A Guide to Virtual Machines (VM)
FAQs
A virtual machine (VM) is an application that functions as a virtual computer but resides within a physical computer (e.g., host computer). Often referred to as _guest machines_, virtual machines work as separate independent machines but run as a process on the host machine's operating system.
Virtualization is a process where software is used to create an abstraction layer (the decoupling of the operating system from the physical hardware platform and applications that run on it). This is the basis of cloud computing, enabling the creation of virtual resources such as virtual servers, desktops, operating systems, files, storage, and networks.
There are many types of virtualization, including application, desktop, network, hardware, storage, data, data center, GPU, Linux, and cloud virtualization.
Hypervisor software, working in conjunction with VMM software, acts as the interface between virtual resources and the underlying physical hardware. Hypervisors not only ensure that each virtual resource has access to the physical resources it needs, but also keep virtual resources from interfering with each other by taking resources from each other or otherwise interrupting computing cycles.
Virtual machines can be used to combine multiple hardware resources into one virtual resource on a single physical machine or server. This can streamline administration, improve efficiency, and reduce costs while increasing scalability and performance.
Some additional uses for VMs include:
- Running multiple operating systems simultaneously
- Consolidating various applications within one cybersecurity environment to increase security while decreasing administrative time and costs
- Accessing suspected virus-infected data or other malware-impacted files in an enclosed, safe environment
- Acting as a test environment for patches, upgrades, and potential configuration changes
- Running outdated, legacy software that is no longer compatible with new operating systems (OSs) or environments
Many people use virtual machines (VMs) every day without even realizing it. For example, every time Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, or popular online storage services are accessed, the user is actually interacting with these applications through a web interface supported by a virtualized backend infrastructure (e.g., VMs).
Another example involves emulation where a user is running an Android app in an Apple iOS environment or vice versa. While users may be aware that they're running Android apps on their computers or Internet of Things (IoT) devices they may not realize that emulation technology, which involves virtualization created via VMs, is being used.
From a more technical perspective, "actual" VMs (e.g., the software needed to create/use VMs) are available from a variety of sources. Some of the most commonly used include:
- VMware
- Oracle VM VirtualBox
- Microsoft Azure (VM)
- Citrix Workspace App
- Parallels Desktop
There are also a variety of open-source applications to help create VMs as well.
It is perfectly legal to use a virtual machine. With that said, VM developers can run into legal issues in some of the following situations:
- **Licensing**: When running operating systems (OSs) on your physical computer, you are required to have a license from the owner (e.g., Microsoft, Apple) or designated reseller of that OS. However, possessing a single OS license and running it on both a physical computer and a VM can constitute a legal issue. Either a license allowing for multiple OS instantiations or two individual licenses would be required in this situation.
- **Apple restrictions**: Apple does not allow the installation of macOS on non-apple machines, devices, etc. This means that if a developer is running a VM that runs macOS, the host computer of that VM must also be running macOS, and presumably be an approved combination of Apple product hardware and software.
Get started with Atlas today
Get started in seconds. Our free clusters come with 512 MB of storage so you can play around with sample data and get oriented with our platform.
GET STARTED WITH:
- 125+ regions worldwide
- Sample data sets
- Always-on authentication
- End-to-end encryption
- Command line tools