You can make use of virtualization in your on-site data-centers, but if you’re using Azure you’ll definitely be relying on virtual machines to one extent or another. To create virtual servers on physical servers, you use software that sets up divisions between each virtual machine (VM) and allows them all to operate independently. This adds a layer of abstraction between information and the physical infrastructure that hosts it. This in turn gives you more flexibility on how you can manage and protect the various elements of your computing environment.
The main advantages of virtualization on Azure are:
Efficiency
Some applications may require relatively little processing power to run. By virtualizing your servers, you make it possible to devote an entire VM to each application. And by hosting multiple smaller servers on one large physical server you can significantly reduce overall energy costs. However, the VMs are not restricted to their physical servers, if you need more power to run them it’s really easy to pull in other machines to host them.
Resilience
With Azure, each of your VMs is ready to go on more than one actual machine. That means built-in redundancy if something goes wrong with an application. If your VM picks up a virus or some malware, it can simply be shut down without disrupting the operation of your application. And of course there’s also the assurance that if some type of natural disaster occurs the data center running your applications is secure
Testing
It’s much easier to set up a VM than it is to purchase and provision a physical server. And you can never be sure running a new application won’t affect existing applications running on the same machine. So developers often use VMs to build and test applications. This allows you to isolate them while still avoiding much of the costs of a new server.
Migration and Running Upgrades
With VMs, you can keep your entire system up and running while you develop or update new applications. You could in principle move your entire environment into Azure while you replaced the whole thing and still have little or no downtime. You can even send a VM to a client or an employee in a distant location so they can have the boosted processing power they need.
For more information on how you can provision Windows and Linux applications in minutes. Read more.