What is Virtualization?

If you somehow missed the latest article at the top of the site, I’m going to take a brief moment here to explain what it’s all about, just in case you’re a bit too weary to enter the realm of uncertainty. First and foremost, virtualization is one of the coolest technologies I’ve ever stumbled on, and as I note in the article, it’s not only for the IT environment. Rather, I feel almost anyone can find a use for it, and that’s why the article was written.

In case you don’t know what virtualization is, or how it works, this article tackles it all. If you’ve ever wanted to run another operating system from within your own operating system, that’s virtualization, and once you realize just how easy it is to get things going, you’re probably going to kick yourself for not realizing it a lot sooner!

What could someone possibly need a second OS for? Simple! Testing out the latest Linux distro is one scenario. Or, running a Windows XP installation inside of your Windows Vista install (or another OS) is an other option, especially if you have older software that might not run in Vista. Or, if you have really, REALLY old software, you could install an even older version of an OS… even DOS, to get the job done. The sky’s the limit.

If you’re curious, check out the article, and as always, please let us know what you thought of it in our comment thread (no registration required). Other comments and suggestions are also welcome!

…platform virtualization takes things to a new level, because you’re not only virtualizing an application, but rather an actual computer. So if you are to run, say, Windows XP inside of your Windows Vista, your virtualization tool creates a software-based hardware environment, so that Windows XP thinks it’s running on a real machine. Confused? As we progress through the article, you’ll hopefully gain a better understanding of virtualization as a whole.