The word "hypervisors" is spelled with a "y" and not an "i" because it comes from the prefix "hyper-", which means "above" or "beyond". The "y" in "hypervisors" is pronounced as the vowel sound in "pie", which is transcribed phonetically as /aɪ/. The rest of the word is pronounced as it looks, with the stress on the second syllable: /haɪ.pər.vaɪ.zərz/. Hypervisors are software programs that create and manage virtual machines, used in cloud computing and virtualization.
Hypervisors, also known as virtual machine monitors (VMMs), are software or firmware components that enable the creation and management of virtual machines (VMs). These VMs act as isolated environments within a single physical computer or server, allowing multiple operating systems and applications to run concurrently on the same hardware.
The main purpose of a hypervisor is to abstract and virtualize the underlying physical resources of a computer, such as the processor, memory, storage, and networking. It facilitates the allocation and sharing of these resources among the various VMs and ensures their efficient utilization.
Hypervisors come in two primary forms: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 hypervisors, also known as bare-metal hypervisors, run directly on the host hardware without the need for an underlying operating system. They provide superior performance and reliability and are typically used in enterprise data centers and server infrastructure.
Type 2 hypervisors, also known as hosted hypervisors, run on top of an existing operating system. They are commonly used in desktop or personal computing environments to create and manage virtual machines for testing, development, or running multiple operating systems simultaneously.
Some well-known hypervisor examples include VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Oracle VM VirtualBox, and KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine). These hypervisors have advanced features such as live migration, resource pooling, high availability, and security measures that make them essential components for virtualization and cloud computing.
The word "hypervisor" is derived from the combination of two terms: "hyper" and "visor".
The prefix "hyper" comes from the Greek word "huper", which means "over" or "beyond". In computing, it signifies an extension or enhancement of a particular technology or concept.
The term "visor" refers to a protective shield or barrier that allows certain things to pass through while blocking others. In the case of hypervisors, it refers to the software layer that partitions and isolates different operating systems or virtual machines.
Therefore, "hypervisor" can be understood as an advanced type of software layer that enables the creation and management of multiple virtual machines on a single physical computer or server, providing virtualization capabilities.