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Hypervisor

A software layer used to run multiple operating systems concurrently on a single machine. It allows VMs to interact with the hardware without going through the host OS, providing a boost in efficiency with using system resources.

Hypervisors come in two types.

Type 1 (Native / Barebones)

This type runs directly on the computer's hardware to manage the guest VMs. Some Type 1 Hypervisors include:

  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server
  • VMware ESX

Type 2 (Software Manager)

This type is a software application that runs on top a conventional OS to manage the guest VMs. When a guest VM needs to access the host hardware, it does so through the hypervisor. Some Type 2 Hypervisors include:

  • VMware Workstation
  • Oracle VM VirtualBox
  • Parallels Desktop for Mac
  • QEMU OpenSource

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