What is Virtualization in Cloud Computing?

Today, we witness many startups coming up with innovative solutions and many SaaS products or side projects able to create an impact, and people building their first version of the application within a week and releasing it; all these are possible due to many factors and one of them is Virtualization in Cloud Computing. Since people were able to leverage this virtualization and cloud computing, it was possible to develop a startup, SaaS product, or side projects without having to worry about infrastructure. Virtualization in cloud computing is helping industries every single day, and due to this, the demand for skilled engineers with expertise in virtualization is growing.

What is Virtualization in Cloud Computing? 

Before getting started with Virtualization in Cloud Computing, we need to understand the meaning of the word virtual. The word virtual means that it is a representation of something physically present elsewhere.

Similarly, Virtualization in Cloud Computing is a technology that allows us to create virtual resources such as servers, networks, and storage in the cloud. All these resources are allocated from a physical machine that runs somewhere in the world, and we’ll get the software to provision and manage these virtual resources. These physical machines are operated by cloud providers, who take care of maintenance, and hardware supplies.

Virtualization in Cloud Computing also enables us to set up access control over the resources to secure them. It also enables resource sharing among multiple applications.

Virtualization also enables efficient resource utilization, since it only provisions the requested amount of resources and not more. And provisioning extra resources such as extra memory, storage, or processors is as simple as clicking a few buttons on the cloud software.

Some of virtualization in cloud computing examples are as follows:

• EC2 service from Amazon Web Service
• Compute engine from  Google Cloud
• Azure Virtual Machines from Microsoft Azure

How does virtualization work in cloud computing?

Virtualization plays a very important role in cloud computing technology, normally in cloud computing, users share the data present in the cloud like application, etc, but actually with the help of virtualization users shares the Infrastructure.

The main usage of Virtualization technology is to provide the applications with the standard versions to their cloud users, suppose the next version of that application is released, then the cloud provider has to provide the latest version to their cloud users, and practically it is possible because it is more expensive.

To overcome this problem we use virtualization technology, By using virtualization, all servers and the software application which are required by other cloud providers are maintained by third-party people, and the cloud providers have to pay the money on a monthly or annual basis.

Benefits of Virtualization in Cloud Computing

Certainly virtualization is a crucial technology that enables businesses to use their storage devices, operating systems, and servers better. Some of the benefits of virtualization in cloud computing include:

Flexible Data Transfer

With Virtualization, you can transfer data to virtual servers at any time. Also, it saves valuable time. You don’t have to waste valuable time discovering data or searching out through drives. It allows you to allocate data to trusted users. With no limit to data transfer, you can share data across large distances with minimal charges.

Reduced Risk of System Failure

Most physical and on-premise systems are prone to failure. Something in the physical data center can malfunction, causing operation downtime. Moreover, Virtualization helps manage these systems and cushion your organization from downtime interruptions. Multiple users can also perform multiple tasks at a time. Thirdly virtualization enables seamless data access that is essential for remote working.

Easier Data Management

Managing data stored on multiple devices is a headache. You have to recover disks and drives all the time. This leads to improper data management and underutilization of company data. Storage virtualization brings data management to a single console. This way, a single person can manage enterprise-level data with much ease.

Reduced Computing Costs

Another benefit of virtualization in cloud computing reduces the costs of running physical servers and hardware. Since all the data is stored in a virtual server, you incur fewer costs. It also reduces overhead costs such as electricity bills and maintenance costs. A company running on virtualized servers incurs fewer costs than one running on-premise servers.

Scalability

This model allows for the scalability of computing resources. It enables you to scale their applications and storage according to your needs. When you virtualize your resources, you can scale up to meet demand or scale down upon reduction of computing needs.

Why should you choose?

Cost-effective

If you don’t utilize your physical servers at optimal capacity, you significantly decrease the efficiency of unused resources and idle servers. When physical servers are dedicated to specific tasks, they can’t perform other tasks even when idle. However, virtual machines use their servers at optimal capacity, ensuring all operations run simultaneously. Switching to virtualization today allows you to save money – buying and maintaining physical servers, infrastructure costs, rental fees, and energy costs in on-site server rooms.

Security and Protection From Failure

When the user performs specific functions on the server, it may malfunction. However, in the event of system failure, it may prove to be adverse to the company’s resources and reputation. One of the major benefits of virtualization in cloud computing, however, is security and protection from system failure. Virtualization allows users to perform the same functions on different devices simultaneously, with easy recovery of the relevant data on any device. Since the virtual infrastructure is containerized, one compromised server will not impact the others. If you want to test new software or a program on different operating systems but can’t risk a system failure, virtualization is the perfect solution for you. Strong encryption and security protocols ensure that your confidential data is protected, minimizing security threats. Backups and disaster recovery ensure no data is lost even if data is corrupted or accidentally deleted. Since virtual machines are also in separate containers, you can easily restore your data even if one of the VMs is compromised.

Reduce Downtime

Increased downtime equals loss of revenue! When your physical servers are down, it may take hours – or even days – to repair them. However, with a virtualized environment, it’s easier to replicate the affected VMs, reducing the recovery time to a few minutes. Virtualized environment is crucial for efficient disaster recovery plans as it can easily restore your backup after a ransomware attack.

Conclusion

Virtualization helps in outsourcing the hardware used, eliminating extra energy costs and minimizing the use of particular resources. Even though it doesn’t work for every user, it surely provides enhanced security, efficiency, and cost advantages. Whatever the need for virtualization, there must be service providers that can provide the necessary tools to manage and monitor the resources – which will be saving time and make the processes more efficient without deterring its promised flexibility.