IT & Cloud
Virtualization
Also called: hypervisor, VM
Running multiple isolated virtual machines on one physical host via a hypervisor, so hardware is shared and workloads can be snapshotted, moved, and restored independently.
Consolidation was the original driver, but the operational benefits outlast it: snapshots before a risky change, a whole server restored to different hardware, and workloads live-migrated off a host due for maintenance. It is also what makes a credible disaster recovery plan affordable for a small business.
Concentration is the trade-off. One host now carries many services, so host redundancy, shared storage design, and licensing per socket or core need deliberate planning rather than being inherited from whatever the previous server did.
Related terms
- Cloud Migration
- Moving applications, data, and infrastructure from on-premises servers to cloud platforms — by lift-and-shift, re-platforming, or replacement with SaaS.
- 3-2-1 Backup Rule
- A backup baseline: three copies of data, on two different media types, with one copy offsite — extended today to include one immutable or offline copy.
- RTO / RPO
- Two recovery targets: RTO is how long a system may be down, RPO is how much recent data may be lost. Together they dictate what backup and failover design is required.
More IT & Cloud terms
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