(1) In a virtualized server environment, a virtual processor is a CPU core that is assigned to a virtual machine. There can be more virtual processors assigned than actual cores available, which allows virtual machines to share the same core.
(2) In a parallel processing environment that has more data elements than processors, a virtual processor is a simulated processor. Virtual processors perform in series, not in parallel, but enable applications that require a processor for each data element to run in a computer with fewer processors. See
VP ratio.