The world of computing is constantly evolving. New technologies emerge all the time that promise to revolutionize the way we work and play. VMware was a pioneering force in turning virtualization, the ability to abstract computer hardware into software-based virtual resources, into a mainstream enterprise technology. They demonstrated its power when combined with commodity hardware. At the same time, many tried-and-true computing concepts have stood the test of time, retaining their usefulness despite waves of innovation. Virtual machines (VMs), software emulations of an entire computer system, and traditional computer hardware are two realms of computing that may seem diametrically opposed but actually have a fascinating and symbiotic relationship. In this post, we’ll explore the intersection of these old and new technologies and how they complement each other in modern computing environments.
A Brief History of Virtual Machines
The virtual machine (VM) is a decades-old concept that allows users to run an emulation of a complete computer system within the memory space of a physical “host” machine. The VM runs its own operating system and applications as if it were a stand-alone computer. But under the hood, it relies on the host’s processors, memory, storage, and other hardware resources to function. This emulation is managed by a hypervisor, virtualization software that controls and provides access to the underlying physical resources.
VMs first emerged in the 1960s as a way for programmers to develop software on mainframe computers. But interest declined as personal computers took hold. In the late 90s, VMware radically changed the trajectory of virtualization by making it possible to efficiently run multiple virtual OS instances on commodity x86 servers, using their ESXi hypervisor to manage the VMs. Their innovative products demonstrated the performance and cost benefits of consolidating workloads onto shared hardware. This drove a resurgence of virtualization to maximize server utilization in the enterprise.
Today, VMs underpin many fundamental computing technologies we take for granted, like Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud platforms that provide on-demand virtualized resources over the internet. Containers like Docker also leverage VMs to create isolated environments for applications. And VMware’s vSphere product remains the market-leading virtualization platform in data centers today. The VM has become a crucial building block of modern computing infrastructure despite being decades old.
VMs Still Rely on Physical Hardware
Despite powering cutting-edge technologies, virtual machines cannot exist without physical hardware underneath. The physical host machine supplies critical resources like CPU, memory, storage, and networking capacity that the VM layers on top of.
In fact, advances in hardware directly enable the capabilities of VMs. For example, multi-core processors allow a single host to drive multiple VMs simultaneously. Large memory configurations support oversubscription of RAM across many VMs. High-bandwidth networks keep VMs connected even when workloads shift between physical hosts.
So while VMs provide abstraction and flexibility, their performance and scalability still depend on underlying hardware. Computing-intensive workloads like machine learning training are only possible on VMs backed by servers with the latest high-end CPUs and GPUs. And hardware determines the density of VMs – how many can run per host based on available resources.
Diverse Industries Adopting Virtualization
Virtualization is seeing massive adoption across industries using both legacy and modern hardware environments. Telecommunication companies are utilizing network function virtualization (NFV) to deliver services like load balancing and encryption via virtual network functions rather than specialized hardware appliances.
Healthcare organizations are rolling out virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to enable secure access to sensitive medical records across devices by hosting virtual desktop environments on servers. Automakers leverage virtualization to consolidate in-vehicle systems and reduce costs. The examples are endless.
Hardware Optimized for Virtualization
The deep interdependency between virtualization and hardware has led to innovations specifically for accelerating VMs.
Intel and AMD now offer CPUs with hardware extensions for visualization, like AMD-V and Intel VT-x. These extensions reduce the performance overhead that VMs incur over native hardware by streamlining memory virtualization and other tasks.
GPU vendors like NVIDIA also offer virtual GPU (vGPU) technology to share and virtualize physical GPU hardware across multiple VMs, especially useful for graphics or compute-intensive workloads.
Additionally, converged infrastructure (CI) solutions like VMware’s vSphere and vSAN integrate server, storage, and network hardware into pre-configured blocks purpose-built for running virtualized workloads efficiently at scale.
The Outlook for Future Convergence
Looking forward, VMware will continue shaping the space by bridging virtualization software and hardware advancements. For example, their Project Monterey initiative aims to optimize vSphere for next-gen platforms like SmartNICs and CPUs with built-in acceleration.
At the same time, challenges remain around performance, security, and migration between physical and virtual environments. Overall, virtualization will push hardware manufacturers to innovate while commodity infrastructure steadily marches forward. The lines will blur between these old and new corners of computing as they adapt to meet evolving needs. While virtualization provides flexibility, its full potential depends on the continuing progress of the hardware systems it runs on. The future will bring more co-innovation across this ecosystem to empower businesses and users.
Challenges and Criticisms
Of course, VMware’s solutions are not without challenges. As the leader in enterprise virtualization, some argue their licensing models have become complex and costly. Others contend open source alternatives like OpenStack and KVM provide more flexibility.
However, their substantial market share speaks to the capabilities and maturity of their virtualization platform. VMware will need to continue advancing its products and demonstrating value to maintain leadership amid increasing competition. But for now, they remain at the epicenter of blending traditional hardware and virtualization into an enterprise IT mainstay.
The Symbiotic Relationship Endures
In conclusion, virtualization and physical hardware may seem like opposing approaches – one abstract and flexible, the other concrete and rigid. But they enable each other in symbiotic ways that create collective value. Virtualization continually opens up new use cases and workload flexibility. Yet it relies on continued hardware innovation to drive performance higher and support scale. Meanwhile, hardware gains new purpose and efficiency when integrated into virtualized environments.
VMware catalyzed this synergistic intersection by proving the immense power of virtualization paired with commodity x86 servers. Moving forward, these two foundational computing realms will push each other forward. Their integration will quicken as virtualization seeps into all hardware segments and components. This trend promises continuing benefits for businesses that know how to leverage the blend of old and new technology strengths effectively.
Developing Skills for the Future
As virtualization and hardware continue to converge, IT professionals will need to skill up on leveraging these synergies. LearnQuest offers comprehensive VMware training for organizations in the EMEA region seeking to maximize their virtualization infrastructure.
As a VMware training partner, LearnQuest’s course catalog covers key topics like:
- Anywhere Workspace – End-user computing and VDI
- App Modernization – Modern apps and Kubernetes
- Multi-Cloud – VMware hybrid and multi-cloud solutions
- Security – Securing the digital workspace
- Virtual Cloud Network – Network virtualization with NSX
- VMware vSphere – Server virtualization and management
With both online and on-site delivery options, LearnQuest can develop talent equipped to architect, manage and support VMware-based environments. Their hands-on labs and seasoned instructors provide the real-world skills to optimize these platforms.
Organizations investing in the intersection of virtualization, hardware, and the cloud need experts who can unlock their full potential. LearnQuest VMware training delivers the knowledge to operate and innovate for the future.
Browse LearnQuest’s full catalog of VMware training courses today.
