How Important Is Virtualization In Cloud Computing?

Virtualization and cloud computing are two different things. Although they share a similar bond, a lot of people have this misconception that virtualization and cloud computing are one and the same. It is important to note that both technologies maximize computing resources but they have their own unique qualities.

In simple terms, virtualization simulates infrastructure resources virtually. Such resources often include network components, storage devices, operating systems, and computing environments. A physical server may control its physical resources but virtual machines can run within the physical server. Virtualization allows different instances of resources to run on one piece of hardware while the hypervisor controls the resources.

A virtual machine manager or hypervisor is software which controls the physical hardware. It also makes and runs virtual machines. Hypervisors can be hosted or native. In a native hypervisor, it resides in the physical server and runs different operating systems in one physical server. On the other hand, the hosted hypervisor is atop the physical server's operating system and controls OS environments within the server's operating system.

In contrast with virtualization, cloud hosting and tech deliver computing resources, data, and software as a service through the internet. Users may not distinguish the difference. Cloud computing is actually atop a virtualized infrastructure. It consists of network components, storage, and computing capabilities. It has different service models such as platform-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service, and software-as-a-service. Its important characteristics include on-demand delivery, automation, scalability, and agility.

Virtualization can reduce the difficulty for end users and provide for the effective utilization of IT resources. Cloud hosting and tech, on the other hand, delivers access of those resources on-demand to further reduce burden, cost, and complexity. In simple terms, organizations which consider cloud computing adoption must take the logical action towards virtualization as well.

Virtualization makes the cloud secure because it consolidates different physical components for easy management in one location. It reduces the difficulty of monitoring various components across external and internal infrastructures. Because of virtualization, IT personnel are able to standardize virtual machine images and backup versions frequently, thus making data recovery easier.

When the company's infrastructure is virtualized, the IT administrators can make trust zones around endpoints, applications, and information for adaptation by workloads in the cloud. Policies can be automated to monitor risks in order to initiate immediate remediation when needed. Therefore, virtualization has the enabling capability for organizations to gain better control and greater visibility of their infrastructure thereby instituting security management in the cloud.

In addition, security, cloud computing, and virtualization providers present a solution to integrate and build virtualization intelligence to a security technology. This will make both cloud computing and virtualization solutions more secure. The virtualization technology used must be able to resolve important compliance and security concerns in the cloud. It must be able to simplify security within the data center and use a security model which is scalable to the cloud. Virtualization must also automate and assess compliance requirements in order to provide user flexibility for dynamic and fast reconfiguration of data center resources.

About The Author:

Renuka Rana, Editor at QuickBooks Hosting DotCom spends considerable part of her time in writing about technology including cloud hosting and Hosted PBX. When not writing, she loves to dig deeper into knowing the best and the latest technology in industry.