16.2 - Virtual Machines

Topic 16 - System Software and Virtual Machines

Explain the guest operating system

It’s the OS running in a virtual machine
It controls the virtual hardware during the emulation
This OS is being emulated within the host OS, and is running under the control of the host OS software

Explain the host operating system

It controls the actual physical hardware
It’s the normal OS for the host computer
The OS runs and monitors the virtual machine software

Benefits of Virtual Machines

Can be used without impacting anything outside the virtual machine
Possible to run apps which are not compatible with the host computer/OS by using a guest OS which is compatible
Useful for testing a new OS or app since they will not crash the host computer
All this is due to the virtual machine protecting the host computer

Limitation of Virtual Machines

The performance is not the same when running a guest OS compared to the original OS
In-house virtual machines are expensive for a large company
—> They can be complex to manage and maintain