Virtualization Concepts Lesson 003: Purposes of VMs

What does cloud computing rely on for cost savings and efficiency?

Virtualization.

How does virtualization cut costs and improve efficiency for an organization?

By using less power, cooling, and physical space.

What does virtualization allow for when it comes to cloud computing?

Allows for higher availability by spinning up additional virtual servers whenever needed.

Hypervisor

Manages the distribution of the physical resources of a server to the virtual machines.

What is the main difference from a security perspective between Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors?

The usage of a host OS in Type 2.

How can security be maintained when using a Type 2 hypervisor.

By ensuring that the host OS is secured and patched.

On what OS is containerization mainly used on?

Linux.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Allows for the full integration of the storage, network, and servers without hardware changes.

What does hyperconverged infrastructure rely on instead of relying on hardware for integration?

Software and virtualization technology.

Application Virtualization

Encapsulates computer programs from the underlying OS on which they are executed.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Hosts desktop OSs within a virtualized environment hosted by a centralized server or server farm.

Why are virtual desktop infrastructures considered more secure?

Because they are not hosted on an end point device and are usually non-persistent.

Why is the common non-persistent environment in VDI applications considered more secure by nature?

If the attacker gained access to the virtual desktop, the environment would be deleted that day anyway.

Sandbox

A security mechanism used to separate processes and programs to mitigate failures or vulnerabilities.

How is a sandbox environment created?

By using either virtual machines or containerization.

What is a sandbox most commonly used for?

For analyzing pieces of malware or where a user can break stuff without consequences.

Cross-Platform Virtualization

Allows for the testing and running of software applications for different operating systems.

What are some things that cross-platform virtualization makes possible?

It allows users to make sure that software works on different platforms and to run non-native software on OSs that certain software is meant for.

What is a great advantage that comes with using lab or training environments?

The ability to create a snapshot of the virtual machine at any time.

What is the difference between emulation and virtualization?

Emulation involves imitating another system. Virtualization involves creating an entirely separate machine environment, imitating a physical machine.

Emulator

Can be used to run other operating systems or hardware on a regular laptop or desktop.

When is it necessary to use an emulator?

To run an operating system designed for different hardware.

What is a good thing to use to achieve higher speed and better performance?

Some sort of virtualization solution.

What is the limiter when it comes to running software even in a virtualization environment.

The system is limited to running software that is coded for the underlying hardware of the system processor.

How would a user get around the problem of software incompatibility concerning processor type compatibility?

By using an emulator.

Is virtualization or emulation faster and more efficient?

Virtualization.