In modern computing, the term "virtual machine" is often used as a catch-all phrase to describe any simulated, emulated, or virtualized computing environment. For example, those who run multiple, independent operating systems on a single machine often use a virtual machine to achieve this. However, there are two primary types of virtual machines that are commonly used today. Although the two share a lot of similarities, especially in terms of technical functionality, they are actually quite different.

System Virtual Machine
Arguably the more well-known of the two VM types, the system virtual machine serves as a complete substitute for a physical computer. In most cases, a hypervisor is utilized to share and manage hardware between two or more operating systems that exist on the same machine. While the hardware appears and acts as if it is a native device that is only connected to that (virtual) machine, it might actually support numerous different virtualizations.

Process Virtual Machine
Often known as an application virtual machine or a Managed Runtime Environment (MRE), a process VM operates from within its host operating system. As such, it only supports a single process. In this case, the process VM itself is only created when the process is started. Likewise, the process VM is deleted as soon as the process is complete.

Other Types of Virtualization
The above descriptions cover hardware virtualization and software virtualization, respectively. However, there are some other types of virtualization that are commonly used today - particularly in large-scale data centers.

• Storage virtualization: In some instances, multiple storage devices are virtualized to take on the appearance of a single storage repository.
• Network virtualization: Sub-networks that exist on the same physical network can be combined into a virtualized network.
• Desktop virtualization: This type of virtualization stores a user's desktop environment on a remote server, thus enabling the user to access their desktop from nearly any device.

Benefits of Virtual Machine
Whether you're using process VMs or system VMs, there are a plethora of benefits across the board. The primary benefits include:

• Cost: The cost of running a virtual computing environment is far less than that of a full-scale machine and operating system. For those that need to utilize multiple operating systems on the same hardware, VMs are often the only viable solution.
• Scalability: New VMs and virtual servers are easily added as your workload increases. Not only is this more affordable when done through virtualization, but it's easier and faster, too.
• Security: In some scenarios, VMs are more secure than their physical counterparts. Some VMs are even used to study and test computer viruses, as they can do so in an isolated environment that doesn't affect the rest of their system.
• USB 3.2 Gen 2: 10 Gbps

Using Virtual Machines to Your Advantage
Virtual machines can be a tremendous advantage - as long as they're used efficiently and effectively. They're simple to setup and easy to use, and they're a great option when you need to scale your operations while sticking to a tight budget. While many macOS users also utilize the USB port for external storage, macOS also includes a Thunderbolt port that can be used to connect external hard drives and other devices. The Thunderbolt port is also available in different standards, each of which features a greater data transfer speed than before.