- Cloud Computing Basics
- Cloud Computing - Home
- Cloud Computing - Overview
- Cloud Computing - Evolution
- Cloud Computing - Characteristics
- Cloud Computing - Advantages
- Cloud Computing - Planning
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- Cloud Deployment Models
- Public Cloud Model
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- Infrastructure Service
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- IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
- Cloud Virtualization
- Cloud Computing Virtualization
- Server Virtualization
- Data Virtualization
- Software Virtualization
- Storage Virtualization
- Network Virtualization
- Linux Virtualization
- Cloud Advanced Concepts
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- Cloud Useful Resources
- Cloud Computing - Quick Guide
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- Cloud Computing - Discussion
Software Virtualization in Cloud Computing
What is Software Virtualization?
Software virtualization is a technique that allows a server to run multiple operating systems and applications. It allows users to run more than one operating systems by creating a virtual environment.
Basically software virtualization develops a virtual environment where software, applications and operating systems can be installed.
A virtualized software is an application that is installed in such a virtual environment.
Some examples of software virtualization are VMware software, Virtual Box, etc.
How Software Virtualization Works?
The following are the components of the software virtualization −
Hypervisor
A piece of software that manages and allocates hardware resources to virtual machines.
Virtual machines (VMs)
Independent computers that run their own operating system (OS) on a portion of the physical machine's hardware.
Abstraction Layer
A layer of separation between the physical hardware and the virtual machines.
Types of Software Virtualization
There are mainly three types of software virtualization.
Lets discuss these types of software virtualization one by one
1. Operating System Virtualization
In operating system virtualization, the multiple operating systems run in an isolated manner. All operating system work independently without interfering each other.
2. Application Virtualization
The application virtualization enables applications to run on operating systems other than the operating systems for which they are designed. For example, it allows you to run a Linux application on Windows machine without changing the machine configuration.
In the area of cloud computing, application virtualization enables us to run the application from a cloud server while providing end-users a virtual interface to access the applications.
3. Service Virtualization
Service virtualization is a virtualization technique that creates virtual replicas of systems to test how well applications integrate with them. With the help of this, the complex application can go through testing much earlier in the development process.
Advantages of Software Virtualization
The following are the advantages of using software virtualization in cloud computing –
- Cost Efficiency − Consolidate multiple physical servers onto fewer machines, reducing hardware costs.
- Scalability − Easily add or remove virtual machines as needed to meet changing demands.
- Flexibility − Deploy different operating systems and applications on a single physical server.
- Disaster Recovery − Create virtual backups of systems for quick recovery in case of hardware failure.
Examples of Software Virtualization Tools
The following are some examples of the software virtualization −
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- VMware Fusion
- Oracle VirtualBox
- IBM PowerVM
- Red Hat Virtualization (RHV)
- Azure Virtual Machines