Outline two benefits and two limitations of a virtual machine. Benefit 1 Benefit 2 Limitation 1 Limitation 2

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] One mark per mark point for up to two benefits (Max 2)
2. [4] MP1 COMPATIBILTY e.g. Applications that aren't compatible with the host computer can be run on the virtual machine // It is possible to emulate old software on a new system by running a compatible guest operating system as a virtual machine // Software can be tried on different OS on the same hardware.
3. [4] MP2 PROTECTION e.g. The guest operating system has no effect on anything outside the virtual machine other virtual machines or the host computer//Virtual machines are useful for testing as they will not crash the host computer if something goes wrong // Easier to recover if software causes a system crash as virtual machine software protects the host system.
4. [4] MP3 COST e.g. No need to buy extra computers / hardware as multiple virtual machines can be implemented on the same hardware.
5. [4] One mark per mark point for up to two limitations (Max 2)
6. [4] MP4 PERFORMANCE e.g. The performance of the guest operating system will not be as good on a virtual machine as it would be on its own compatible machine because of the extra code / using more RAM/memory space // The performance of the VM is dependent on the capabilities of the host computer // Response times cannot be accurately measured using a virtual machine.
7. [4] MP5 COMPLEXITY e.g. Building an in-house virtual machine can be expensive, time consuming and complex to maintain / set-up.
8. [4] MP6 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE ISSUES e.g. Some hardware/software can't be emulated with a virtual machine // Some of the host machine's hardware can't be directly accessed by the virtual machine.
9. [3] One mark per mark point – host operating system (Max 2)
10. [3] MP1 The host operating system is the normal operating system for the host computer / machine.
11. [3] MP2 It has control of all the resources of the host computer / machine. // It can access the physical resources of the host computer / machine.
12. [3] MP3 It provides a user interface to operate the virtual machine software.
13. [3] MP4 It also runs the virtual machine software.
14. [3] One mark per mark point – guest operating system (Max 2)
15. [3] MP5 The guest operating system runs within the virtual machine.
16. [3] MP6 ... it controls the virtual hardware/software during the emulation. // It accesses the actual hardware through the virtual machine and host operating system.
17. [3] MP7 It provides a virtual user interface for the emulated hardware/software.
18. [3] MP8 The guest operating system runs under the control of the host operating system.