Virtualization For Dummies®

Foreword

When Bernard invited me to write an introduction to this book, I found myself reminded of a frequently repeated conversation with my father, who is a retired engineer. Typically, it goes like this: “Simon, what does virtualization do?” — followed by a lengthy reply from me and then a long pause from my father — “And why is that useful?” Now, I certainly don't think that my father really has much use for server virtualization, but a lot more people do need it — and need to understand it — than currently use it.

Although virtualization is all the rage in the tech industry press, and savvy market watchers have observed the exciting IPO of VMware, and Citrix's acquisition of my own company, XenSource, the market for virtualization software is largely unaddressed. Depending on whose research you read, only 7 percent or so of x86 servers are virtualized, and only a tiny fraction of desktop or mobile PCs are virtualized. But the virtualization market is white hot, and every day new announcements in storage, server, and network virtualization make the picture more complex and harder to understand.

Virtualization For Dummies is the perfect way to develop a complete understanding of both the technology and the benefits of virtualization. Arguably, virtualization is simply a consequence of Moore's Law — the guideline developed by Intel founder Gordon Moore that predicts a doubling in the number of transistors per unit area on a CPU every couple of years. With PCs and servers becoming ...