Disadvantages of Virtualization and VHDs

There are, however, some disadvantages to virtualization:

• Some apps require a dedicated PC-Some applications still require dedicated physical resources. Take, for example, a rendering machine for a small graphics shop. Rendering is a process where processing time is highly dependent on the amount of available RAM and CPU. So although you can create multiple virtual rendering servers, they're still working from the same pool of available resources, meaning that there's no net benefit-and in fact, virtualization would be a bad idea because each virtual server consumes some of those resources as well, leaving fewer resources for the actual work at hand.
• Licensing fees-Watch out for licensing fees. IT professionals call this "license creep." If you let the number of virtual servers get out of hand, you may find that you're paying a lot more money than you should in licensing fees. So pay attention to how your software licenses are structured.
• Better for server processes than desktops-Be aware that virtualization is really most useful when dealing with server processes; it can be less useful for dedicated desktops.

Virtualization and VHDs in Action

Following are a few real-world examples of people we know who use virtualization, to illustrate why it might be useful-and where it stops being such a great idea.

As you will see, virtualization is not for everyone, or for every situation. In many home situations, virtualization doesn't provide much benefit, even while it adds to the complexity of your system. If, however, you are a power user who needs the equivalent of several systems to do all your work, you might find that virtualization has some significant benefits. Office users also might benefit from virtualization, both in terms of enhanced system security and for the ease with which the system environment can be deployed.