While they're taking different technical approaches to the challenge, both Intel and AMD are betting that virtualization can add benefits and capabilities lacking in today's PCs -- and that small-business IT managers, administrators of relatively low-end servers and corporate workstations, and even home PC users will eventually want to take advantage of what's so far been mostly a Unix server perk.
One reason is that virtualization allows one PC to run multiple kernels. Some applications, such as low-level diagnostics, require a bare machine interface to do their thing; with virtualization, such tasks become eligible for multitasking. Additionally, a driver upgrade or other activity that might disrupt or even reboot the OS can take place in one virtual machine, while a user continues working with another.Virtualization can assist in testing -- virtual machines can "fool" applications into detecting a hardware configuration that isn't actually present, or create a simulated computer network within a single machine -- as well as system backup and migration. Game developers might use virtualization to create multiple environments in which to test their code. Enterprises might use it to create virtual machines for old legacy applications.
The technology also can help in consolidating servers, whether they're in big enterprises or small offices. "A lot of organizations are looking at consolidating Web infrastructure, like domain controllers -- DHCP [and] DNS servers," Auster says. "A lot of these are very low-utilization [or frequently idle] servers, and they want the ability to consolidate those on a single box."
There's also an important draw for the security-conscious: Untested programs can be run securely in a protected, isolated environment. In theory, at least, users could create additional environments as needed -- for instance, launching a newly downloaded package with no risk to the rest of the system should it prove to contain a virus.
Remote workers or telecommuters could use the technology to run two virtual machines -- one optimized and safeguarded for work, and another for home and personal use -- on the same hardware. Similarly, an office could set up a secure virtual machine with limited access to sensitive data for a temporary contract worker, to be deleted after the employee leaves. Or a home-office entrepreneur might just want to keep personal files in a separate virtual machine.
"A small business doesn't have a 500-person IT organization to clean up the mess when you get a virus or you break an application ... so one of the interesting small-business-specific use models is hosting multiple environments," says Patrick Bohart, marketing manager for Intel's Virtualization Technology.
"A user [may want] to do Web mail or browsing or online gaming that's reserved for the consumer space, but that when brought into the small business space causes a lot of problems -- viruses, trojans, and so on. But that can be done [safely] through virtualization, which can divide [a PC into] a place where you can do work and a place where you can do personal activities."
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