Virtual Machine (VM)

A Virtual Machine (VM) is a software-based environment that emulates the functionality of a physical computer. It allows operating systems and applications to run in an isolated environment while sharing the underlying hardware resources — such as CPU, memory, storage, and network — of the host system.

What is a Virtual Machine

A virtual machine is created using a specialized program called a hypervisor, which manages the allocation of physical resources among multiple independent environments. Each VM operates like a standalone computer with its own operating system, drivers, settings, and file system.

Every VM is isolated from the host system and from other virtual machines, which ensures security and stability — even if one VM fails, the others continue to function without interruption.

How a Virtual Machine Works

The hypervisor is the core component of virtualization. It allocates the server’s physical resources among virtual machines, creating separate virtual environments for each. There are two main types of hypervisors:

• Type 1 (bare-metal) – installed directly on the server hardware, offering high performance and reliability (e.g., VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Proxmox VE).
• Type 2 (hosted) – runs inside an existing operating system, commonly used on workstations (e.g., VirtualBox, VMware Workstation).

Virtual machines share the same physical hardware but operate independently, making it possible to run multiple servers or applications on a single physical device.

Use Cases

Virtual machines are widely used in:

• Data centers and cloud platforms – for hosting client servers and SaaS solutions;
• Testing and development – for creating isolated environments with different OS configurations;
• IT security – for analyzing malware in a controlled environment;
• Education and training – for demonstrating system operations without using real hardware.

VMs are also used for system migration and infrastructure optimization, helping businesses reduce costs associated with maintaining multiple physical servers.

Advantages

Key advantages of virtual machines include:

• Isolation – each VM operates independently of the host and other VMs;
• Resource efficiency – a single physical server can host dozens of virtual machines;
• Flexibility – environments can be easily created, cloned, or scaled;
• Security – failures or infections in one VM do not affect others;
• Convenient testing – safe testing of new configurations and software.

Virtualization has become the foundation of cloud computing and modern IT infrastructures, enabling resource allocation on demand and efficient scaling.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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