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Cloud Computing Beginner

What is Virtual Machine (VM)?

A software-based emulation of a physical computer that runs its own operating system and applications.

Virtual machines run on a hypervisor that abstracts physical hardware, allowing multiple VMs to share a single physical server. Each VM has its own OS, CPU allocation, memory, and disk, providing complete isolation.

VMs are heavier than containers (full OS per VM) but provide stronger isolation. Popular hypervisors include VMware ESXi, KVM (Linux), and Hyper-V (Microsoft). Cloud VMs include EC2 (AWS), Azure VMs, and Compute Engine (GCP).

Related Terms

Serverless Computing
A cloud execution model where the provider manages servers and dynamically allocates resources, charging only for actual usage.
Cloud IAM
Identity and Access Management services that control who can access cloud resources and what actions they can perform.
Hybrid Cloud
A computing environment that combines on-premises infrastructure with public cloud services, allowing data and applications to move between them.
Cloud Function
A serverless compute service that runs code in response to events without requiring server management or infrastructure provisioning.
Cloud Storage Tiers
Different storage classes offered by cloud providers, optimized for varying access patterns from frequent to archival use.
IAM (Identity and Access Management)
A framework for managing digital identities and controlling who can access which cloud resources and services.
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