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  1. LPU MCA Semester 1
  2. CAP470
  3. Unit 3

CAP470 · Unit 3: Cloud virtualization

Hypervisors and their types

10 practice questions · in the MTE and ETE syllabus

Practise this topicPractise this topic

Key points

  • Type 1 runs directly on hardware, Type 2 on a host OS
  • Type 1 is preferred in data centres
  • ESXi, Hyper-V, Xen and KVM are Type 1
  • VirtualBox is Type 2

A hypervisor, or virtual machine monitor (VMM), is software that creates VMs and allocates CPU, memory and I/O among them.

TypeRuns onExamplesTypical use
Type 1 (bare-metal)directly on hardwareVMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Xen, KVMdata centres and clouds
Type 2 (hosted)on top of a host operating systemOracle VirtualBox, VMware Workstationdesktops, testing and learning

Type 1 has less overhead and a smaller attack surface because it has no host OS layer, so it is preferred for production. Type 2 is easy to install on an existing OS but adds an extra layer.

Because all VMs depend on the hypervisor, a hypervisor failure can affect every VM it hosts.

Exam trap: Type 1 means bare-metal, not first-generation; do not mix up the two types.

Try two questions

Question 1 · Tier 3, Apply

A developer wants to try a Linux VM quickly on a Windows laptop. Which hypervisor type is most convenient?

  1. Type 1, which must replace the laptop's operating system
  2. Type 2, such as VirtualBox
  3. Neither, because Windows cannot host any VMs
  4. A tape library, which stores virtual machines
Show the answer

B. Type 2 hypervisors install like normal applications, so they suit desktops and testing.

Why not A: A bare-metal hypervisor takes over the hardware and removes the convenience.

Why not C: Windows can host VMs through Type 2 hypervisors.

Why not D: A tape library stores backups, not running VMs.

Question 2 · Tier 2, Understand

Which hypervisor type runs on top of a host operating system?

  1. Type 1
  2. Type 0
  3. Type 3
  4. Type 2
Show the answer

D. Type 2, or hosted, hypervisors depend on a host operating system.

Why not A: Type 1 runs directly on hardware.

Why not B: Type 0 is not a standard hypervisor type.

Why not C: Type 3 is not a standard hypervisor type.