Environment Virtualization

An environment virtualization infrastructure (EVI) is made up of storage, network, and compute elements which are virtualized in a virtual platform that is implemented on a hardware platform. In some embodiments, the EVI is dynamic and is expressed as a collection of downloadable data structures. The virtual platform can include an EVI with a definable topology and an emulator that configures various components of the EVI automatically. In some embodiments, the emulator is invoked via an Application Programming Interface. The EVI can be implemented as a Software as a Service. In some embodiments, the EVI includes virtual environments that have routers, switches, operating systems, and software applications.