A virtual machine monitor allows multiple virtual machines to run on one computer, using its resources non-transparently. It prevents crashes and boosts the performance of weaker computers, but relies on the health of the network and can lead to downtime if the network is unreliable.
A virtual machine monitor is a program that monitors the behavior of multiple virtual machines on a system, allowing each user to have a fully functional system. Additionally, each user on a network monitored by a virtual machine will think of their computer as a self-contained entity, completely separate from the rest of the computing environment. However, the computer hosting all the virtual machines and the virtual machine monitor program are really in control. Through this illusion of autocracy, a single computer with powerful hardware can allow multiple “drone” systems of weaker hardware to use its resources quite non-transparently. The downside is that all computers running virtual machines depend on the host computer; if something happens to the host, all virtual machines will immediately crash.
Virtual computing allows end users to run a “system within their system,” providing the ability to use separate operating systems and iterations of a computer at the same time. A virtual computer user could have their primary computer running Windows Vista and a virtual computer running Windows XP at the same time. In a network, other network users can access these virtual machines for their own use. This is where a virtual machine monitor comes into play.
While each virtual machine on the network ostensibly runs on its own, each machine is actually using the same hardware, which is found on the host machine. The virtual machine monitor is the “traffic beacon” that keeps everything on the system running smoothly. It tells each virtual machine when it can access the video card, memory, hard drive, processor, and other hardware components in the system, preventing crashes and other anomalies.
The advantage is that it allows weaker computers to “borrow” the processing power of more powerful computers. By hosting virtual machines on the more powerful computer and allowing weaker computers to access them as if they actually own the more powerful hardware, the overall performance of those weaker machines is boosted. All idle CPU cycles on the most powerful machine can be devoted to running virtual computers, maximizing the efficiency of that powerful hardware.
This is a tenuous fix, however, as it is related to the health of your computer network. If the network fails, any virtual machines used by computers other than the host PC will become inactive, as they will no longer be connected to the virtual machine monitor. Excessive reliance on this solution can therefore lead to long periods of downtime if the network is prone to reliability issues.
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