Difference between revisions of "Hypervisor"
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A '''hypervisor''' is a [[software]] package which provides [[virtual machine]]s. | A '''hypervisor''' is a [[software]] package which provides [[virtual machine]]s. | ||
| − | There are two main types: 'native' hypervisors, which are [[operating system]]s which run directly on the bare machine | + | There are two main types of hypervisors, classified by their level of abstraction from the physical hardware: |
| + | * Type 1 - 'native' hypervisors, which are [[operating system]]s which run directly on the bare machine | ||
| + | * Type 2 - 'hosted' hypervisors, which are [[application]]s which run under a general-purpose OS. | ||
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| + | The Type 2 hypervisors, for example [[VMware Workstation]] or Oracle [[VirtualBox]], run as an application within the host operating system, ex: as a [[Linux]] or [[Windows]] program. To minimize overhead, Type 1 hypervisors avoid the need for the host to run another operating system, and they instead run directly on the bare-metal hardware. Examples of Type 1 hypervisors include [[VMware ESXi]], Microsoft [[Hyper-V]], and [[KVM]]. | ||
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| + | [[File:Hypervisor-type1vs2.png]] | ||
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| + | Early hypervisors were created by IBM, including [[CP_operating_system|CP/CPS]] and [[VM/370]], which allowed for creating VMs of different operating systems on the [[mainframe]]. | ||
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| + | [[Category: OS Concepts]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:11, 13 January 2024
A hypervisor is a software package which provides virtual machines.
There are two main types of hypervisors, classified by their level of abstraction from the physical hardware:
- Type 1 - 'native' hypervisors, which are operating systems which run directly on the bare machine
- Type 2 - 'hosted' hypervisors, which are applications which run under a general-purpose OS.
The Type 2 hypervisors, for example VMware Workstation or Oracle VirtualBox, run as an application within the host operating system, ex: as a Linux or Windows program. To minimize overhead, Type 1 hypervisors avoid the need for the host to run another operating system, and they instead run directly on the bare-metal hardware. Examples of Type 1 hypervisors include VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM.
Early hypervisors were created by IBM, including CP/CPS and VM/370, which allowed for creating VMs of different operating systems on the mainframe.
