hypervisorguest

Hypervisorguest is a term used to describe a virtual machine instance that runs on a hypervisor. In virtualization terminology, it is a guest virtual machine, or simply a guest VM, within a host environment managed by the hypervisor.

The hypervisor abstracts hardware resources and presents the guest with virtual components: a virtual central processing unit, memory, storage, and network interfaces. The guest operating system, along with its applications, runs in isolation from other guests and from the host system.

Hypervisors fall into two broad categories. Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisors run directly on physical hardware, while Type 2 (hosted) hypervisors run atop a conventional operating system. Guests on Type 1 platforms are common in data centers and clouds; Type 2 guests are often used for desktop virtualization and testing.

Key capabilities include lifecycle management (creation, start, pause, and shutdown), snapshots and clones, live migration between hosts, and resource management features such as CPU shares, memory limits, and I/O throttling. Virtual networks and storage can be configured independently of the host hardware.

Performance and security considerations emphasize isolation between guests, reduced risk of host faults, and hardware-assisted virtualization features (such as Intel VT-x or AMD-V) that reduce overhead. Nested virtualization and paravirtualization are advanced options with varying compatibility and performance implications.

Common examples of hypervisorguest platforms include VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, Xen, and Oracle VirtualBox. Management tools such as vCenter, System Center Virtual Machine Manager, virt-manager, and libvirt help administer hypervisorguest instances across single hosts or clusters.