Virtualization is the latest innovation made in the field of IT; it allows users to tie together increasing levels of computer efficiency and performance. The immediate advantage that Virtualization gives you is a cost effective system of connecting two or more computers, running two or more different environments on a single machine. For example, with virtualization, you can have both, a machine that works with Linux and one that works with Windows on one system. On the other hand, you could have a Windows 95 desktop and a Windows XP desktop on one workstation. However the uses and benefits received from virtualization extend way beyond the ones mentioned above, his innovation in technology assures a new and effective wave of hardware and software innovation. Virtualization allows you to reduce system upgrades and in some cases to even terminate the call for such upgrades by letting users to arrest the state of a virtual machine (VM), and then convey that state from an old to a new host system. The greatest advantage received through virtualization would be energy-efficient computing; Processor, memory, and storage that nowadays must be sent in fixed amounts determined by real hardware system configurations will be sent with finer granularity via dynamically tuned VMs, it would also lower the need to build power plants and help conserve the resources of the world. Now, let’s talk money, virtualization can reduce the burden on your pocket dramatically because it cuts down the quantity of servers you have to run, meaning savings on costs of hardware and also on the quantity of energy require to make the hardware work and provide cooling for it. With virtualization the software in the machinery is pre installed, in more technical terms this is referred as virtual appliance; therefore this method eliminates the need for traditional software installation and configuration. Having talked enough about the benefits of virtualization lets take a look at different types of options offered in the market.

• Operating system virtualization (aka containers): Makes self-sufficient representations of fundamental operating system in order to offer applications in remote execution environments. Each self-sufficient environment (container) demonstrates the fundamental operating system version and patch level.
• Hardware emulation: Takes the place of a computer hardware environment in software so that numerous operating systems can be placed on a single computer.
• Para virtualization: A thin software coating that arranges admission from multiple operating systems to underlying hardware.

Lastly this article will inform you about few reliable and well renowned people in the field of virtualization, first of all VMware is one of the oldest and biggest names in this field the experts are hardware emulation virtualization products called VMware Server and ESX Server, next is Xen, they are relatively new in the field but provide excellent paravirtualization solution, Xen comes wrapped with most Linux distributions. Then there is OpenVZ , this is An open source product making available operating system virtualization for Windows and Linux.