Desktop Virtualization
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| Windows XP Running in Ubuntu Linux |
Virtualization allows a desktop user to run multiple Operating Systems at the same time. If you are a Mac user you may already be familiar with this concept. The above image shows Microsoft Windows XP Professional running "on top" of a Linux base Operating System.
Virtualization of Servers and Applications
What is Virtualization?
In a nutshell Virtualization allows consolidation of servers, running multiple "independent" Operating Systems, and server applications on one physical machine.
Xen
Xen is the leader in Open Source Virtualization. Xen offers a very powerful, feature rich, and efficient set of tools for several types of Virtualization.
Benefits of Virtualization
Today's computers are very powerful and are rarely used to their full potential. Why not take advantage of all the computing power modern systems have to offer by consolidating servers with Virtual Machines?
One obvious benefit is cost of implementation. You do not need 3 physical servers to run 3 operating systems each with different server applications. With Virtualization one machine is suitable for running several "guest" Operating Systems independent of one another and the physical machine. Bottom line Virtualization reduces hardware and hardware maintenance costs.
Backing up and restoring servers. Backing up a Virtual Machine is very easy, VMs run off a single file called a disk image. This makes it very easy to move, backup, and restore your Virtual Infrastructure.
