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What is a virtual server?

What is a Virtual Server?

Answers to what’s a virtual server can vary, depending on the use case. Often located in an off-site data center or cloud environment, virtualizing servers involves converting one physical server into multiple virtual machines (VMs). A virtual server is configured so that multiple users can share its processing power. When comparing a physical server versus a virtual server, the virtual server is shown to be an effective way to save on physical hardware costs. It also uses comparatively less energy for additional cost savings and environmental benefits.

Learn more about how virtual servers are readily incorporated in Compute Engine, the cloud-based computing infrastructure.

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Virtual server defined

A virtual server re-creates the functionality of a dedicated physical server. It exists transparently to users as a partitioned space inside a physical server. Virtualizing servers makes it easy to reallocate resources and adapt to dynamic workloads.

Converting one physical server into multiple virtual servers allows organizations to use processing power and resources more efficiently by running multiple operating systems and applications on one partitioned server.

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What is a virtual server used for?

Most organizations use virtual servers to reduce server hardware expenses and lower power and energy costs. Virtual servers play a key role in building applications, tools, or environments.

Remote access

Virtual dedicated servers can be readily configured to support secure access to business-critical data and files via the internet.

Web hosting

Different web services can be configured with virtual server hosting so multiple website owners can use the server as if they had complete control of it.

Software development and testing

Software developers can create, run, and test new software applications on a virtual server without taking processing power away from other users.

Related products and services

Designed to accelerate cloud transformation, Compute Engine, the flexible Google Cloud virtual machines offering, provides computing infrastructure in predefined and customizable machine sizes. For organizations that want to run virtual private servers in Google Cloud, Compute Engine offers multiple virtual machine families to choose from, each suited for specific workloads and applications.

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Compute Engine
Computing infrastructure in predefined or custom machine sizes to accelerate your cloud transformation.
Ex: BigQuery icon
Custom Machine Types
A feature of Compute Engine that lets you create virtual machines with the optimal amount of CPU and memory for your workloads.
Ex: BigQuery icon
Confidential Computing
A feature of Compute Engine that allows you to encrypt your most sensitive data in the cloud while it’s being processed.
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Preemptible Virtual Machines
Affordable compute instances suitable for batch jobs and fault-tolerant workloads.
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Persistent Disk
Reliable, high-performance block storage for virtual machine instances.
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Sole-Tenant Nodes
Dedicated hardware for compliance, licensing, and management to simplify deployment for bring-your-own- license (BYOL) applications.

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Application migration
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SAP on Google Cloud
Maintain business continuity with advanced reliability and performance. Drive agility with VM-based infrastructure and machine learning innovations.

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Microsoft and Windows on Google Cloud
Self-manage or leverage managed services. Use license-included images or bring your own. Modernize with enterprise-class support backed by Microsoft.

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Virtual desktops
Companies today face the challenge of balancing security and IT resources with demands for remote work. Enabling secure and scalable access to corporate resources can help you keep business moving forward.

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High performance computing
High performance computing (HPC) is all about scale and speed. Google Cloud’s flexible and scalable offerings help accelerate time to completion, so you can convert ideas into discoveries and inspirations into products.

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