Live Migration
Live migration is a virtualization technique that allows a running virtual machine (VM) or container to be moved from one physical host to another without any noticeable downtime or service interruption. It works by transferring the VM's memory, CPU state, and storage resources while the VM continues to operate, ensuring seamless continuity for applications and users. This is commonly used in cloud computing, data centers, and high-availability environments to enable maintenance, load balancing, and disaster recovery.
Developers should learn about live migration when working with virtualized or cloud-based infrastructures, as it enables zero-downtime maintenance, efficient resource management, and improved fault tolerance. It is particularly useful in scenarios like hardware upgrades, server consolidation, or balancing workloads across hosts in a cluster, ensuring applications remain available and performant. Understanding live migration helps in designing resilient systems and leveraging features in platforms like VMware, Hyper-V, or Kubernetes.