What exactly is “Virtualization” and how will it make your network better?

          Let’s begin by looking at the “traditional” computer.  A traditional computer is a fully contained unit - meaning that it has all the necessary hardware and software to perform the user’s functions. When a computer is built at the factory, it is just hardware … then the manufacturer installs the operating system on it. The installation process creates a “marriage” between the hardware and the software … and this marriage cannot be broken without a lot of time and effort.

          So why is this a bad thing … because when the hardware fails, the user cannot access their software … the PC is basically useless.  When that happens, an IT person must come in and spend a large amount of time (and money) repairing the hardware, and/or reinstalling a lot of software.  Also, setting up a new user is time consuming and expensive, as all of the software and settings must be installed and configured.

Virtualization eliminates this “bad marriage” so that the software and hardware exist on the network independently!

          Virtualization allows for the software to be installed on top of the network without being specifically tied to any hardware.  All of the hardware resources are allocated to the software by an intermediary program called a Hypervisor.  If there are ever hardware issues, the Hypervisor senses the issues and reassigns the software to different, healthy resources.

          By eliminating the bad marriage, end users rarely experience issues relating to hardware.  Therefore, user downtime is greatly reduced!

          Additionally, most Virtualization solutions utilize state-of-the-art imaging software to protect and backup the applications and data on the network.  This protects the users from software “glitches” that sometimes happen on the network.  If a user gets a virus or mistakenly loads malware on their desktop, the entire image of the desktop can be rolled back to a time prior to the infection … and within minutes the user is back to a desktop that is in the same state as it was prior to the infection.

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