Virtual systems are computer-based simulations that run on software systems, which run on top of the line hardware. They can bring a variety of benefits to your business such as IT efficiency and cost savings.
Virtual machines are a great way to test new software, use Wikis or Jabber IM services, and even create backup images of your existing system for quicker recovery in the event of disaster. Virtual machines can be replicated, or transferred to other physical servers in high availability configurations, reducing downtime.
The ability to virtualize multiple systems results in significant reductions in server hardware, energy and maintenance costs. IT teams can spend less time on maintenance tasks, such as deploying software updates because the entire virtual infrastructure is managed through a centralized platform. This increased efficiency can allow your team to concentrate on strategic initiatives that propel your business forward.
Improved Data Security and Disaster Recovery
VMs are hardware-independent, meaning that they can be moved from one physical server to another just as easily as moving files on your desktop or laptop. This is beneficial in situations where the developer of an older piece of software goes out of business or if it’s no longer supported by the original equipment manufacturer.
The type of hypervisor that is used in a virtualized environment can affect the effectiveness of its management. A hypervisor that is bare-metal, such as VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V, provides more control and independence from the host operating system. On the other the other hand, a hosted hypervisor such as KVM (built in the Linux kernel) passes VM requests through the host OS for processing, which can reduce VM performance.
