Virtualization Essentials

CHAPTER 1

Understanding Virtualization

We are in the midst of a substantial change in the way computing services are provided. As a consumer, you surf the web on your cell phone, get directions from a GPS device, and stream movies and music from the cloud. At the heart of these services is virtualization—the ability to abstract a physical server into a virtual machine.

In this chapter, you will explore some of the basic concepts of virtualization, review how the need for virtualization came about, and learn why virtualization is a key building block to the future of computing.

• Describing virtualization
• Understanding the importance of virtualization
• Understanding virtualization software operation