You are not hearing the term ‘Virtual Machine’ for the first time; you’ve heard it before, but unsure what it is used for? This article will take a detailed look into the various reasons for using a virtual machine and its growing importance in the present scenario.
Virtual Machine – What is it?
A virtual machine is an emulated computer system that relies a lot on virtual machine monitors. These monitors are software that is capable of managing and mapping a computer’s resources into virtual hardware. There are various hypervisors available in the market. This software plays a vital role in allowing the virtual machines to function properly by allocating them the needed resources to function, such as CPU, RAM, storage disk, and other components. Even though the virtual operating system pretends to work in a real computer, the fact remains it simply functions like any other application on your computer.
Various Applications of a Virtual Machine
Experiment with Varied Operating Systems
Imagine that you are a Windows user and wish to experiment with a new operating system such as Linux. All you should do is install a hypervisor like VirtualBox, which will help you create a new machine. There are several ‘Linux Installation ISO’ such as Ubuntu that can be downloaded and installed for creating a virtual machine. You can now run this new operating system within your existing Windows operating system as a virtual machine. You need not have to worry since any errors in the guest operating system won’t affect the host operating system.
Run Windows on Mac
Are you a frequent Mac user, and at times you feel as if you are missing the old popular Windows operating system? With virtual machines, you will get an opportunity to run software that might not be compatible with your present computer system. If you can access the installer, you may not have any issue installing the virtual operating system. Irrespective of whether the virtual operating system is outdated or not, it will not impact your host computer as it comes as sandboxed inside the virtual machine. Any errors whatsoever will be restricted to the virtual operating system only. If you want to know more about how to use a virtual machine on Mac, read https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-use-virtual-machine-on-mac.
Create Software for Rest of the Platforms
For developers, virtual machines will give them a hands-on experience about how the software they create will work on multiple platforms. It can prove beneficial for companies or developers who want to test their applications on different platforms and provide users with a seamless experience. In several instances, a developer might have to know how their applications work in desktop applications rather than mobile applications. Through virtualization techniques, compilation can be performed to other executable types. Virtualization makes the process easier by avoiding the need for double booting.
Ability to manage potential malware
With a virtual machine, a user can ensure the safety of the main system from getting affected by malware since a virtual machine cannot cause harm to the main system. For example, there could be instances in which a user wants to download a program; however, he or she is not sure about whether the site is legitimate. Therefore, even though there is a minimal risk of malware getting affected, it still is a great way to stay secure from any potential malware affecting your host computer.
Experiment with OS without any worry
There is no better way to understand an operating system without being worried about its consequences by experimenting with a virtual operating system. For those who are eager to know more about the operating system, a virtual machine is something they should try.
System-Level Snapshots
This is yet another important feature of a virtual machine. The system-level snapshots created can be restored as and when needed. By snapshot, the virtual machine user will be offered a complete copy of the virtual machine at any point of time requested by the user. Thus, these backups can be used as a comprehensive system restore since it allows the user to restore the snapshot when the user thinks something had gone wrong. Furthermore, it also offers the opportunity to store the data as a single file and move the file wherever wanted in the host machine.
The entire content of a virtual machine can be transferred to another system
User can easily transfer the entire contents of a virtual machine from one computer to another without any problems. However, the user will have to ensure that they make use of the same hypervisor. Thus the content of a virtual machine is portable by loading the content towards the VirtualBox on another computer. Thus you can easily get a copy of the entire content which can be used on another computer.
Conclusion
Upon reading this article, you now have a clear picture of how beneficial a virtual machine can be for developers. There are some prerequisites that a developer or user should take note of, such as the presence of a powerful computer with the best configuration. A weak CPU or a computer with less RAM will not efficiently run the virtual operating system alongside your host operating system.
