What is a primary purpose of virtualization technology?

The primary purpose of virtualization technology is to run multiple systems on one physical machine. This is achieved by creating virtual instances or environments that emulate separate physical computers. Each virtual machine operates independently with its own operating system, applications, and resources, allowing for greater efficiency and utilization of the underlying hardware.

This capability enables organizations to minimize hardware costs, reduce energy consumption, and streamline IT management. Virtualization facilitates testing and development, as well as easier deployment and scaling of applications. It also enhances disaster recovery processes, as virtual machines can be backed up and restored more easily than physical systems.

The other options, while related to aspects of virtualization, do not encapsulate its core benefit. For example, replicating physical machines entirely might be a feature in certain contexts, but it doesn't reflect the broader capability of enabling multiple systems to run concurrently on a single physical host. Similarly, while virtualization can aid in efficient data storage, it does not inherently provide unlimited storage capacity or focus specifically on volume efficiency. The essence of virtualization lies in its ability to optimize resource usage by allowing multiple operating environments to coexist on a single hardware platform.