User`s guide

211
Glossary
Primary operating system (primary OS). Operating system that controls the I/O devices of the
computer and that is loaded when the physical computer is turned on. It is the operating system of
the physical computer where the Parallels Desktop application is installed.
Processor. The central processing unit, or CPU. It is an internal part of the computer.
PVS file. A virtual machine configuration file that contains information about the virtual machine
resources, devices and other settings.
Shared networking. Virtual machine network connection mode that allows the virtual machine to
use the host computer network connections. In this mode, the virtual machine is invisible to other
computers on the network the host computer belongs to.
Shortcut. A user-defined key or combination of keys that provides quick access to applications
and commands. See also Hot key.
Snapshot. A copy of the virtual machine state at a particular point of time. The files related to
snapshots are stored in a special subfolder in the virtual machine's folder.
Source computer. The computer from which you are going to migrate data using Parallels
Transporter.
Split disk. A split disk is cut into 2 GB pieces, but is stored as a single HDD file. Split disks allow
you to transfer the data stored on a split disk piece by piece using a USB drive or other media that
have limited space and cannot store a large virtual hard disk image file.
Terminal. In Mac OS and GNU/Linux operating systems, a utility that enables you to access the
command line.
Third-party virtual machine. A virtual machine created in a third-party virtualization product, that
can be converted to a Parallels virtual machine with the help of Parallels Transporter.
Virtual hard disk (virtual disk). A file that emulates the virtual machine's hard disk.
Virtual Machine. The computer emulated using Parallels Desktop. A virtual machine has its own
virtual hardware and requires an operating system to control its hardware. The installed operating
system and its applications are isolated inside the virtual machine and share physical hardware
resources of the host computer.
Virtual Machine Configuration. Like any physical computer, a virtual machine has its own
configuration which is set during the creation and can be later modified. The virtual machine
configuration settings are stored in a PVS file.
Virtual machine files. Files stored in a virtual machine folder. A virtual machine has at least two
files: configuration file and virtual hard disk file.
Virtual hard disk file. During the creation, the virtual machine acquires a virtual hard disk file with
the .hdd extension. This file performs the functions of a real hard disk. See also HDD file.