Virtualization

Terms related to virtualization, including definitions about virtualization technologies and words and phrases about server virtualization, desktop virtualization and storage virtualization.

AFF - OVI

affinity rules - Affinity rules are settings that establish a relationship between two or more VMware virtual machines (VMs) and hosts.
agnostic - Agnostic, in an information technology (IT) context, refers to something that is generalized so that it is interoperable among various systems.
Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a web-based service that allows businesses to run application programs in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud.
Amazon EC2 instance - An Amazon EC2 instance is a virtual server in Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) for running applications on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure.
Amazon Machine Image (AMI) - An Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is a master image for the creation of virtual servers -- known as EC2 instances -- in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment.
Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) - Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is a scalable, high-speed, web-based cloud storage service.
AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) - Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a semiconductor company, known for designing and developing computer processors and graphics technologies.
AMD-V (AMD virtualization) - AMD-V (AMD virtualization) is a set of hardware extensions for the X86 processor architecture.
app virtualization (application virtualization) - App virtualization (application virtualization) is the separation of an installation of an application from the client computer that is accessing it.
application containerization (app containerization) - Application containerization is an OS-level virtualization method used to deploy and run distributed applications without launching an entire virtual machine for each app.
application layering (app layering) - Application layering (app layering) is a technology for delivering virtual applications that run in layers separate from a virtual desktop, but interact with the operating system and other apps as if they are installed natively on the base image.
application sandboxing - Application sandboxing, also called application containerization, is an approach to software development and management and mobile application management (MAM) that limits the environments in which certain code can execute.
application streaming - Application streaming is an on-demand software delivery model that takes advantage of the fact that most applications require only a small fraction of their total program code to run.
AWS On-Demand Instances (Amazon Web Services On-Demand Instances) - AWS On-Demand Instances (Amazon Web Services On-Demand Instances) are virtual servers that run in AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) or AWS Relational Database Service (RDS) and are purchased at a fixed rate per hour.
bare-metal hypervisor - A bare-metal hypervisor, also known as a Type 1 hypervisor, is virtualization software that has been installed directly onto the computing hardware.
Blue Cloud - Blue Cloud is an approach to shared infrastructure developed by IBM.
bubble network - A bubble network is a series of interconnected virtual machines (VMs) that communicate through a virtual network switch (vSwitch) and remain isolated from the physical network.
Changed Block Tracking (CBT) - VMware Changed Block Tracking is an incremental backup technology for virtual machines (VMs), comparable to snapshot differential or backup delta block.
Citrix - Citrix Systems is a U.
Citrix HDX 3D Pro - Citrix HDX 3D Pro is a group of graphics acceleration technologies that help optimize the delivery of resource-intensive virtual applications on a company's XenDesktop and XenApp platforms.
Citrix Provisioning Services (Citrix PVS) - Citrix Provisioning Services (Citrix PVS) is a software-streaming technology that allows administrators to patch or reconfigure an entire deployment of virtual desktops from one shared master image.
Citrix StoreFront - Citrix StoreFront is an enterprise application store that acts as a central location for users to access XenDesktop and XenApp virtual desktops and applications from their mobile devices, laptops, Windows PCs or Macs.
Citrix Workspace app (Citrix Receiver) - Citrix Receiver was renamed the Citrix Workspace app in 2018.
Citrix XenApp - Citrix XenApp, now part of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, was a product that extends Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host (formerly known as Terminal Services) desktop sessions and applications to users through the Citrix HDX protocol.
Citrix XenServer - Citrix XenServer is an open source server virtualization platform based on the Xen hypervisor.
cloud automation - Cloud automation is a broad term that refers to the processes and tools an organization uses to reduce the manual efforts associated with provisioning and managing cloud computing workloads and services.
cloud computing - Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the internet.
Cloud Foundry - Cloud Foundry is an open source cloud platform as a service (PaaS) on which developers can build, deploy, run and scale applications on public and private cloud models.
cloud provisioning - Cloud provisioning is the allocation of a cloud provider's resources and services to a customer.
cluster quorum disk - A cluster quorum disk is the storage medium on which the configuration database is stored for a cluster computing network.
clustered file system (CFS) - Clustered file systems are file systems that run on multiple storage servers and can be accessed and managed as a single system.
container (disambiguation) - This page explains how the term container is used in software development, storage, data center management and mobile device management.
Containers as a Service (CaaS) - Containers as a service (CaaS) is a cloud service that allows software developers to upload, organize, run, scale, manage and stop containers by using a provider's API calls or a web portal interface.
content management system (CMS) - A content management system (CMS) is a software application or set of related programs that help create and manage digital content.
ControlUp - ControlUp is a monitoring software company that sells tools IT professionals can use to manage, monitor and analyze virtual desktop and application performance.
data warehouse appliance - A data warehouse appliance is an all-in-one “black box” solution optimized for data warehousing.
dedicated cloud - A dedicated cloud is a single-tenant cloud infrastructure, which essentially acts as an isolated, single-tenant public cloud.
Dell EMC - Dell EMC is an American multinational technology company that offers products and services across all areas of computing, networking and storage.
desktop as a service (DaaS) - Desktop as a service (DaaS) is a cloud computing offering in which a third party hosts the back end of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployment.
desktop virtualization - Desktop virtualization is the concept of isolating a logical operating system (OS) instance from the client that is used to access it.
differencing disk - A differencing disk is a virtual hard disk (VHD) that stores changes made to another VHD or to the guest operating system.
digital workspace - A digital workspace is an integrated technology framework that centralizes the management of an enterprise's applications, data and endpoints, allowing employees to collaborate and work remotely.
disk image - A disk image is a copy of the entire contents of a storage device, such as a hard drive, DVD, or CD.
Diskpart (Disk Partition Utility) - Diskpart is a command-line utility used to manipulate disk partitions in all versions of Windows and Windows Server beginning with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Docker - Docker is an open source software platform to create, deploy and manage virtualized application containers on a common operating system (OS), with an ecosystem of allied tools.
Docker Swarm - Docker Swarm is a clustering and scheduling tool for Docker containers.
edge virtualization - Edge virtualization is the practice of using software versions of physical computing resources at the edge of a network, closest to the devices that produce data.
eG Innovations - eG Innovations is an end-user experience and infrastructure monitoring software vendor best known for its eG Enterprise product.
embedded hypervisor - An embedded hypervisor is a hypervisor that is programmed (embedded) directly into a processor, personal computer (PC) or server.
eventual consistency - Eventual consistency is a characteristic of distributed computing systems such that the value for a specific data item will, given enough time without further updates, be consistent each time it is accessed.
failover cluster - In computing, a failover cluster refers to a group of independent servers that work together to maintain high availability of applications and services.
Google App Engine - Google App Engine (GAE) is a platform-as-a-service product that provides web app developers and enterprises with access to Google's scalable hosting and tier 1 internet service.
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) - Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a managed Kubernetes service for containers and container clusters running on Google Cloud infrastructure.
Google Preemptible VM - A Preemptible VM (PVM) is a Google Compute Engine (GCE) virtual machine (VM) instance that can be purchased for a steep discount as long as the customer accepts that the instance will terminate after 24 hours.
green networking - Green networking is the practice of selecting energy-efficient networking technologies and products and minimizing resource use whenever possible.
guest OS (guest operating system) - A guest OS is the operating system installed on either a virtual machine (VM) or partitioned disk.
guest virtual machine (guest VM) - A guest virtual machine (VM) is the software component of a VM, an independent instance of an operating system (OS), called a guest OS, and its associated software and information.
Hadoop - Hadoop is an open source distributed processing framework that manages data processing and storage for big data applications running in clustered systems.
hardware emulation - Hardware emulation is the use of one hardware device to mimic the function of another hardware device.
hardware virtualization - Hardware virtualization, which is also known as server virtualization or simply virtualization, is the abstraction of computing resources from the software that uses those resources.
hardware-assisted virtualization - Hardware-assisted virtualization is the use of a computer's physical components to support the software that creates and manages virtual machines (VMs).
headless system - A headless system is a computer that operates without a monitor, graphical user interface (GUI) or the typical peripherals used to control it, such as a keyboard and mouse.
Host OS (host operating system) - A host OS is the software installed on a computer that interacts with the underlying hardware in a computer using virtualization technology.
host virtual machine (host VM) - A host virtual machine is the server component of a virtual machine (VM), the underlying hardware that provides computing resources to support a particular guest virtual machine (guest VM).
hosted virtual desktop (HVD) - A hosted virtual desktop (HVD) is a user interface that connects to applications and data that are stored on a cloud provider's servers rather than on the user's computer or the corporate network.
hyper-converged appliance - A hyper-converged appliance is a hardware device that provides multiple data center management technologies within a single box.
hyper-converged network - A hyper-converged network is a network that combines compute and storage network resources into a single preconfigured stack, server or brick with heavy use of virtualization.
hypervisor - A hypervisor is a function that abstracts -- isolates -- operating systems (OSes) and applications from the underlying computer hardware.
hypervisor security - Hypervisor security is the process of ensuring the hypervisor, the software that enables virtualization, is secure throughout its life cycle, including during development, implementation, provisioning, management and de-provisioning.
I/O virtualization (IOV) - I/O virtualization (IOV), or input/output virtualization, is technology that uses software to abstract upper-layer protocols from physical connections or physical transports.
image-based backup - Image-based backup creates a copy of an operating system and all the data associated with it, including the system state and application configurations.
Java virtual machine (JVM) - A Java virtual machine (JVM), an implementation of the Java Virtual Machine Specification, interprets compiled Java binary code (called bytecode) for a computer's processor (or "hardware platform") so that it can perform a Java program's instructions.
KVM hypervisor - KVM hypervisor is the virtualization layer in Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM).
linked clones - Linked clones are copies of virtual machines that share virtual disks with the parent VM, which conserves space and allows multiple VMs to use the same software.
Linux Secure Boot - Linux Secure Boot is a feature in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 that allows some Linux distributions to boot under Hyper-V as Generation 2 virtual machines.
Linux virtual machine (Linux VM) - A Linux virtual machine is a virtual machine (VM) that is running a distribution of Linux as the guest operating system (guest OS).
live migration - Live migration refers to the process of moving a virtual machine running on one physical host to another host without disrupting normal operations or causing any downtime or other adverse effects for the end user.
LXD (Linux container hypervisor) - LXD is an open source container management extension for Linux Containers (LXC).
memory mirroring - Memory mirroring is the division of memory on a server into two channels.
memory paging - Memory paging is a memory management technique used to control sharing of memory resources belonging to a computer or virtual machine (VM).
Microsoft Azure VM Scale Sets - A Microsoft Azure VM Scale Set is a group of individual virtual machines (VMs) within the Microsoft Azure public cloud that IT administrators can configure and manage as a single unit.
Microsoft Hyper-V Manager - Microsoft Hyper-V Manager is a tool that allows administrators to create, change and delete virtual machines (VMs).
Microsoft Hyper-V Shielded VM - A Microsoft Hyper-V Shielded VM is a security feature of Windows Server 2016 that protects a Hyper-V second-generation virtual machine (VM) from access or tampering by using a combination of Secure Boot, BitLocker encryption, virtual Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and the Host Guardian Service.
Microsoft Nano Server - Microsoft Nano Server is a lightweight operating system based on Microsoft Windows Server 2016 that is tailored for use as an OS layer for virtualized container instances.
Microsoft Storage QoS (Storage Quality of Service) - Microsoft Storage QoS (Storage Quality of Service) is a feature for monitoring and managing the performance of storage resources allocated to individual virtual machines (VMs) running on Hyper-V and scale-out file servers or cluster shared volumes.
Microsoft System Center 2012 - Microsoft System Center 2012 is a bundled suite of systems management products that offers tools to monitor and automate virtualized environments, including private clouds based on Microsoft Hyper-V.
Microsoft UE-V (User Experience Virtualization) - Microsoft UE-V (User Experience Virtualization) is a tool that enables users to move from one Windows device to another and maintain the same operating system (OS) and applications settings.
Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus (VMBus) - Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus (VMBus) is a mechanism within the Hyper-V architecture that enables logical communication in partitions.
Microsoft Windows Defender Device Guard - Windows Defender Device Guard is a security feature for Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows Server 2016 designed to use application whitelisting and code integrity policies to protect users' devices from malicious code that could compromise the operating system.
N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV) - N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV) is a Fibre Channel (FC) standard that makes it possible to create multiple virtual ports on a single physical node port (N_Port), with each virtual port appearing as a unique entity to the FC network.
nested VM (nested virtual machine) - A nested VM (nested virtual machine) is a virtual machine contained within another VM.
NetApp FlexPod - NetApp FlexPod is a reference architecture for server, storage and networking components that are pretested and validated to work together as an integrated infrastructure stack.
NETCONF - NETCONF is an IETF network management protocol that provides an administrator or network engineer with a secure way to configure a firewall, router, switch or other network device.
Network as a Service (NaaS) - Network as a service, or NaaS, is a business model for delivering enterprise WAN services virtually on a subscription basis.
network functions virtualization (NFV) - Network functions virtualization (NFV) is a network architecture model designed to virtualize network services that have traditionally run on proprietary, dedicated network appliances.
Nutanix Acropolis - Acropolis is a free server virtualization hypervisor developed by vendor Nutanix that is packaged on hyper-converged appliances, and can be used alongside competing hypervisors.
NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation) - NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation) is a network virtualization method that uses encapsulation to create large numbers of virtual LANs (VLANs) for subnets that can extend across dispersed data centers and Layers 2 and 3.
Open Virtualization Format (OVF) - The Open Virtualization Format (OVF) is an open source standard for packaging and distributing software applications and services for virtual machines (VMs).
overlay network - An overlay network is a virtual or logical network that is created on top of an existing physical network.
oVirt - OVirt is an open source data center virtualization platform developed and promoted by Red Hat.

OVS - VMW