gæstemaskine

A gæstemaskine, often translated as "guest machine" or "host machine" in English computing contexts, refers to a virtual machine that runs on top of a host operating system. This host operating system, in turn, runs on the physical hardware. The gæstemaskine is an isolated environment created by virtualization software, such as VMware, VirtualBox, or Hyper-V.

The primary purpose of a gæstemaskine is to allow users to run different operating systems or software configurations on a single physical machine without interfering with the host system. For instance, a user might run a Linux gæstemaskine on a Windows host, or vice-versa, to test applications, develop software for multiple platforms, or simply explore a new operating system.

Each gæstemaskine has its own allocated resources, including CPU, RAM, storage, and network interfaces, which are managed by the host system. The isolation provided by virtualization ensures that any actions or errors within the gæstemaskine do not affect the stability or security of the host operating system or other gæstemaskiner. This makes gæstemaskiner invaluable for software development, testing, security research, and running legacy applications.