Virtual machines in Cleura Cloud

Virtual machines (VMs) are a key part of virtualization technology and essentially act as separate, virtual computers within a single physical server. They use software called a hypervisor to share and allocate the resources of the physical server, such as memory and processing power, between different VMs.

This setup is central to cloud computing, where virtual servers can be hosted in the cloud – either a private cloud for one organization, a public cloud shared by many, or Compliant Cloud solutions. VMs allow efficient and flexible use of hardware, as they can run different operating systems and applications independently.

A virtual machine (VM) works by mimicking a real computer within a software environment using virtualization technology. It’s like having several computers running on one physical machine, each with its own tasks and operating systems.

The key to this process is the hypervisor, a piece of software that shares the resources of the physical server, such as its processing power and memory, between these virtual machines. The hypervisor effectively manages these resources, ensuring that each VM operates independently and does not interfere with the others. This management includes distributing CPU time, allocating memory and even handling storage and network connectivity. Each VM behaves as if it has its own hardware, running its own operating system and with its own set of applications.

A key benefit of virtual machines is that each VM operates independently with its own dedicated resources. This results in efficient hardware utilization, reduced costs and improved scalability. VMs managed by a hypervisor also improve security by isolating different applications and processes; if one VM is compromised, the others remain unaffected.

In cloud-based virtualization, VMs provide enormous flexibility by allowing the user to quickly scale up or down to meet demand – ideal for both private and public cloud use cases. VMs also simplify disaster recovery and provide simple backup solutions as they can be replicated and moved between servers in a virtual network.

All of this, combined with the user benefits of instant creation, cost-effectiveness and simplicity, makes virtual machines popular for everything from testing new software to running large-scale applications in the cloud.