Let me start by defining what virtualization is. Virtualization is a software technology which enables one single computer to run several (sometimes different) virtual guest operating systems (OS).

Essentially, virtualization can enable you to run more than one environment on the same hardware. For example, with virtualization you can run a windows operating system (like XP) and a Linux Operating system (like Ubuntu) on the same computer.

By implementing virtualization, you let different operating systems and applications share the resources of one computer.

This technology is necessary because most of today’s computers (X86 Computers) were designed to run one operating system on one physical machine. With this mode of operation, the resources of each machine are underutilized most of the time.

What virtualization does in practice is that it separates a user from the kind of hardware they are using. For example you could be running windows on a Mac platform or you could be running a Linux OS on your windows personal computer (PC).

It is important to note that virtualization is not a server-only technology; in fact virtualization can be applied throughout your business. Starting from the desktop, you can “virtualize” nearly all aspects of your IT infrastructure.

What is being claimed at the moment is that virtualization is set to dramatically change the way in which we compute.

There are different types of virtualization: