Heard the terms
“virtualization” or “virtual machine” used in your school and office and
wondered what they were talking about? In a world where collaborating and
working remote have become commonplace, you’re going to hear these phrases more
and more. They represent an important change in how people are using computers
— but if you’ve been wondering what the big deal is with them, you’ve come to
the right place.
Here’s what
people are talking about when they mention a virtual machine, the benefits of
this software, and how it’s being used.
What is a virtual machine?
At its heart, a
virtual machine or VM is an app — typically called a hypervisor — that emulates
an operating system. You launch the app, and it (generally speaking) opens a
window that’s another operating system, which operates exactly like it’s own
computer. Everything in the VM is self-contained, and it typically has all the
capabilities of the operating system it is imitating.
Yes, that’s like
using a “fake” computer within a computer! However, there are some important
distinctions. A virtual machine is indeed entirely virtual – it doesn’t have
any hardware of its own, except for the storage drives it comes from. Modern
VMs are also frequently associated with servers and network connections, since
more complex versions are typically supported by server setups.
Virtualization
services are often provided by specific companies — currently providers like
VMWare and VirtualBox box are at the top of the field, but there are a number
of different creators, some focused on business and some focus more on individual
apps.
Why use a virtual machine setup?
Ÿ Flexible work: Today, a growing application of VMs helps companies
arrange flexible and remote work environments. When the software itself is the
workspace, then where the computer or device is physically located doesn’t matter
nearly as much. This allows everyone to collaborate in similar spaces no matter
where they are or what machine they are using — or to switch to a different
mode without the need to change computers. Storage space also isn’t very
important, because most of the VM activity is managed behind the scenes by
central servers.
Ÿ Security: Virtual machines are used in two interesting security
tactics. First, they are used to study ransomware, viruses, and other types of
nasty attacks in a relatively safe environment. In this case, the malware
usually thinks that VM is a real computer and starts to attack it, while white
hat security experts can study how it operates and find weaknesses without
endangering their “real” computers. Second, organizations can use VMs to help
protect from device-based attacks, such as attacks using a smartphone OS
framework.
Ÿ Experiments: One of the oldest uses of virtual machines is to test
new apps or coding changes in a safe environment that won’t crash the computer
if something goes wrong. This type of VM can be very simple and inexpensive —
and is commonly used by developers to to test apps for different operating
systems.
Ÿ Data management: Virtualization allows organizations to centralize
data, change how they use servers or how many servers they use, and refine their
hardware purchase strategy.
Ÿ Special cases: In some cases, a VM setup can allow people to run
software that they would not otherwise be able to run. For example, maybe you
want to run an app that only works on an older version of the OS you are using
(say a Windows 8 app on Windows 10) — a VM can allow you to do that without
removing all your updates. Or you can use a VM to run an entirely different OS
as needed for specific apps. This may be particularly useful for students who
don’t have the right OS for classwork software, or similar cases.
The downside to virtual machines
Ÿ Complexity: Choosing, managing, and maintaining VMs can also be pretty complex.
Employees or students who must use a VM may have a lot of new things to learn,
which can make fast-paced adoption difficult. Additionally, VMs may take more
technical expertise, including experience that current IT specialists may not
have.
Ÿ Limitations: Not all computers or operating systems can support virtual machines.
This is especially true of older systems.
How can I try a virtual machine?
You can download
a VM yourself by finding the right apps. Here are a few common options:
Ÿ VirtualBox: VirtualBox allows you to open up a number “guest
operating systems” to emulate older operating systems. It’s ideal for a first
solo experimentation.
Ÿ VMWare: VMWare is more business friendly than VirtualBox, but it’s
also more difficult to learn. It favors server software and a variety of server
setups for downloading more complex VMs.
Ÿ Parallels 13: Parallels is an app designed for the specific purpose
of running Windows 10 as a virtual machine within MacOS.
Ÿ Microsoft: Microsoft provides fee 90-day VMs to emulate older
versions of IE and more, which may help with experimenting or using older
software.
Future of virtual machines
Expect to see a
lot more VMs in the future as their use cases expand. The security qualities in
particular may mean that VMs will be more common than not in the coming years.
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