There are two primary types of hypervisors: “Type 1” (also known as “bare metal”) and “Type 2” (also known as “hosted”). While a type 2 hypervisor functions as a software layer over an operating system, much like other computer programmes, a type 1 hypervisor operates directly on the host’s hardware.
The Type 1 called bare-metal hypervisor, whereby virtualization software is put directly on the equipment in which the operating system is typically installed, is most frequently used by cloud providers. Bare-metal hypervisors are very safe since they are separate from the vulnerable operating system. Additionally, they typically outperform hosted hypervisors in terms of performance and efficiency. For these reasons, bare-metal hypervisors are the preferred option for enterprise enterprises’ data centre computing requirements.
Hosted Type or 2 hypervisors, in contrast to bare-metal hypervisors, operate on top of the host machine’s operating system (OS). It is possible to install additional (and distinct) operating systems on top of the hosted hypervisor, even though it runs inside the OS. Hosted hypervisors have a larger latency than bare-metal hypervisors, which is a drawback. This is due to the additional OS layer that is required to communicate between the equipment and the hypervisor. Due to the fact that they are frequently used with end users for software testing, when higher latency is less of an issue, hosted hypervisors are also referred to as client hypervisors.
On a single physical system, either type of hypervisor can host numerous virtual servers for various tenants. Different businesses can rent server space from public cloud providers on various virtual servers. A single server may host a number of virtual computers that are all performing different workloads for various businesses. When one of the renters runs a heavy workload that affects the system performance for other tenants, this type of sharing resources may have a “noisy neighbour” effect. Additionally, it presents a higher security risk compared to employing a specialized bare-metal server.
