Virtualization

In computing, virtualization is a broad term that refers to the abstraction of computer resources:

• Virtual machine, a software implementation of a machine (computer) that executes programs like a real machine
  • Platform virtualization, which separates an operating system from the underlying platform resources
    • Full virtualization
    • Hardware-assisted virtualization
    • Partial virtualization
    • Paravirtualization
    • Operating system-level virtualization
  • Application virtualization, the hosting of individual applications on alien hardware/software
    • Portable application
    • Cross-platform virtualization
    • Virtual appliance
    • Emulation or simulation
• Virtual memory, which allows uniform, contiguous addressing of physically separate and non-contiguous memory and disk areas
• Storage virtualization, the process of completely abstracting logical storage from physical storage
• Network virtualization, creation of a virtualised network addressing space within or across network subnets
• Channel bonding, the use multiple links combined to work as though they offered a single, higher-bandwidth link
• Memory virtualization, aggregates RAM resources from networked systems into virtualized memory pool
• Computer clusters, grid computing, and cloud computing, the combination of multiple discrete computers into larger metacomputers
• Desktop virtualization, the remote manipulation of a computer desktop
  • Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD)
• Virtualization Development, further work in this area    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtualization)

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