Maybe you'll even get some ideas for your own usage! In case you're not aware, a virtual machine is an emulated computer system. Virtual machines rely on hypervisors also called virtual machine monitors , which are pieces of software that handle mapping your computer's resources into virtual hardware.
As an example, VirtualBox is a popular hypervisor. The software takes care of allocating parts of your CPU, RAM, storage disk, and other components so that a virtual machine can use them to run properly. Once you use VirtualBox to install a copy of an OS onto a virtual disk, you now have a virtual machine that's fully functional. The virtual OS thinks that it's running on a real system, but it runs just like any other app on your computer.
If you need more background, check out our full explanation of virtual machines. Now, what's the purpose of virtual machines for everyday people?
Here are some practical uses for virtual machines you can try. Let's say you've been a Windows user all your life, but you're feeling adventurous and want to get a taste of Linux. You have several options for trying Linux , including a dual-boot setup, but virtualization is a great way to try it out with little risk.
On your Windows system, you just need to install VirtualBox or another hypervisor and create a new virtual machine. Even if you're new to this, you can rest assured because the virtual machine acts as a sandbox. If something goes wrong in the guest OS, such as a malware infection or corrupted setting, it won't affect the host OS. If the VM won't boot for some reason, you can simply recreate the virtual machine and reinstall the OS. There's no worry of crashing your computer just because you tried an unfamiliar OS.
Maybe you switched to using a Mac years ago, but there's one Windows-only piece of software you miss. Or perhaps you need to run an ancient program that doesn't run on Windows 10 anymore. This could cut down on power consumption and upkeep costs. While virtualization is the best solution for some organizations, a cloud solution offers several benefits that are more suitable for other businesses.
Philips said cloud solutions are best for business with the following needs:. Virtualization and cloud services are not end-all, be-all solutions. Like any other technology or service a business adopts, things can always change. Customers who virtualize their hardware servers may adopt cloud computing over time for increased self-service, scale, service delivery levels and agility.
The conversation over virtualization and cloud computing nowadays often leads to talk of "serverless computing," which aims to eliminate user-end concerns about server upkeep, constraints and scalability.
This is a full-managed service that often bills you for the resources you consume and the amount of time your code runs. This "pay for what you use" model may be expensive for smaller businesses right now, but is consistently becoming more affordable as the technology is developed. Additional reporting by Sara Angeles. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. What are the advantages of a virtualized environment over the cloud?
How do you know if your business needs a virtualization solution? How do businesses know if they should use a true cloud solution? What should businesses look for in a virtualization provider?
Virtualization vs. Cloud Computing: What's the Difference? Andreas Rivera. What is virtualization? The key is to know exactly when to virtualize. Here are four situations where a business could virtualize systems:. There are several reasons as to why many businesses look into virtualization.
Skip to content. Contact Us. When to virtualize ». Why choose virtualization? By Editor Published: May 22, What is virtualization? How is it different from other systems? Regardless of what you decide, there are some tradeoffs, as hardware devices are virtualized with resources shared from the host OS to the VM, with basic functionality applied in most cases.
Do not expect to enjoy Dolby sound, or 4K graphics at least at the time of writing , for example. If you roll out virtual machines company-wide, then you need to get involved in permission management. Who can create VMs? Can you limit usage to a defined set of VMs and prevent unauthorized use or migration? Without such control of VM usage and creation, you could fail a software audit, or indeed lose data if data is shared through an unmonitored VM or by software installed inside it.
When cybersecurity is so important these days, the use of VMs can introduce additional risks. All these points are worth considering before adopting VMs in the workplace. If we ignore common users of virtualization such as service providers that offer shared hosting, virtual private servers, and virtual desktops , in a common office environment, who uses virtual machines?
Some companies will outsource such requirements to SaaS or Infrastructure as a Service IaaS providers rather than deal with the nightmare of licensing requirements and configuration as described earlier. For the rest of us, sure, we use virtual machines to evaluate future complete OS installs or to run desirable programs that are not released for our primary OS.
It saves partitioning drives in different formats and allows us to run programs that are otherwise unavailable. However, I do like to check out the competition and have found that Linux is growing more and more user-friendly.
Thanks to my use of VirtualBox on Windows 7, the end result is that I can now run Linux distros on my home computers. You need to enable it using PowerShell. I have never considered multiple Windows installs on the same machine as it is not free or open source and virtual installs would require a license or activation for each VM.
A regular virtual machine backup to an external drive ensures that my latest activities can be restored at any time. However, if migrating a VM to another system, expect to have some configuration issues unless both systems have identical hardware specs. Therefore, for casual users who merely wish to run the available software, work on documents, or perhaps view movies or play music, a VM will work fine but for power users, gamers or developers, a virtual machine lacks the features necessary to utilize the full potential of the OS.
In fact, I would say, only use virtual machines when other solutions are expensive or time-consuming. In all other cases, stick to the complete operating system. Commercial software installed on a VM is subject to licensing as if you installed it on another physical computer.
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