Virtualization in Cloud
Tags: virtualization, devops, virtualmachine, cloudnative
Published: 2022-07-15 16:42:46

**Virtualization** is a technique that allows several organizations or tenants to share a single physical instance of an application or resource (customers). It accomplishes this by giving a logical name to a physical resource and supplying a reference to it on demand. 

Hardware virtualization is the process of creating a virtual computer on top of an existing operating system and hardware. Virtual Machines provide a logically independent environment from the underlying hardware. 

The machine on which the virtual machine is created is referred to as the host machine, and the virtual machine is referred to as the guest machine. This virtual machine is managed by software or firmware, which is understood as a hypervisor. Virtualization enables users to disjoint operating systems from the underlying hardware, i.e, users can run multiple operating systems like Windows, and Linux, on one physical machine at an identical time. Such operating systems are called guest Oses (operating systems). 

Virtualization deploys software that creates an abstraction layer across elements, letting the hardware components like processors, memory, storage, etc. of a specific computer be segmented into several virtual elements (also called virtual machines). Moreover, in today's time, virtualization is globally adopted in enterprise IT architecture and drives cloud computing economics. Essentially, Virtualization allows cloud providers to deliver users together with existing physical elements.

In the context of cloud computing, virtualization is a technology that creates a virtual environment of storage devices as well as the server operating system. In this example, virtualization allows customers to utilize many computers that share a single physical instance of any resource. Cloud virtualization modifies traditional computing approaches, making workload management more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable. 

Virtualization in Cloud Computing is rapidly becoming standardized and expanding the standard route of computing, such as virtualization aids in the sharing of programs over a network thread of several organizations and active users. Because cloud computing is viewed as a service or an application that aids a virtualized environment that may be either private or public, resources can be scaled up with virtualization, decreasing the need for a physical machine. In addition, to understand how virtualization works in cloud computing, watch the video below, which illustrates how virtualization remains a critical component of cloud strategy.

## Characteristics of virtualization

1. **Resource Distribution**: Whether it is one computer or a        network of connected servers, virtualization allows users to construct a unique computing environment from a single host system, allowing users to restrict the number of active users, reduce power consumption, and have simple management.

2. **Isolation**: Virtualization software employs self-contained virtual machines (VMs), which provide isolated online, virtual environments to guest users (not individuals, but a range of instances such as programs, operating systems, and devices). This online environment not only protects critical information, but also allows guest users to stay connected.

3. **Availability**: Virtualization software provides a variety of functions that customers do not have access to on physical servers; these features aid in enhancing uptime, availability, fault tolerance, and a variety of other benefits. These features assist users in avoiding downtime, which reduces efficiency and productivity while also generating security concerns and safety hazards.

4. **Aggregation**: Because virtualization allows numerous devices to segregate resources from a single system, it may be used to connect several devices into a single powerful host. Furthermore, aggregation necessitates the use of cluster management software in order to connect a homogenous set of computers or servers in order to create a single resource center.

5. **Authenticity and security**: At ease, virtualization solutions ensure continuous uptime by automatically balancing load that runs an excessive number of servers across several host computers to prevent service interruptions.

The most favorable worry for implementing virtualization has been security. Firewalls provide security by preventing unauthorized access and keeping information safe and secret. Users may operate more efficiently with virtualization, since the working process is incredibly simplified and agile. Currently, the network switch in use is simple to operate, adaptable, and time-saving. Virtualization is also useful for diagnosing technical faults that may develop in any of the connected devices. It eliminates the issues of keeping or retrieving lost data due to damaged or broken devices, promoting ROI and saving time.

The data will be transferred to virtual servers at any moment and may even be recovered, so users or cloud providers will not have to waste time looking for hard disks to access data. With the deployment of virtualization, it is now simple to assign needed data and transfer it to the appropriate authorities. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on information transfer, and it may be shared across long distances with minimum expenses. 

From outsourcing hardware and limiting the deployment of certain sources to reducing additional energy expenditures, virtualization aids in a very effective manner, such as it delivers enhanced security, competence, and price convenience, but it would not function for every user. Depending on the type of virtualization required, a user can seek a service provider that can provide appropriate tools for managing and controlling a range of resources that are both time and cost-effective, so making the approach more suitable.

##References
https://www.codingninjas.com/codestudio/library/virtualization-in-cloud-computing