Virtualization and virtual machines
1. Virtualization and virtual machines
Welcome, future security pro! Thanks for joining me for this video all about virtualization and virtual machines. Virtualization is the foundation of cloud computing. As a cloud security analyst, it's going to be super important for you to understand how it works. So let's dive in! Virtualization is technology that creates a virtual version of physical infrastructure, such as servers, storage, and networks. This technology uses virtual machines, or VMs, to simulate a physical computer. VMs contain their own operating systems, like Windows and Linux, and use only a portion of the underlying computer’s compute power. Virtualization uses hypervisors to manage the relationship between physical and virtual resources. A hypervisor is the abstraction layer that sits between the physical computer and the VM. Abstraction is what separates hardware from software. There are two types of hypervisors. Type one, also known as bare metal. Type one is more common. It replaces the entire operating system of the underlying computer. Type one hypervisors interact with the operating system’s components directly. Having this direct access makes type one streamlined and secure. On the flip side, type two hypervisors, also known as hosted, use the computer’s existing operating system and runs as an application over the operating system. Type two hypervisors may be easier to install, but you need to take into consideration the extra overhead and security needs of the underlying operating system. So, hypervisors distribute resources across VMs and keep VMs separate so that each one simulates an individual computer. And the hypervisor ensures that information in one VM is not visible to others. In this way, an organization’s development team can transform one physical computer into lots of virtual machines, instead of buying new hardware each time they need a server. If needed, a development team can also add CPU, memory, and storage space to the VM. Now, let’s discuss the three advantages of VMs: portability, scalability, and testing environments. The first advantage, portability, makes VMs especially useful for hybrid cloud environments where application resources are shared between on-premises and cloud infrastructure. Because each one is an isolated entity, developers can relocate them throughout a network. The second advantage, scalability, means that VMs can be scaled to provide additional or fewer resources if the development team’s needs change over time. This is unlike physical servers, which have a fixed amount of hardware. The third advantage, testing environments, help developers test code without worrying about affecting existing infrastructure or users. Plus, VMs simplify testing because developers don’t need to deploy complex production environments. And they can delete the testing environment machines afterward. As a core foundation of cloud technology, virtualization will be a big part of your future career in the cloud. You’ll be a major asset to any employer because you understand the advantages virtualization offers and you can maximize its power!2. Let's practice!
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