What Is Virtualization?

Virtualization is the process of running a virtual instance of a computer system in a layer separate from the actual hardware on a single physical machine.

It is often inefficient and costly for organizations to deploy multiple servers to keep pace with their storage and processing needs. Instead, virtualization enables the creation of multiple simulated environments from a single physical hardware system. This process is accomplished through software called a hypervisor, which directly connects to a hardware component and enables a user to partition that single system into completely separate, distinct and secure environments known as virtual machines. The hypervisor provides the ability to separate the machine's resources — such as CPU, memory, storage and more — from the hardware and distribute them appropriately.

These VMs are self-contained and completely independent from each other. One common use is running applications meant for different operating systems on a virtualized system, eliminating the need to switch computers or reboot.

Organizations have many ways to utilize virtualization to meet their needs and improve operations. Here are just a few examples of virtualization’s potential benefits:

Organizations can use server virtualization to enable multiple operating systems to run on a single physical server as highly efficient VMs. Completely independent from each other, virtual servers eliminate server sprawl and complexity, reduce operating costs and provide higher server availability, improved application performance, faster workload deployment and greater IT efficiencies.

Virtualizing applications allows them to be delivered from a server directly to an end user's device, such as a laptop, smartphone or tablet. Instead of logging in to a computer at work on a network server, users can gain access to applications from their electronic devices, provided they have an internet connection.

Completely reproducing a physical network, network virtualization combines all physical networking equipment into a single, software-based resource. Applications then run on the virtual network just as they would on a physical network. However, a virtual network provides independence from hardware and greater operational benefits.

Desktop virtualization — one of the most popular types of virtualization — separates the desktop environment from the physical device, allowing users to access all of their personal files and applications on any PC. Users no longer have to lug around their work laptops or come into the office to complete specific tasks. By accessing files on any computer, they can work from anywhere. In addition, deploying virtual desktops allows organizations to respond more quickly to changing workplace needs, including the requirements of out-of-town employees and remote workers.

Virtual data storage refers to storage capacity that is accumulated from multiple physical devices and made available for reallocation in a virtualized environment. Virtualization software converts physical storage from multiple devices into what appears to be a single storage device managed from a central console. Relying on software to identify available storage capacity, the technology then aggregates that capacity as a pool of storage that can be used in a virtual environment by virtual machines.

To users, virtual storage appears as a standard read or write to a physical drive. Virtualization hides the complexity of the storage system, which allows users and administrators to perform tasks such as backup, archiving and recovery in a simpler, more efficient manner.

Data virtualization allows organizations to access and manage data without needing to know its physical location or format. Rather than moving or replicating data, this technology creates a virtual data layer that connects multiple sources, such as databases, cloud storage and on-premises systems. The result is a unified view of data in real time, improving agility and decision-making. This is especially useful for analytics, reporting and data integration across hybrid environments.

CPU virtualization enables a single processor (or set of processors) to be divided into multiple virtual CPUs (vCPUs), each running independently. Hypervisors play a critical role in this process, managing CPU resources across virtual machines. This allows better resource utilization, isolation between workloads and the ability to run different operating systems on a shared physical infrastructure.

GPU virtualization makes it possible to share a physical graphics processing unit across multiple virtual machines. This is particularly valuable in environments where graphics-intensive applications are used, such as computer-aided design (CAD), video rendering, AI training and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). It provides scalable, cost-effective access to powerful GPU resources without dedicating a GPU to each user or workload.

Read More: CPU vs. GPU: What's the Difference?

Data center virtualization transforms traditional physical data centers into virtualized environments that can be managed centrally. It involves virtualizing servers, storage, networks and even the management layer, enabling automation and improving flexibility and scalability. This approach reduces hardware dependence, enhances disaster recovery capabilities and supports modern hybrid and multicloud strategies.

Cloud virtualization refers to the abstraction of physical cloud resources — servers, storage and networking — into virtual components that can be dynamically provisioned and scaled. It enables multitenant environments, rapid deployment of services and efficient use of infrastructure in public, private and hybrid clouds. This form of virtualization is foundational to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) deployments.

While virtualization and cloud computing are closely related, they are not the same. Understanding the difference is important when planning IT infrastructure.

Virtualization is the technology that creates virtual instances of physical resources such as servers, storage and networks. It allows multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical machine, improving efficiency and resource utilization. Organizations often use virtualization internally to consolidate hardware and reduce costs.

Cloud computing is a service delivery model that provides on-demand access to computing resources over the internet. It typically uses virtualization in the background but goes a step further by offering scalable, self-service infrastructure and platforms. With cloud computing, users can spin up resources as needed, without managing the underlying hardware.

In summary, Virtualization is a foundational technology, while cloud computing is a service model that often builds on virtualization to offer flexible, scalable IT resources. Virtualization can be used without cloud computing, but cloud computing almost always uses virtualization.

Virtualization and containerization are both methods of abstracting computing resources, but they work at different levels of the IT stack and serve distinct purposes.

Virtualization emulates entire physical machines, allowing multiple VMs with separate operating systems to run on the same hardware. Each VM includes its own OS, libraries and dependencies, making it ideal for isolating workloads.

Containerization is a lightweight alternative that packages applications and their dependencies into containers. These containers share the same host operating system kernel, which makes them more efficient and faster to start. Containers are ideal for microservices, workflows, continuous integration/continuous deliver pipelines (CI/CD) and rapid deployment of scalable applications.

In summary: Virtualization provides hardware-level isolation, while containerization offers process-level isolation. Both have their place in the work environment, depending on the use case.

Among virtualization’s numerous benefits are improved agility, flexibility and scalability of an organization’s IT environment and enhanced workforce performance, which allows for resource optimization.

Additional benefits include:

• Reduced upfront hardware and ongoing operating costs
• Minimized or eliminated downtime
• Increased IT productivity and responsiveness
• Greater business continuity and improved disaster recovery
• Simplified data center management
• Faster application and resource provisioning

Hardware limitations: Virtualization may affect the performance of the IT infrastructure on which it runs. The hypervisor consumes resources — processing, memory, storage and networking bandwidth — and adds complexity. This can reduce the speed and efficiency with which the system operates. To address these challenges, administrators can configure their hypervisors to optimize utilization and improve performance.

CPU and resource overprovisioning: Virtualization enables administrators to assign more resources to virtual machines — including CPU processing, memory and storage — than is actually available on the physical host hardware. This can optimize the utilization of these resources and thereby improve efficiency. However, it also creates a risk that the host hardware will not be able to provide sufficient resources to all of its VMs, which can affect performance. Some virtualization tools enable admins to manage overprovisioning more effectively, helping them maximize efficiency while minimizing the risk of performance issues.

By extending virtualization to edge computing environments, IT teams can move VMs closer to the devices that produce data. This enables efficient resource utilization and management at the network's periphery. Plus, virtualization at the edge supports applications that require low latency and real-time processing, such as IoT devices and autonomous systems. It also allows IT admins to remotely provision, manage and monitor edge devices more easily, which can enhance security, save time and reduce costs.

While some virtualization solutions offer security enhancements, organizations deploying this technology must be aware of the security considerations unique to virtualized environments. For example, IT teams must protect virtualized systems from attacks such as hyperjacking, where attackers target the hypervisor to gain control over virtual machines. They also must be sure to defend against inter-VM attacks and avoid vulnerabilities related to inadequate isolation of VMs and misconfiguration of virtualized systems.

To protect their virtualized environments, IT teams should follow security best practices, including implementing strong access controls such as multifactor authentication. Hypervisors, VMs, and related software should be patched and updated regularly to ensure that they are unaffected by known vulnerabilities and can defend against emerging threats.

Virtualization contributes to environmental sustainability by reducing the need for physical hardware, leading to lower energy consumption, improved cooling efficiency and an overall smaller carbon footprint. Further, the reduced costs for hardware and maintenance may enable organizations to increase their investments in other sustainability initiatives.

The Center of Expertise for Energy Efficiency in Data Centers lists data center virtualization among its high-level best practices, stating that, “Virtualization techniques can consolidate computing operations on fewer servers, permitting shutting down or eliminating some servers and increasing computation-per-Watt efficiency.”

• Healthcare: By enabling healthcare organizations to operate their IT environments more efficiently, virtualization can help reduce costs and improve the patient experience. Further, to enable telehealth services, and it can help healthcare IT teams to scale easily to meet new challenges.
  
  
• Education: As technology continues to transform the education sector, virtualization supports initiatives such as digital classrooms and interactive learning platforms. By centralizing computing resources in data centers and providing access through thin clients or other low-cost devices, institutions can significantly reduce infrastructure costs.
  
  
• Finance: In addition to the greater efficiency and reduced costs that virtualization offers, many financial services firms implement it to improve their business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities.

Serverless Computing: Virtualization is essential to the implementation of , in which an organization outsources the ownership and maintenance of servers to a third party, such as a cloud provider. This allows developers to focus on code and the organization to focus on running its applications rather than maintaining infrastructure.

Function as a Service (FaaS): Virtualization enables cloud providers to offer Function as a Service, in which developers build and deploy applications as functions or microservices without having to manage the infrastructure that supports the applications. In this model, the provider supplies and manages hardware and software such as servers, VMs and operating systems while applications run in virtualized environments. This approach allows developers to focus on the specific functions of their application code.

Integration With Artificial Intelligence: By leveraging virtualized environments, organizations can efficiently deploy and scale AI workloads. AI often requires powerful IT infrastructure such as high-performance computing and acceleration technologies. Virtualization can help IT teams to optimize resources — such as CPU, GPU and memory — and scale infrastructure to meet the needs of AI workloads. Further, virtualization can improve the security of AI and simplify resource management