Hosttarkvaras

Hosttarkvaras is the software that runs on a physical host and provides the environment for other software to execute, including the operating system, drivers, and virtualization stack. In Estonian IT literature, the term refers to the host software layer in virtualization and container platforms. It coordinates hardware resources and offers services to guests or containers.

Core components of hosttarkvaras typically include the host operating system or a bare-metal hypervisor, device drivers, system libraries, and management tooling. In virtualization contexts, a hypervisor or container runtime is part of hosttarkvaras. It interacts with hardware through drivers and exposes a controlled interface to guest environments.

Architecture and operation usually place hardware at the bottom, followed by the host software layer, then the virtualization or orchestration layer (such as a hypervisor or container engine), and finally the guest software. Features commonly associated with hosttarkvaras include resource management, isolation, scheduling, networking, storage, and security controls.

Security and maintenance are key considerations, as the host software layer represents the first line of defense in multi-tenant environments. Regular patching, hardening, strict access controls, and continuous monitoring help reduce the attack surface and improve reliability.

Context and use cases include data centers, enterprise servers, and cloud deployments where virtual machines or containers are hosted. The term emphasizes the software that runs directly on hardware and supports the operation of guests, rather than the software running inside those guest environments.