise server sharing the two CPUs. You also can dedicate one CPU to each virtual server. This consolidation frees you one enterprise server for other applications and maximizes physical resource usage while maintaining capacity.
Storage virtualization
Storage virtualization used in enterprise environments is essentially the amalgamation of physical storage. Multiple physical storage devices are combined into a single logical resource. This single logical resource appears as a single storage device to the system user. The use of logical resources creates an abstraction by hiding the complexities of the physical storage devices. This abstraction improves the management and administration of the storage devices.
Network virtualization
Network virtualization usually involves the splitting of available bandwidth into separate smaller channels. The smaller channels allow the network to be shared among different devices, which include servers and storage arrays. However, even though the bandwidth is shared, the separate channels can be isolated from each other. This helps improve the network resource utilization and the management of the network infrastructure.
We use many virtualization technologies beyond these, but mostly these are well known and well used ones.
We use many virtualization technologies beyond these, but mostly these are well known and well used ones.
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