Virtual systems are software-based versions of computer systems that run on the top of physical hardware. They provide a homepage range of benefits for your business including IT efficiency security, cost savings, and cost savings.
Virtual machines can be used to test new software or deploy Wikis and Jabber IM as well as create backup images of the current system in order to get back up and running faster following a disaster. VMs can also be replicated and migrated between physical servers for high availability configurations to minimize downtime.
The ability to virtualize multiple systems can result in significant reduction in server equipment, energy and maintenance costs. IT teams can save time performing maintenance tasks such as updating software because the entire virtual infrastructure is managed by an integrated platform. This efficiency boost allows your team to concentrate on strategic initiatives that will 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 particularly beneficial in cases where the original software manufacturer has removed support for an older version of code or the developer has been shut down.
The type of hypervisor used in a virtual environment can affect the effectiveness of its management. A bare-metal hypervisor such as VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V or Oracle VM Virtualization provides greater control and independence with the host operating system. On the other side, a hosted hypervisor like KVM (built in the Linux kernel) is able to pass VM requests through the host OS to process which may reduce VM performance.