A virtual server is a hosted machine running on a physical host machine using emulation of the host machine's hardware resources. A virtualization application is required for virtualization. A virtualization application makes it possible to run several operating systems simultaneously on a server. For example, you can work in Linux and have Windows or another supported operating system running in another window.
Most common virtualization applications
Microsoft virtual PC, Microsoft virtual server, VMware workstation, VMware server, Parallels Workstation
Setting up a virtual machine – Direct P2V migration conversion using Acronis
Acronis Cyber backup products are primarily intended for creating disk images. However, the Acronis Cyber backup product family also makes it possible to convert these backups directly into a virtual machine. The result of the conversion is a file that you use as the virtual machine's hard drive. With Acronis, you can therefore create a backup of a physical machine within minutes and then convert it into a virtual machine. The virtual machine will then run an exact copy of the physical machine.
Setting up a virtual machine – P2V migration using Acronis bootable media
Again, you must first create a backup of the physical machine using one of the Acronis Cyber Backup products. Insert the Acronis bootable media into the drive and set the virtual machine to boot from the USB/DVD drive. Start the virtual machine and, in the Acronis program that launches, restore the virtual machine using the backup from the physical machine. For this to be possible, the backup must be available to the virtual computer. This means that it should be located, for example, on an external drive, network drive, shared network storage, or removable USB or DVD media. After the restoration, remove the Acronis bootable media from the drive and restart the virtual computer. The virtual machine will then run an exact copy of the physical machine.
Converting a virtual machine to a physical machine – V2P migration using Acronis
To convert a virtual machine to physical hardware, you need one of the Acronis Cyber Backup products + the Universal Restore add-on. The Acronis Universal Restore add-on makes it possible to replace the computer's basic drivers (the so-called HAL layer) when restoring a backup and also allows you to provide custom drivers. This ensures that the machine does not crash after restoration. If restoration were performed without this add-on, the physical machine would use the virtual machine's drivers, which cannot work with actual hardware, and the system would crash before it starts. Using one of the Acronis Cyber Backup products, create a backup of the virtual machine. You can either install the program directly on the virtual computer and create a backup, or boot the virtual computer from Acronis bootable media and create a backup of the virtual machine from that environment. Store the backup so that it is also accessible to the physical machine to which you want to transfer the virtual machine's system. This means that the backup should be stored, for example, on an external drive, network drive, shared network storage, or removable USB or DVD media. Boot the physical machine using Acronis bootable media with the Acronis Universal Restore add-on. Select restoration of the backup created on the virtual computer. Choose to use the Universal Restore add-on and, if necessary, add custom drivers. Perform the restoration. After the restoration, remove the Acronis bootable media from the drive and restart the machine. The physical machine will then run an exact copy of the virtual machine.