What is a virtual machine?

A virtual machine is a Windows or Linux machine that runs on and shares computing resources with a physical machine known as a hypervisor. Virtual machines allow the deployment of multiple machines or services on one or several hypervisors to better utilize computing resources (CPU cores, memory, etc.)

SESYNC utilizes virtual machines to deploy services to groups for conducting research. A virtual machine can be adjusted to provide more or less computing resources as needed, which provides a flexible environment to conduct research while ensuring computing resource usage is maximized.