How does virtualization software work?

Question

Hi,

I wonder how virtualization software such as VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation works? How can they create a virtual environment that is taken as a separate computer by operating systems? I'm almost sure the answer to this question is very deep, but I'd be well satisfied with basic theory =)

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

How does VMWare work: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1624080,00.asp

How does virtualizaton work: http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/tmcnet/how-does-virtualization-work-and-why-is-now-a-good-time-to-check-it-o.asp

Server Virtualization FAQ http://www.itmanagement.com/faq/server-virtualization/

Answer 2

I don't know if it belongs here either, but there are a number of articles on Wikipedia that give a great overview.