📖 16. Virtual Machines

📖 From Operating System • 317 questions available

About 16. Virtual Machines

A Virtual Machine (VM) is a software-based computer that runs on a physical computer. It acts like a completely separate, real computer with its own CPU, memory, storage, and OS. For example, you could run a Windows virtual machine on a Mac, allowing you to use Windows software without restarting your computer. The software that creates and manages these VMs is called a "hypervisor" (or Virtual Machine Monitor). It sits between the hardware and the VMs, sharing the physical resources among all the running VMs.

The primary benefits of virtual machines are isolation and consolidation. Since each VM is a separate environment, if one VM crashes or gets a virus, the other VMs and the host computer are unaffected. This is great for security and testing. Consolidation means you can run multiple servers on a single physical machine, saving money on hardware and energy. By abstracting the physical hardware, virtual machines provide a great deal of flexibility, making it easy to create, save, and move entire computer environments.

Practice MCQs for 16. Virtual Machines. Test your knowledge with carefully crafted questions across easy, medium, and hard difficulty levels.

🔄 Last updated: 2026-08-08