Hypervisory

Hypervisory refers to a type of computing architecture and software layer that manages and controls virtual machines. It is also known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). The hypervisor sits between the physical hardware and the operating systems running on top of it, creating a virtualized environment. This allows multiple operating systems to run concurrently on a single physical machine, each isolated from the others.

There are two main types of hypervisors. Type 1 hypervisors, also known as bare-metal hypervisors, run directly on the host's hardware. They act as the operating system for the hardware, managing resources and allocating them to virtual machines. Examples include VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V. Type 2 hypervisors, also known as hosted hypervisors, run as an application on top of a conventional operating system. The host operating system manages the hardware, and the hypervisor runs as a guest application, creating and managing other virtual machines. Examples include VMware Workstation and Oracle VirtualBox.

The primary purpose of a hypervisor is to enable hardware virtualization. This involves abstracting the physical hardware resources, such as CPU, memory, and I/O devices, and presenting them as virtual resources to each guest operating system. This abstraction allows for efficient resource utilization, consolidation of servers, and improved disaster recovery capabilities. Hypervisors are fundamental to cloud computing, enabling the creation and management of virtual servers and resources for multiple users. They also play a role in development and testing environments, allowing developers to create and test software on different operating systems without needing separate physical machines.