Virtualization lets one physical computer, the host, run one or more virtual machines (VMs), called guests. Each VM behaves like a complete computer with its own virtual CPU, memory, disk and network card, and runs its own operating system. Software called a hypervisor divides the real hardware between them. Because a VM is stored as a set of files, it can be copied, moved to another host, backed up or rolled back far more easily than a physical computer, and several lightly used servers can be consolidated onto one host to save power, space and hardware cost. For A+ you need to know why organizations virtualize, because exam questions usually describe a goal and ask which approach meets it.
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