A virtual machine (VM) is an computer system that is emulated and runs on top of a physical host machine. It appears as a genuine computer to the user and can run different operating systems, such as Windows Linux or macOS. VMs are very popular because they permit multiple environments to be run on a single computer, which could help businesses save money.

Typically every VM is the “guest” of the host machine, which provides hardware resources such as processors, hard disk drives, memory and network connections. This allows businesses to put multiple VMs on the same host computer and allows IT infrastructures to expand and shrink according to the needs. This flexibility can also help reduce the time IT teams are required to deploy and maintaining software updates as they can do so on a server-by-server basis rather than managing each physical machine.

There are two major kinds of VM hypervisors: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 hypervisors are more efficient because they run directly on a host device without the need experience efficient collaboration using innovative board software for an OS full-blown. Type 2 hypervisors run each VM request through the host operating system, which could slow down processing speed and cause additional cost.

Alongside scalability virtual machines can also help improve IT security and disaster recovery. Since the virtual environment is independent from the hardware running it that makes it easier to restore data from a VM than a physical machine in case of a downtime or natural disaster. This can help prevent data loss and downtime, which can directly impact the bottom line of your business.