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If you still don’t know the term hypervisor, do not be fooled, this technology is not so recent. It emerged in the 1970s, boosted by innovative technologies at the time of the giant IBM.
The solution created to reduce costs consisted of consolidating multiple computers from different departments into a single central machine, a mainframe. In this way the hypervisor created in this mainframe allowed the execution of multiple operating systems and, even if there were flaws in one of them, the others remained stable.
At this time, when computers were huge and boiled down to robust mainframes, there was no easy way to download, install, and use software on any machine. The software was developed almost exclusively for the model for which it was designed. So, the hypervisorsif the virtual machines have gained strength and have become essential solutions for technology companies.
Continue reading this content and understand a little more about the hypervisors!
How does the hypervisor work?
A hypervisoris basically a layer of software located between the hardware and the operating system. Through it, several virtual machines can have access to hardware resources such as CPU, memory, network, storage, and so on. In addition, this feature can ensure greater security for virtual machines from mechanisms such as isolation, tunneling, and partitioning.
One of the best-known advantages of a hypervisoris the ability to emulate multiple operating systems on the same machine. In this way the IT department does not need to allocate resources in the acquisition of several physical units, being able to divide the processing power of one among several virtualized systems. This allows for high portability and flexibility.
This type of solution has regained its strength because of the ease with which it allows the IT department to manage several servers and applications independently, even using the same hardware. For example, you can test an application in isolation, without running the risk of malware affecting other applications and system functionality.
What types of hypervisor exist?
There are two types of hypervisors: bare-metal and hosted. If you have ever used any application that emulated a virtual machine on your desktop, such as Oracle VirtualBox, VMware: Workstation, QEMU, Microsoft: Virtual PC, Virtual Server or similar, you then used a hosted hypervisor.
This option is commonly intended for use on personal desktops and runs through software running on an operating system. For example: in a Windows operating system you can run a virtual machine that simulates a Linux operating system with all its functionality. It works inside a window, and it is possible to use native OS applications, such as a web browser, in parallel with the virtualized environment, which is not possible in the bare-metal type.
The host option can provide high hardware compatibility, which allows virtualization software to perform a wide range of configurations. In turn, the bare-metal option manages to provide a variety of I / O access options ensuring greater performance. This is possible because the hypervisorlayer, in this option, comes just above the hardware layer, operating independent of the operating system, which comes next.
The image below shows in a didactic way the difference between the two types of hypervisorarchitecture.
Does your business need a hypervisor?
If you need to get more computing, but do not want to invest in the purchase of more physical machines, wishing to take full advantage of your servers, the hypervisorand its virtual machines are essential solutions for your business.
In practice, they offer the same results as any other computer, but they do not exist physically, only logically and can be used for a variety of purposes, such as running ERP systems, cloud computing services, simulation tools, among others.
In short, a hypervisorcan bring numerous benefits such as centralized management, rapid deployment, ease of migration and expansion, the ability to create a test environment, and thus more security and reliability.
Now it’s up to you, the manager or IT professional, to identify the real needs of your business and evaluate whether deploying a hypervisor is necessary. And if you still have questions, please contact us through the comments or our contact form. Our team is prepared and eager to ensure the safety and success of your business.
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