Virtualization is one of the most useful tools a business can adopt to increase the productivity of its workers while reducing the costs of hardware and software. There are a number of advantages of virtualization beyond decreased hardware and software expenses, including improved data integrity, shorter amounts of downtime when failures occur on the server or client ends, and the ability to securely access servers and desktop environments from remote settings. However, a number of businesses have not adopted virtualization due to an uncertainty about how it actually works in business settings. This article will present an introduction to how virtualization works.

The central feature behind virtualization, which is also known as desktop or client virtualization, is the delinking of a personal computer’s desktop environment, such as the desktop environment of a laptop, from the physical machine that powers the environment. This is done through a computing model known as the client-server model.

Virtualization in Business

The server computing model that makes virtualization possible in business settings is referred to as the virtual desktop infrastructure. This refers to the hardware as well as the software that is necessary for the virtualized environment to function in an optimal manner.

There are a number of businesses and enterprises that implement virtualization technology by storing the desktop environment, which is also known as a virtualized desktop, on a central server that is not located within the business. This contrasts when a remote client is stored on a local server at the business location.

As a result, when employees at the business work on their individual local machines, everything they do, including the data they use, the processes and applications they run, and the programs they work with remain on the server where they are run remotely. As a result, workers in such virtualized environments can have access to applications and operating systems that they would not normally be able to run due to the limitations of their thin clients, netbooks, or smart phones. For more information on virtualization services click here.

Hypervisor technology

There are also virtualization platforms that let workers run a number of different virtual machines on their own local systems, such as desktops or laptops. This is achieved through a process called hypervisor technology. In such situations, a central server is used to both create and deploy images of virtual machines, and any changes that are made to the desktop virtual machines are then sent to the worker’s desktops, laptops, and thin clients within the network.

This offers multiple advantages by combining central management of virtual images while allowing local hypervisor technology to be used on an individual computer basis. However, for this kind of virtualization platform to be used, the machines provided to the workers must be more powerful than basic smart phones and thin clients.

It is typically necessary to have laptops or desktops provided to the end users, as these are the minimum requirements for processing and handling the local virtual machine images. This technique, therefore, does not have all of the portability advantages of the model that purely involves a client and a server.”

Author Bio:

Brian Jensen works with Dell and has a passion for learning and writing about all things technology. For more information on some of Dell’s solutions, Brian recommends this page. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with his family.