A unified view of virtualization

Virtualization technologies have been developed by a number of computer science and engineering disciplines, sometimes independently, often by different groups and at different times. Not surprisingly, these groups each view virtualization as a sub-discipline, so it is studied in a fragmented way. In the future, however, virtualization will become an essential part of all computer systems by providing smart interconnection mechanisms for the three major system components - application software, system software, and hardware. Consequently, the study of virtualization technologies will become a discipline in its own right and will stand on equal footing with the other major areas of computer systems design.