Implementing secure cloud and virtualization solutions
Virtualization allows software to control access to the underlying hardware. It uses a thin layer of code to control access to resources, including networking, CPU, storage, and memory.
Pretty much any compute node can be run virtually on top of a software layer. This software layer is the hypervisor. User desktops, email servers, directory servers, switches, firewalls, and routers are just a few examples of virtual machines (VMs).
Virtualization allows for more flexibility in the data center, rapid provisioning, and scalability as workloads increase. Additional benefits include reducing an organization's footprint in the data center (less hardware, reduced power, and so on). Figure 3.16 shows resources being allocated to a virtual guest operating system using Microsoft Hyper-V:
Virtualization strategies
When considering virtualization, an important...