Virtualization

Virtualization is the process of creating virtual versions of physical computing resources, such as servers, operating systems, storage devices, or network components. By abstracting hardware functionality, virtualization enables multiple independent environments—called virtual machines (VMs) or containers—to operate simultaneously on a single physical system.

This technology plays a fundamental role in modern cloud infrastructure, Web hosting, and data center efficiency. It allows system administrators and hosting providers to maximize hardware utilization, improve scalability, and enhance system resilience. At its core, virtualization decouples the software environment from the underlying hardware.

Types of Virtualization

There are several categories of virtualization, but in the context of VPS hosting and cloud infrastructure, two are most prevalent:

Hardware virtualization (also known as Full virtualization): This method uses a Hypervisor—software that emulates physical hardware—to run multiple operating systems independently on the same physical host. Each VM includes its own virtualized hardware (CPU, memory, storage, etc.) and kernel. Hypervisors can be: ** Type 1 (bare-metal): Runs directly on the host hardware (e.g., KVM, Xen, VMware ESXi). ** Type 2 (hosted): Runs within an existing OS (e.g., VirtualBox, VMware Workstation).

Operating-system-level virtualization: Also known as Containerization, this approach virtualizes the OS rather than hardware. Multiple isolated user spaces (containers) share the host OS kernel. It is more lightweight and efficient than full virtualization but requires the same base OS. Examples include LXC, Docker, and OpenVZ.

Benefits of Virtualization

Resource efficiency: Enables full utilization of powerful physical hardware by running multiple workloads concurrently.

Scalability: Environments can be scaled up or down rapidly based on demand.

Isolation: Each VM or container is logically separated, improving security and reliability.

Portability: Virtual machines and containers can be moved between hosts, facilitating failover and redundancy.

Snapshotting and rollback: Many virtualization platforms allow administrators to save VM states and restore them as needed.

Cost reduction: Reduces the need for dedicated hardware per workload.

Virtualization at Pulsed Media

At Pulsed Media, virtualization is central to our hosting services. We use KVM-based full virtualization to deliver flexible and highly customizable VPS environments capable of running virtually any operating system, including custom Linux distributions and Microsoft Windows.

We also utilize LXC containers for customers who need lightweight, resource-efficient Linux environments, ideal for web services, development stacks, and containerized apps. Our hybrid infrastructure, powered by platforms like Proxmox VE, provides performance, flexibility, and ease of use for users ranging from hobbyists to developers and businesses.

By leveraging both full and OS-level virtualization, Pulsed Media ensures high-performance, secure, and cost-effective solutions for a wide variety of hosting needs.