Digital processing has made many advances in the past few years and creating a virtual system to store, send, and receive data has become a pivotal part of most modern networks. Simply put, the world is now a lot more at ease with the use of computers to help through daily tasks. However, the virtualization era is still a bit of a grey area for most so we’re here to help you understand certain aspects a bit more – starting with the host operating system and what it is.
A computer network is made up of two basic parts – the software and the hardware. The hardware includes physical features such as the motherboard, the graphics card, the Central Processing Unit (CPU), and more. The software of a computer includes the programs that give the computer instructions on how to function, this includes the device’s operating system – or OS. An operating system is a foundational software that manages the computer’s resources and, more importantly, allows you to communicate with the device’s software and hardware. Examples of different OS include Windows, Linux, and Android.
What Is a Host Operation System?
A host operating system is the primary operating system on a computer system's hard drive. When considering a host OS, we must understand that this term is only used when talking about a virtualized server. Virtualization is the process of making your server virtual. It is only possible by using a virtual software barrier called the hypervisor. Hypervisor partitions the physical hardware from the virtual software. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines a host OS as the operating system that the hypervisor runs on top of in a hosted virtualization solution.
Virtualization creates multiple virtual operating systems that are known as “guest operating systems” that can function as a portioned system component or a virtual machine part.
What Is a Guest Operating System?
A guest operating system is software installed within a virtual machine system. Using a guest operating system allows you to run programs and applications that the host operating system might not be compatible with.
Host Operating Systems vs Guest Operating Systems
While both host operating systems and guest operating use the same resources, they function independently from one another. Guest operating systems differ from the host operating system in several ways:
- The host operating system is software installed on a computer system that communicates with the underlying hardware. While a guest OS is software that is installed in a virtual machine.
- The host operating system executes directly on the hardware while a guest operating system executes on a virtual machine.
- The host operating system can exist in isolation yet the guest operating system can be singular or multiple.
Host operating systems use container-based virtualization to divide applications within a server. Simply put, the host OS is the main environment in which a guest operating system may be run.
Sangfor’s Host Operating System Solutions
Hyperconvergence is a strategic framework that combines storage, computing, and networking into a single system – reducing data center complexity and improving scalability.
The Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) has been recognized by Gartner as a server virtualization platform of choice. It is an innovative 3rd generation platform that converges computing, storage, networking, and security into a single software stack. It provides a simplified 1-stop software-defined data center solution that is tailored to business-critical applications. The platform also provides extensive backup capabilities and data protection.
Additionally, Sangfor’s Cloud Platform is a reliable and seamless automated cloud computing service that reduces the complexity of cloud data center construction and management through standardized and process-oriented functioning.
The Sangfor aDesk Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) uses self-developed transmission protocols and GPU technology in collaboration with Nvidia to guarantee a seamless desktop experience and boost user productivity. Its end-to-end security effectively protects your data from external cyber-attacks, internal data leakage, and data loss caused by disk errors. The virtual desktop platform enables you to work from anywhere in a secure digital environment.
Sangfor prides itself on creating products and platforms that engage our clients and stretch to meet their growing needs. Make Sangfor Technologies your partner of choice when seeking out reliable, affordable, and effective cyber solutions.
For more information on Sangfor’s cyber security and cloud computing solutions, visit www.sangfor.com.
