Virtualization has been around for quite a long time. It has evolved from a technology used mainly to save space into a corporate strategy adopted worldwide. It is the most effective way to improve IT efficiency while cutting costs.
Virtualization uses software called Hypervisor also known as Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) to simulate the underlying hardware to create a virtual computer. It abstracts physical hardware to provision resources like processors, storage, and network for the workloads. Abstraction enables the system to host multiple workloads simultaneously, leading to resource optimization which in turn helps you cut down on cost, energy, and space.
The software layer (hypervisor), provides the layer of abstraction. It handles requests between the physical and virtual resources and manages the support of virtual machines. It enables multiple operating systems to share the same hardware, and it allocates what portion of hardware resources each workload should get.
The hypervisor is categorized into two types:
Type-1 Hypervisor-This runs directly on the host machine’s physical hardware, so it’s also known as a bare-metal hypervisor.
Type-2 Hypervisor– runs on the operating system of the physical host machine; hence, they are also called hosted hypervisors.
This article will explain in detail the advantages of each hypervisor, their usage, and the differences between them with examples so that businesses can choose one based on their requirements.
Type-1 Hypervisor:
This hypervisor is installed directly on top of the physical server’s hardware, there is no operating system or any other software layer in between. What we have in this case is:
- A physical server/machine
- Hypervisor installed on the hardware
- Guest virtual machines
Type-1 hypervisors are actually a very basic OS on top of which we run virtual machines. So the physical machine on which the hypervisor is running can only be used for virtualization purposes and nothing else.
These hypervisors require a separate management console to perform activities like instance creation, migration, etc. The management console can be web-based or a separate package that you can install on another machine. Using this console, you can connect to the hypervisor to manage your virtual environment operations.
Advantages of Type-1 hypervisor
Great performance: They are not constrained by the inherent limitations that come with OSes, and hence can provide great performance. This is one reason why we can find type-1 hypervisors in enterprise setups.
Highly secure: Since they run directly on the physical hardware without any underlying OS, they are secured from the flaws and vulnerabilities that are often endemic to OSes. This ensures that every VM is isolated from any malicious software activity.
Examples of Type-1 Hypervisors – VMware vSphere with ESX/ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Hypervisor (Xen Server).
Click to know the differences between VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisors.
Type-2 Hypervisor:
These hypervisors are hosted on the operating system, and the hypervisor runs on that layer as another software to enable virtualization. What we have in this case is:
- A physical server
- OS installed on that server hardware (OSes like Windows, Linux, macOS)
- Type-2 hypervisor on that OS
- Virtual machine instances/guest VMs
These hypervisors are usually used in environments where there are a small number of servers. They do not need a separate management console to create and manage the virtual machines. These operations can typically be done on the server that has the hypervisor hosted. This hypervisor is treated as an application on your host system.
Advantages of Type-2 hypervisor
Simple management: They essentially act as management consoles. There is no need to install a separate software package to manage the virtual machines running on type-2 hypervisors.
Useful for testing purposes: They are convenient for testing any new software or research projects. You can simply run multiple instances with different OSes to test how the software works in each environment.
Examples of Type 2 Hypervisors – VMware Workstation Pro/VMware Fusion, Oracle VirtualBox, etc…
Difference between Type-1 and Type-2 Hypervisors
The right type of hypervisor depends strictly on your business size and requirements.
- Type-1 hypervisors are most suited for enterprise setups, though sometimes you may need to take stock of your requirements and maybe opt for type-2 if the functionality offered by the type-1 hypervisor is more than what you require.
- Type-2 hypervisors are best suited for personal/small deployments.
The most critical factor is the cost of licensing. They are available per server, per CPU, or per core model. Many vendors offer different licensing types to accommodate different needs. You can create a list of your requirements, like how many VMs you require, the resources available, and then choose a product after a brief trial.
Concluding thoughts
Whatever be your environment, data protection is a must-have nowadays. With the rising amount of data threats and ransomware attacks, it is always wise to have a backup of your data.
BDRSuite is one such solution that offers comprehensive backup & disaster recovery with which you can protect data residing on your virtual & physical environment.
Be it a type-1 or type-2 hypervisor, BDRSuite provides solutions to backup your VMs on both:
- Agentless VM Backup & Replication for VMware ESXi & vCenter
- Agentless VM Backup & Replication for Hyper-V
- Agent-based backups for VMs running on other hypervisors like Xen Server, VirtualBox, etc
Download the full-featured 30-day free trial of our latest version and experience modern data protection for your environment.
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