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In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization or emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide the functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized hardware, software, or a combination of the two.
A virtual machine implements functionality of a (physical) computer with an operating system. The software or firmware that creates a virtual machine on the host hardware is called a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor. [2] Software executed on these virtual machines is separated from the underlying hardware resources.
A hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM) or virtualizer, is a type of computer software, firmware or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines.A computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is called a host machine, and each virtual machine is called a guest machine.
It enables users to set up virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical machine and use them simultaneously along with the host machine. Each virtual machine can execute its own operating system, including versions of Microsoft Windows, Linux, BSD, and MS-DOS.
Although hardware is consolidated in virtual environments, typically OSs are not. Instead, each OS running on a physical server is converted to a distinct OS running inside a virtual machine. Thereby, the large server can "host" many such "guest" virtual machines. This is known as Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) transformation. The average ...
Resizing of disk image formats from Oracle, VDI (VirtualBox disk image), and Microsoft, VHD (Virtual PC hard disk) 4.1 Jul 19, 2011: Windows Aero support (experimental) Virtual machine cloning; 4.2 Sep 13, 2012: Virtual machine groups – allows management of a group of virtual machines as a single unit (power them on or off, take snapshots, etc.)
Virtual Machine/Extended Architecture System Facility VM/XA SF is an upgraded VM/XA MA with improved functionality and performance. [9] Virtual Machine/Extended Architecture System Product VM/XA SP is an upgraded VM/XA MA with improved functionality and performance, offered as a replacement for VM/SP HPO on machines supporting S/370-XA.
A virtual machine is less efficient than an actual machine when it accesses the host hard drive indirectly. When multiple VMs are concurrently running on the hard drive of the actual host, adjunct virtual machines may exhibit a varying and/or unstable performance (speed of execution and malware protection).