By Rivka Gewirtz Little, Senior Site Editor

What is I/O virtualization?

Like all forms of virtualization, I/O virtualization (IOV) allows enterprises to consolidate physical resources by creating virtual instances of a technology. In this case, I/O (input/output) resources are virtualized and shared among a pool of virtual and physical servers and storage components. I/O involves all of the components that enable high-speed data transfer among storage, data center servers and the rest of the network, including network interface cards (NICs), host bus adapters (HBAs) and CPU. With I/O virtualization, enterprises can increase the utilization rate of I/O by assigning virtualized resources on-demand, and they can decrease space and power consumption by using fewer physical components.