Virtualization is an innovative technology that businesses have increasingly leveraged over the past two decades. Its benefits are pretty expressive for any business.
It has developed at incredible speed over time, becoming more complex and less efficient. Too many servers to manage, monitor, optimize, maintain… This is where virtualization reverses this overload trend and paves the way for the solution.
Organizations can reduce operational costs, deploy computing resources faster, and manage projects more quickly and efficiently, for example.
These advantages are possible because virtualization allows you to make the most of hardware capacity by distributing resources across multiple users and environments.
Do you want to understand how virtualization works, what types there are, and all the benefits this possibility can add to your business? Read on and check out these topics throughout the text!
What Is Virtualization?
Virtualization allows you to simplify IT infrastructure by optimizing physical servers. Suppose you have several servers designed to run different tasks and applications, but you don’t use the total capacity of each one. In that case, you are wasting resources, time, and effort on something that is not being fully utilized.
Now, imagine that you could combine applications from three pieces of hardware into one, reaching its whole usability. With this, you can reuse idle servers or discontinue them, reducing cooling and maintenance costs, for example.
A long time ago, companies had no choice but to do this across multiple devices, as they could only perform a single task or run only software from the same manufacturer. Virtualization has removed that kind of restriction.
In other words, the cost of implementing and maintaining an IT environment was very high. As this sector’s infrastructure becomes increasingly complex, keeping so much equipment with so little used capacity is becoming unfeasible.
How Does Virtualization Work?
Virtualization is made possible by software known as hypervisors. This program is responsible for separating physical resources from virtual ones and can be run on a standard operating system or installed directly on the hardware.
Companies generally opt for virtualization as a server, using physical resources optimally within virtual environments, called virtual machines.
Thus, it is common to divide the physical servers into a virtual environment, where users can interact and perform operations. Like any other digital file, digital machines can also run on different computers, transfer as needed, and work usually.
Interaction with the physical server is also constant. If the user requests an action that requires additional hardware resources, the hypervisor passes the request to that system and caches the changes.
What Are The Benefits Of Virtualization?
Despite the challenges of migrating to a virtualized environment (limitations of application visibility, greater risk of human error, greater risk of availability, etc.), companies are eyeing virtualization as it is a strategy that guarantees several benefits, such as:
- Reduction of energy consumption: all functions are performed in only one machine;
- Increased productivity: applications are more easily updated, and the company can invest in remote work and BYOD models ;
- Management optimization: the infrastructure becomes more centralized, and it becomes easier to manage virtual machines;
- Agile migration and adaptation: integrated and centralized management facilitates the restructuring of internal processes and also the adaptation to digital transformation;
- Optimization of physical space: physical space can be better used when there are not so many machines;
- Hardware integration: hardware can be simulated virtually while serving several devices at the same time, also being a more responsible and sustainable way of using technology;
- Cost reduction: allocation, acquisition of software and hardware, maintenance, energy, etc.;
- Access to multiple platforms: expansion of the user’s universe of possibilities, who can test programs, drivers, or applications, for example, in addition to solving compatibility problems;
- Security: although the basis of virtualization is a single physical machine, the virtual machines are independent, which protects the infrastructure in case of any issues.
What Are The Types Of Virtualization?
Virtualization is a comprehensive concept full of possibilities. There are different practical applications for this technology. Managers can select them according to the business objectives, their operating segment, and the size of the enterprise. Are they:
Data Virtualization
This model bundles data distributed across multiple locations into a single source. With it, it is possible to query information from various systems without copying or replicating them.
Data analysis is also more straightforward and accurate, as you work with new data straight from the source.
Server Virtualization
This type of virtualization uses a technique that runs virtual servers onto a physical server, allowing data and resource sharing.
This option is standard in providing cloud providers, allowing multiple logical servers to act independently.
Thus, the company can improve the structure of the environment and reduce storage space, costs, and energy, without any loss to performance or safety.
Desktop Virtualization
Desktop virtualization allows the user to access the desktop of a connected device remotely or locally, depending on the operating system instance.
Thus, administrators can perform configurations, security checks, updates, and maintenance simultaneously on virtual desktops.
This technique makes the infrastructure more flexible and productive. This is because the system does not run directly on the machine, uses fewer resources, and can be accessed from any terminal ( laptops, tablets, or smartphones, for example).
Application Virtualization
Application virtualization is practical and focused on the programs that company employees use most in their work routine. It is not always necessary to virtualize an entire system for the company to become productive.
The software runs on the server but can be accessed from any machine. This is a Software as a Service (SaaS) or software as a service model.
Also Read: Database Manager: Why Your Business Needs It