Server virtualization and desktop virtualization consolidate all the available resources in order to run multiple servers and desktop operating systems on fewer pieces of underlying hardwares. What about cloud computing and user state virtualization? These seem to run on a platform similar to client-server technology but in a bigger or improved scale. I am wondering why they are called virtualization. Isn’t it a hype or a confusing term?
I don’t know about Server virtualization as I have not installed and tried one yet. With desktop virtualization I have found there are some features that wouldn’t work or available on a virtual system as on a regular operating system. I presume the server virtualization would have the same limitations. So virtualization is not everything. It is not something that could simply replace the regular systems so that we can save some resources. There are limitations. Where are all the documentation that would let us find out the difference in terms of features and functions that a virtual system won’t have prior to installation. More often than not I didn’t know the feature was not there until I installed the virtual system and tried to implement the desired feature.