Virtualizing
Virtualizing is the process of creating a virtual version of something—such as a computer hardware platform, storage device, or network resource—so that multiple virtual instances can run on a single physical system. The goal is to improve resource utilization, flexibility, and isolation, while simplifying management and deployment.
In computing, hardware virtualization uses a hypervisor to partition physical resources into multiple virtual machines (VMs).
Operating-system-level virtualization, or containers, provides isolated user-space instances within a single OS kernel; these are lighter
Other forms include storage virtualization (abstracting storage devices) and network virtualization (virtual networks, SDN).
Virtualization is central to cloud computing and data centers, enabling IaaS, multi-tenant environments, rapid provisioning, and
Challenges include performance overhead, security implications of sharing hardware/host OS, licensing, and management complexity. Proper isolation,
Virtualization is distinct from emulation, which impersonates hardware at a lower level and can run software