Virtual Machine and Cloud Computing are two different technologies that are often used synonymously. Although the two have their similarities, there is a clear difference between Virtualization and Cloud Computing.

This blog gives an overview and the key difference between Virtualization and Cloud Computing.

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization is a technology that enables you to create multiple simulated environments from a single physical hardware system. This single hardware system known as a hypervisor separates the resources like application and desktop from the hardware and delivers these resources to separate, distinct, and secure environments known as virtual machines.

A hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine manager (VMM) is virtualization software that assists cloud hosting… continue reading

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing refers to an IT environment that enables the delivery of computing services such as servers, storage, database, networking, and software across networks. Cloud infrastructure essentially is an off-premise technology that may include virtualization or containers that can be combined to share resources.

Some common forms of cloud computing include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Desktop as a Service (DaaS).

Virtualization vs Cloud Computing

	Virtualization	Cloud Computing
Definition	Virtualization makes use of single physical hardware to create multiple simulated environments.	Cloud Computing is an off-premise infrastructure that offers a pool of resources accessible on demand.
Types	Virtualization is of 6 types: Server Virtualization, Storage Virtualization, Network Virtualization, Application Virtualization, Data Virtualization, and Desktop Virtualization.	Cloud Computing is of two types: Public Cloud and Private Cloud
Cost	The cost of operation is low in the case of Virtualization.	The cost of operations is higher in cloud computing, as compared to virtualization.
Pricing	Pricing depends on the Cost of Infrastructure.	Pricing is based on a pay-as-you-go model.
Set-up	Setting up a Virtual Machine is easier, as compared to cloud computing.	The cloud computing setup process is complex and tedious.
Configuration	Configuration in virtualization is template based.	Configuration in cloud computing is image-based.
Hardware requirement	Virtualization can be done with a single dedicated hardware.	Cloud computing requires multiple dedicated hardware.
Scalability	Low Scalability	High Scalability
Flexibility	Low Flexibility	High Flexibility
Tenancy	Single Tenant	Multiple Tenant

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