What term describes the situation when the number of virtual machines on a network exceeds an administrator's ability to manage them?

The term that accurately describes the situation when the number of virtual machines exceeds an administrator's ability to manage them is known as virtual machine sprawl. This phenomenon occurs when virtual machines are created, deployed, and often left unmanaged, leading to an unmanageable number of instances on the network. It can happen due to a lack of oversight, inadequate resource management, and insufficient administrative policies.

As virtual machine environments expand, they can lead to several issues, such as increased security vulnerabilities, inefficient resource allocation, and difficulties in maintaining compliance with organizational policies. Virtual machine sprawl typically implies not just a high volume of VMs but also a lack of control over their lifecycle management, making it challenging for administrators to oversee deployment, updates, and security measures effectively.

Understanding virtual machine sprawl is crucial in cloud management and virtualization practices, as it emphasizes the need for proper governance and monitoring of virtual resources to ensure optimal performance and security within the network.