Introduction To Virtualization – VMware & Hyper-V

What is Virtualization

Virtualization is a software technology

Divides a physical resource into multiple virtual resources

Consolidates  physical resources

Separates operating systems from hardware

Enables multiple operating  systems and applications to share the resources of a single physical machine

History of virtualization

The term “virtualization” has been around since the 1960s. However, because there were no personal computers in those days, virtualization did not become a reality until the late 1990s.

Companies realized then that they could save money by moving from a physical to a virtual platform.

You or your company might be interested in virtualization because it can:

• Save you money by reducing the number of servers consuming energy, and by costing less to purchase and maintain;
• Make management, control and inspection of VMs much easier than with traditional servers;
• Give you a flexible environment for various tests—and more!

How do we get virtualization?

Well  there is no. of options available for this, but VMware, Citrix and Microsoft

are front runners in domain. Here are the products from above for the same.

1. VMware ESX and VMware server
2. Citrix Xen
3. Microsoft Hyper-V

VMware Server:

VMware Server is a free virtualization product for Microsoft Windows and Linux

servers. It enables you to quickly provision new server capacity or server

consolidation by partitioning a Physical server into multiple virtual machines. It is

meant for those businesses who want to optimize use of their technology assets

using virtualization.

Microsoft Hyper-V

Microsoft could not ignore the virtualization trend. Microsoft introduced Hyper-V as a virtualization platform in 2008, and it continued to release new Hyper-V versions with new Windows server versions. So far, there are a total of four versions, including Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008.

Hyper-V is a hybrid hypervisor, which is installed from OS (via Windows wizard of adding roles). However, during installation it redesigns the OS architecture and becomes just like a next layer on the physical hardware.

Must Read:

• How to Install VMware ESXi 6.0 Step by Step Guide
• How to Install VMware vCenter Server 6.0 – Step by Step Guide