Virtualization deploys software that makes an abstraction layer across computer hardware, letting the hardware components such as processors, memory, storage etc of a particular computer to be segmented into several virtual elements (also known as virtual machines).
1. Partitioning
In virtualization, many applications and operating systems (OSes) are supported in a single physical system by partitioning (separating) the available resources.
3. Sharing
Virtualization allows the creation of a separate computing environment within the same host. This basic feature is used to reduce the number of active servers and limit power consumption.
4. Aggregation
It is possible to share physical resources among several guests, but virtualization also allows aggregation, which is the opposite process. A group of separate hosts can be tied together and represented to guests as a single virtual host. This functionality is implemented with cluster management software, which harnesses the physical resources of a homogeneous group of machines and represents them as a single resource.
5. Emulation
Guest programs are executed within an environment that is controlled by the virtualization layer, which ultimately is a program. Also, a completely different environment with respect to the host can be emulated, thus allowing the execution of guest programs requiring specific characteristics that are not present in the physical host.
6. Isolation
Virtualization allows providing guests—whether they are operating systems, applications, or other entities—with a completely separate environment, in which they are executed. The guest program performs its activity by interacting with an abstraction layer, which provides access to the underlying resources. The virtual machine can filter the activity of the guest and prevent harmful operations against the host.
Besides these characteristics, another important capability enabled by virtualization is performance tuning. This feature is a reality at present, given the considerable advances in hardware and software supporting virtualization. It becomes easier to control the performance of the guest by finely tuning the properties of the resources exposed through the virtual environment. This capability provides a means to effectively implement a quality-of-service (QoS) infrastructure.
7. Portability
The concept of portability applies in different ways according to the specific type of virtualization considered.
In the case of a hardware virtualization solution, the guest is packaged into a virtual image that, in most cases, can be safely moved and executed on top of different virtual machines.
In the case of programming-level virtualization, as implemented by the JVM or the .NET runtime, the binary code representing application components (jars or assemblies) can run without any recompilation on any implementation of the corresponding virtual machine.
8. Isolation
Virtualization software involves self-contained virtual machines, these VMs give guest users (not an individual but a number of instances as applications, operating systems, and devices) an isolated online, virtual environment. This online environment not only defends sensitive knowledge but also allows guest users to remain-connected.