From the standpoint of applications and virtual machine users, each virtual machine (VM) is an independent system with an independent set of virtual hardware. This independence is provided by the OpenVZ hardware virtualization layer. The main features of the virtualization layer are the following:
- A virtual machine resembles and works like a regular computer. It has its own virtual hardware. Software applications can run in virtual machines without any modifications or adjustment.
- Virtual machine configuration can be changed easily (e.g., adding new virtual disks or increasing RAM).
- Virtual machines are fully isolated from each other (file system, processes, sysctl variables) and the OpenVZ host.
- A virtual machine can run any supported guest operating system. The guest OS and its applications are isolated inside a virtual machine and share physical hardware resources with other virtual machines.
