Virtual Machines
Virtual Machines (VMs) are software-based emulations of physical computers that run operating systems and applications in an isolated environment on a host machine. They enable multiple virtualized systems to operate concurrently on a single physical hardware platform, managed by a hypervisor that allocates resources like CPU, memory, and storage. This technology is widely used for server consolidation, development testing, and running legacy software.
Developers should learn and use Virtual Machines to create isolated, reproducible environments for testing applications across different operating systems without needing separate physical hardware, which is crucial for cross-platform development and CI/CD pipelines. They are also essential for running legacy systems securely, optimizing resource utilization in cloud computing, and ensuring consistency in deployment scenarios, such as in DevOps practices.