What Is AMD Virtualization (AMD-V)?

Do you know what the best vacations are when you're on a beach, with a book in hand, and the sun is shining? That's how AMD-V is going to make your life. AMD virtualization (AMD-V) is a technology that makes it easier for your computer to run multiple operating systems at once or create virtual machines. That's right: now you can have your beach house AND work on your novel simultaneously without hassle. The Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) performs several functions by running software emulation; AMD-V technology eliminates those functions by providing enhanced processor instructions. AMD virtualization technology uses hardware to do the virtual machine managers' jobs via software by incorporating virtualization extensions in a processor's instruction set. Imagine a world where you can run multiple operating systems simultaneously on one machine. It sounds like magic, but it's something called a hypervisor. Hypervisors are software that acts as an interface between your computer and AMD's physical hardware. AMD's hypervisors allow multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on one CPU, so you can run Windows 7 and XP simultaneously without rebooting your computer every time you switch between them! Virtualization is like a party with your favorite people but in a new place with new rules. You're still at the same party, on a different floor or in a separate apartment building. So, you can still see everyone and talk to everyone. But you've got to go through some software to do it instead of just walking over and saying what's up? The software lets everyone know where they are and gives them access to their friends, but it also limits them in some ways. That's what hardware virtualization is like: You've got your friends in their new house, but they have more power than before they moved, so now you can throw more parties at once or invite more people over!