Virtualization is an important, popular and very useful technology that enables the creation of useful IT services, by building virtual versions of computer hardware platforms, software-based resources, computer network resources, storage devices, applications etc. Virtualization creates multiple simulated environments or dedicated resources from a single hardware. It functions with the aid of software that makes it possible to install multiple operating systems. In this technology a physical machine’s full capacity is utilized by apportioning its capabilities among multiple users as well as environments. Virtualization can be of many types. Its major types are network virtualization, storage virtualization, application virtualization, desktop virtualization and server virtualization.

Virtualization technology works with the aid of hypervisors, which are a type of software. A hypervisor is used to separate the physical resources from their virtual environments. Hypervisors can be installed on hardware, such as a server, or these can exist atop an operating system. A hypervisor divides physical resources, so that these can be used by virtual environments. Resources are segregated, based on requirement, for the creation of multiple virtual environments. Users interact with these virtual environments and carry out their computations within it. This virtual environment is referred to as a Virtual Machine (VM) or a guest machine. A VM acts as a single data file and is capable of being moved from one computer to another without losing its functionality.

While a virtual environment is operational and an instruction is issued by a user or a program requiring the physical environment’s additional resources, it is the hypervisor that relays this request to the system as well as caches the changes. This takes place at speed which is close to the native speed.

The extensive use of virtualization is due to its major benefits. It provides an effective solution to organizations for partitioning their servers and running legacy apps on a number of OS (Operating system) types and versions. It results in servers being used more efficiently, which leads to an overall cost reduction for the company that is using this technology, especially with regard to buying, setting up and maintaining servers. Moreover, the applicability of virtualization has aided in curtailing vendor lock-in. Virtualization is being used widely by enterprises due to the advantages that it has to offer. Many businesses have started using specialized software for virtualization management, which emphasizes the essential role that this technology is playing in the seamless functioning of today’s businesses that rely heavily on IT resources.

The Major Benefits of Virtualization

As per reports, there has been an exponential rise in the number of enterprises that are opting for virtualization. Virtualization owes its immense popularity to a number of benefits, which are mentioned below, in no particular order.

• Augmented IT scalability

• Increased Productivity

• Enhanced flexibility

• Overall cost savings, especially with regard to operational and capital costs

• Substantial decrease in downtime

• Better disaster recovery

• Faster provisioning of resources and applications

• Better responsiveness

• Mobility of workload

• Enhanced availability of resources

These are some of the main advantages of opting for virtualization. It is evident that virtualization is an effective IT infrastructure solution for companies of all sizes and from a diverse range of industries.

Conclusion:

Without a doubt, virtualization has been the single most adopted technology for businesses in this day and age. It has its share of benefits, which have been touched upon in this blog. Virtualization has become an immensely popular solution for various businesses that want to have augmented IT scalability, overall cost savings and experience a substantial decrease in downtime along with all the other benefits. Having an all-encompassing knowledge about the advantages of using virtualization as an IT solution will help businesses to take an informed decision about opting for it to gain better productivity and ensure overall cost savings.