When working with VMs during a recovery, it's important to make sure we're all speaking the same language. Here's a list of terms you may hear while working with our support team.
Virtual Machine (VM):
- A virtualized instance of a computer system, essential for rapid deployment in disaster recovery situations.
Hypervisor:
- Software facilitating VM creation and management. This can be Hyper-V, VMWare, or VirtualBox.
- The physical machine running the hypervisor software.
Guest:
- Another name for a virtual machine.
Host OS:
- The underlying operating system on physical hardware supporting restored VMs, typically Windows (Hyper-V or VirtualBox) or ESXi (for VMWare).
Snapshot:
- A point-in-time copy of a VM's state, invaluable for reverting to a stable configuration if issues arise during restoration. If a stable snapshot is available, it is often a faster path to recovery than a full restore.
Virtual Disk:
- Storage containing VM data and configurations, serving as the foundation for recovered systems. These are stored as .vhd, .vhdx, or .vmdk files typically, depending on the hypervisor.
Thin Provisioning:
- A thin provisioned virtual disk expands to fill the space allotted to it on the physical disk. The file this virtual disk is stored in will only take up as much space on the physical disk as that virtual disk is actually using.
Thick Provisioning:
- A thick provisioned virtual disk is created at the full size allotted to it. The file this virtual disk is stored in will take up the full size of the virtual disk on the physical disk, regardless of how much the virtual disk is actually using.
Virtual Networking:
- Infrastructure enabling communication between VMs and external networks, facilitating connectivity in restored environments.
Guest Additions/Tools:
- Software enhancing VM performance and integration with the host environment. This can include the ability to copy/paste into a VM or other quality of life features, but isn't typically necessary.
Cloning:
- Replication of VMs for quick deployment. This is done through the hypervisor directly and is not supported by Servosity.
Migration:
- The process of moving a VM between physical hosts. This is done through the hypervisor directly and is not supported by Servosity.