The Virtual Armed Forces: US Military Turns to Virtualization

USS Abraham Lincolngoing virtual(click to view full) The US Department of Defense (DoD) and the individual services are turning more and more to virtualization to improve the efficiency and flexibility of their IT networks. This technology allows multiple virtual machines with different operating systems to run side-by-side on the same physical machine. The main benefit is a decrease in needed hardware, space, and power to perform the same IT operations, thus saving money and weight on military IT systems and platforms. At the same time, virtualization raises security concerns because traditional IT security products, such as firewalls, do not work in the virtual environment. * Virtualization: What Does It Mean? * DISA Out in Front * GD’s TVE Project * Navy’s Virtual Strike Force * Air Force Goes Virtual Early * Security Challenges/Benefits * Key Contacts * Additional Reading Virtualization: What Does It Mean? Virtualization meansfewer of these(click to view full) Virtualization is the creation of a virtual version of an operating system, a platform, a storage device, or a network. Its advantages are that it reduces the need for physical hardware and software because the functionality is created virtually. Traditional computer hardware is designed to run on a single […]