Part of the Virtualization glossary:

A virtual address is a binary number in virtual memory that enables a process to use a location in primary storage (main memory) independently of other processes and to use more space than actually exists in primary storage by temporarily relegating some contents to a hard disk or internal flash drive.

Next Steps

In a computer that incorporates memory management, the virtual address differs from the physical address, which is the data location on an address bus that corresponds to a particular cell of primary storage or to a particular register in a memory-mapped I/O (input/output) device.

In a computer with both physical and virtual memory, a so-called MMU (memory management unit) coordinates and controls all of the memory resources, assigning portions called blocks to various running programs to optimize system performance. By translating between virtual addresses and physical addresses, the MMU allows every running process to "think" that it has all the primary storage to itself.

This was last updated in September 2012
Contributor(s): Stan Gibilisco
Posted by: Margaret Rouse

Related Terms

Definitions

  • virtual server backup

    - Virtual server backup is the copying of data stored on a virtual server to guard against data loss. (SearchDataBackup.com)

  • virtual NAS

    - Virtual NAS is a virtual machine (VM) that acts as a file server for network-attached storage (NAS). In this context, NAS is a dedicated medium with a unique address that provides data storage serv... (WhatIs.com)

  • VMware VirtualCenter

    - VMware VirtualCenter is a software suite designed to centralize the management of virtualized IT environments... (Continued) (SearchVMware.com)

Glossaries

  • Virtualization

    - Terms related to virtualization, including definitions about virtualization technologies and words and phrases about server virtualization, desktop virtualization and storage virtualization.

  • Storage management

    - Terms related to data storage management, including definitions about enterprise storage and words and phrases about storage infrastructure, storage capacity and hierarchical storage management (HSM).

  • Software management

    - Terms related to software management, including definitions about licensing and words and phrases about software lifecycle management and software asset management.

Dig Deeper

Continue Reading About virtual address

Fast References

People Who Read This Also Read...

Ask a Question. Find an Answer.Powered by ITKnowledgeExchange.com

Ask An IT Question

Get answers from your peers on your most technical challenges

Ask Question

Tech TalkComment

Share
Comments

    Results

    Contribute to the conversation

    All fields are required. Comments will appear at the bottom of the article.