#Virtual meaning update#
#Virtual meaning driver#
#Virtual meaning download#

With a VA, users have to manage a single solution instead of multiple applications, OS and server hardware. They can also distribute VAs online.įor customers, a VA reduces the cost of owning, operating and managing the software.Įasier IT management. This is achieved by reducing the need for hardware testing and decreasing the number of platforms that need to be supported.įor vendors, VAs are a cheaper alternative to hardware appliances because they don't have to manage inventory or support hardware components. For developers and appliance vendors, virtual appliances help lower development and distribution costs. Reduced costs for developers, vendors and customers. Virtual appliances deliver numerous benefits for developers, vendors and customers, including: Finally, because the application and OS are pretested, it's less likely that errors will be encountered when running the software. It also minimizes the risk of configuration errors. It simplifies deployment and saves time because it eliminates the need to manually configure different components, such as its VM and OS. While a VM offers significant advantages over physical machines, it can be operated only when the virtual hardware, guest OS and guest application are fully configured.Ī VA, however, is a ' turnkey' solution that's delivered to users in a preconfigured format. They are also helpful in grid computing, where they can solve problems introduced by heterogeneous hardware and operating systems, and in the SaaS delivery model, where the simplicity of the virtual appliance can help improve economies of scale. Virtual appliances have proved useful for deploying network applications. Resources required for maintenance are also reduced.

#Virtual meaning download#

Users can simply download a single file and run the application.

#Virtual meaning driver#

This makes it possible to package, maintain and manage multiple VMs as a single unit.ĭeploying an application as a VA can eliminate problems with installation and configuration, such as software or driver compatibility issues. How a virtual appliance is deployedĪ VA can be deployed as a VM or a subset of a VM running atop virtualization technology, such as VMware vSphere.

open virtual appliance, which allows to customers to make modifications.ĭevelopers can include a web interface to allow customers to make custom configurations, or to deliver patches and updates for the VA.

closed virtual appliance, which is always packaged, distributed, maintained, updated and managed as a unit and.

There are two types of virtual appliances: The difference between a virtual and physical server VAs are also useful for quickly provisioning OSes and applications in the platform as a service ( PaaS) model. Virtual appliances play a major role in cloud computing and cloud-based software as a service ( SaaS) because they support the model's key USP: the delivery of software remotely through a user's web browser.

#Virtual meaning update#

OVF is also beneficial for customers because it allows them to deploy, manage and update complex solutions easily. Because this format is vendor-independent, the appliance can be easily packaged and distributed in a single-file format. VAs usually come in the Open Virtualization Format ( OVF). This type of specialized OS is known as a 'just enough operating system' ( JeOS). Its purpose is to simplify the delivery and operation of an application, so only the OS components required to support the application's functions are included.

Simply put, it is a software appliance installed on a virtual machine.Ī VA does not require locally installed hardware and can be remotely accessed by users. Thus, it is an application and its OS packaged together for use in a virtualized environment.

Virtual appliance explainedĪ virtual appliance is a subset of the broader class of software applications. When a software appliance is installed on a virtual machine ( VM), it creates a virtual appliance, which is nothing but a VM image file. It contains an operating system ( OS) and a customized application to perform a fixed set of functions. Considered a software equivalent of a hardware device, a virtual appliance (VA) is a preconfigured software solution.