Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM)

The Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), also known as a hypervisor, is a crucial component in virtualization technology. It is software that resides between the hardware of a physical machine and multiple operating systems (known as guest operating systems). The primary function of the VMM is to manage and abstract the hardware of the host computer, effectively creating and managing multiple virtual machines.

Each virtual machine believes it is running on its own dedicated hardware, while in fact, they all share the same physical resources. The VMM allocates these resources—such as processor time, memory space, and network bandwidth—to each guest operating system according to its needs, ensuring that the operations of one virtual machine do not interfere with those of another.

The VMM operates at a low level, directly interacting with system hardware and high-level resources. This allows it to perform critical tasks such as:

By providing these capabilities, the VMM enables the consolidation of hardware and increases the efficiency of resource use, which is particularly beneficial in large data centers and cloud computing environments where maximizing the utilization of physical resources is crucial. Additionally, the abstraction provided by the VMM simplifies system management and enhances security, making it a foundational technology in modern IT infrastructure.