{"id":6361,"date":"2021-05-19T21:10:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T04:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.infoblox.com\/?p=6361"},"modified":"2021-06-02T09:37:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T16:37:38","slug":"hypervisors-virtual-control-with-real-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infoblox.com\/blog\/community\/hypervisors-virtual-control-with-real-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Hypervisors: Virtual Control with Real Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Origins<\/h3>\n

Simply stated, a hypervisor is a program that establishes a virtual machine (VM) environment. It separates the operating system (OS) and applications from the underlying physical hardware. Virtualization is enabled by giving a physical machine the ability to operate multiple VMs. The concept originates from the 1960s mainframe era when IBM was focused on developing robust time-sharing solutions. Originally conceived as a \u201cControl Program,\u201d the term \u201chypervisor\u201d enhanced the idea of the supervisor, the kernel of an operating system. \u201cHyper\u201d was applied to convey a stronger \u201csupervisor of supervisors\u201d capability which began as software but later evolved using hardware circuits. Today\u2019s hypervisors encompass layers of software, firmware or hardware that create and run multiple VMs.<\/p>\n

How Hypervisors Work<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hypervisors divide a computer into secure individualized environments and distribute the hardware\u2019s resources across those environments. The \u201chost\u201d is the hardware, computer, or physical appliance, while the \u201cguest\u201d is the VM, comprised of a virtual OS and application software that runs on the host and uses the host\u2019s resources (e.g., computing power, storage, bandwidth, and memory). The hypervisor supports a single host to run and manage the operations of multiple concurrent VMs. Hypervisors provide a layer between the host hardware and guest VM and manage all the transactions between the two. There are two types of hypervisors (shown below). Type 1 is based on \u201cBare-Metal Architecture\u201d and operates on the physical hardware or appliance. Type 2 is referred to as \u201cHosted Architecture\u201d and runs as a software layer on the host OS.<\/p>\n

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Type 1 bare-metal hypervisors are often because they have direct access to system hardware and do not need to pass through the OS layer. Modern versions are Type 1 hypervisors with examples including Citrix\/Xen Server, KVM, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix Acropolis KVM and VMware ESXi. They easily isolate partitions and direct all available hardware power to VMs without having to compete with the OS or other applications. Bare-metal hypervisors are typically more secure because without a host OS, there is less attack surface for malicious threats and activities.<\/p>\n

Type 2 hypervisors are typically installed on an existing operating system which makes them hosted hypervisors. They can support a broad range of hardware and rely on the host machine\u2019s OS to complete operations like calls, and network resource, memory, and storage management. They offer a user interface, making them easier to setup, faster to get running and less costly to operate. They are often used by teams for development and testing to evaluate new features and programs without impacting the host OS. Type 2 examples include Microsoft Virtual PC, Oracle Solaris Zones, Oracle Virtual Box, Oracle VM Server for x86, VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to the common Type 1 and 2 hypervisor uses and benefits noted above, additional benefits gained by deploying hypervisors in your environment include:<\/p>\n