hipervisors

A hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM), is a software, firmware, or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines (VMs). A VM is essentially a software-based emulation of a physical computer system. Hypervisors allow multiple operating systems to share a single physical hardware resource. They achieve this by abstracting the hardware and presenting virtualized versions of the hardware to each VM.

There are two main types of hypervisors. Type 1 hypervisors, also known as bare-metal hypervisors, run directly on the host's hardware to control the operating system and its programs. Examples include VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Xen. Type 2 hypervisors, also known as hosted hypervisors, run on a conventional operating system as an application. Examples include VMware Workstation, Oracle VirtualBox, and Parallels Desktop.

Hypervisors are crucial for virtualization, a technology that enables efficient resource utilization, scalability, and flexibility in computing environments. They are widely used in cloud computing, data centers, and for software development and testing. By isolating VMs, hypervisors provide security and allow for easy management and deployment of applications and services. They enable features like live migration, where a VM can be moved from one physical host to another without interruption.