A virtual machine can support individual processes or a complete system depending on the abstraction level where virtualization occurs. Some VMs support flexible hardware usage and software isolation, while others translate from one instruction set to another.
Index Terms:
virtualization technology, virtual machines, disk storage, computer architectures, VM taxonomy, software systems
Citation:
James E. Smith, Ravi Nair, "The Architecture of Virtual Machines," Computer, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 32-38, May 2005, doi:10.1109/MC.2005.173