Isäntäkäyttöjärjestelmällä

Isäntäkäyttöjärjestelmällä, often translated as "host operating system" in English, refers to the primary operating system that runs directly on a computer's hardware. This is in contrast to guest operating systems, which run within a virtualized environment managed by a hypervisor. The host operating system provides the fundamental services for managing the computer's resources, such as the CPU, memory, storage, and peripherals. It is responsible for executing applications and providing the user interface. Examples of common host operating systems include Windows, macOS, and various Linux distributions.

In the context of virtualization, the host operating system plays a crucial role. It hosts the hypervisor software, which in turn creates and manages virtual machines. The hypervisor allocates a portion of the host's resources to each virtual machine, allowing them to run their own operating systems and applications independently. While the guest operating system interacts with virtual hardware provided by the hypervisor, the hypervisor itself relies on the host operating system for access to the physical hardware. Therefore, the performance and stability of the host operating system directly impact the performance and stability of all the virtual machines running on it. Understanding the distinction between host and guest operating systems is fundamental to comprehending how virtualization technologies work.