DEV Community

Cover image for Understanding VMware and Virtualization - Part 1
Annapoorani Kadhiravan
Annapoorani Kadhiravan

Posted on

Understanding VMware and Virtualization - Part 1

#cloud #beginners #virtualmachine #tutorial

Introduction

Modern IT infrastructure has changed significantly over the last few decades. Earlier, organizations often needed a separate physical server for every application or workload. As the number of applications increased, this approach became expensive, difficult to maintain, and inefficient.

This is where virtualization became important.

Virtualization allows a single physical server to run multiple virtual machines (VMs). Each virtual machine behaves like an independent computer with its own operating system, CPU, memory, storage, and network connection.

One of the most widely known technologies in enterprise virtualization is VMware.

But what exactly is virtualization? What is VMware? Where are these technologies used? And how do they actually work?

This blog answers these questions in a simple way.

1. What Is Virtualization?

Virtualization is the process of creating a virtual version of a physical computing resource.

The most common example is server virtualization.

Imagine a physical server with:

  • 16 CPU cores
  • 64 GB RAM
  • 1 TB storage

Without virtualization, the organization might install one operating system directly on the server and run its applications there.

Physical Server
      ↓
Operating System
      ↓
Application
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The problem is that the server may not use all of its CPU and memory all the time.

Virtualization allows the same physical server to run multiple virtual machines.

             Physical Server
                    ↓
               Hypervisor
          ┌─────────┼─────────┐
          ↓         ↓         ↓
         VM1       VM2       VM3
          ↓         ↓         ↓
       Windows     Linux     Linux
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Each VM can run its own operating system and applications.

Therefore, virtualization helps organizations use physical hardware more efficiently.

2. What Is a Virtual Machine?

A Virtual Machine, or VM, is a software-based computer running on a physical server.

Although a VM is not a physical computer, it behaves like one.

A VM can have:

  • Virtual CPU
  • Virtual memory
  • Virtual hard disk
  • Virtual network adapter
  • Operating system
  • Applications

For example:

VM
├── 4 vCPU
├── 8 GB RAM
├── 100 GB Virtual Disk
├── Virtual Network Adapter
└── Windows/Linux
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

From the perspective of the operating system installed inside the VM, it behaves much like a normal computer.

The important difference is that its hardware resources are virtualized.

3. What Is a Hypervisor?

The technology that makes virtualization possible is called a hypervisor.

A hypervisor is software that creates and manages virtual machines.

It sits between the physical hardware and the VMs.

Physical Hardware
       ↓
    Hypervisor
       ↓
 ┌─────┼─────┐
 ↓     ↓     ↓
VM1   VM2   VM3
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The hypervisor manages resources such as:

  • CPU
  • Memory
  • Storage
  • Networking

It allocates these resources to virtual machines according to their configuration and the requirements of the environment.

4. Where Does Virtualization Take Place?

Virtualization normally takes place on a physical server, commonly located in a data center.

For example, a company's data center might contain:

Data Center
│
├── Physical Server 1
├── Physical Server 2
├── Physical Server 3
├── Storage
└── Network Devices
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

A hypervisor can be installed on these physical servers.

The hypervisor then allows multiple VMs to run on each server.

Physical Server
      ↓
   Hypervisor
      ↓
 ┌────┼────┐
VM1  VM2   VM3
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Virtualization is widely used in:

  • Enterprise data centers
  • Private clouds
  • Hybrid cloud environments
  • Development and testing environments
  • Virtual desktop infrastructure
  • Disaster recovery environments
  • Application hosting

5. What Is VMware?

VMware is a technology company known for virtualization and enterprise infrastructure software.

VMware became one of the major names in server virtualization by providing technologies that allow organizations to create, manage, and operate virtual machines at scale.

Today, VMware is part of Broadcom following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware.

For a beginner, VMware should not be viewed as just one software product.

It is better to think of VMware as an ecosystem of technologies used to build and manage virtualized infrastructure.

Some important VMware terms are:

  • ESXi
  • vSphere
  • vCenter Server
  • Virtual Machines
  • Hosts
  • Clusters
  • Datastores
  • Virtual Networks
  • vMotion
  • High Availability
  • DRS

Top comments (0)