What is KVM?
KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a Linux virtualization technology that allows the creation of high-performance virtual machines with enhanced security and automatic resource scaling.
KVM (short for Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a virtualization technology based on the Linux kernel functioning as a hypervisor, which provides the capability to create and manage virtual machines with different operating systems.
The created virtual machines offer typical functions of physical systems, including virtual BIOS, as well as virtual hardware represented by processor (CPU), memory (RAM), storage, network cards, etc., thus completely simulating a physical process.
The technology is used for isolating, developing, and testing applications in different environments. However, we will find it very frequently in web hosting companies, within VPS (virtual private server) packages.
Unlike virtualization performed at the operating system level (OpenVZ - level 2 hypervisor), KVM (even though it is also a level 2 hypervisor, works as a level 1 hypervisor) will provide an experience very close to that of a physical server.
Here are some of the advantages of using KVM virtualization:
- high performance in data processing;
- automatic scaling of resources to respond to heavy loads, once the number of virtual machines on a device increases;
- enhanced security due to direct implementation of KVM in the Linux kernel source code;
- full access to the equipment.