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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

Cloud Storage Tiers
Different storage classes offered by cloud providers, optimized for varying access patterns from frequent to archival use.
Kubernetes Service
An abstraction that provides a stable network endpoint for accessing a group of Pods, handling load balancing and service discovery.
Hybrid Cloud
A computing environment that combines on-premises infrastructure with public cloud services, allowing data and applications to move between them.
Cloud Load Balancer
A managed service that distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers to ensure high availability and optimal resource utilization.
SLA (Service Level Agreement)
A formal agreement between a service provider and customer defining guaranteed levels of service availability and performance.
Cloud IAM
Identity and Access Management services that control who can access cloud resources and what actions they can perform.
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