What Is a Hypervisor? Explained Simply

What a hypervisor is

A hypervisor is software that creates and runs virtual machines, allowing a single physical computer to host many separate, isolated virtual computers at once. Each virtual machine behaves like its own independent computer, with its own operating system, even though they all share the same underlying physical hardware. The hypervisor is the layer that makes this possible, managing the hardware and dividing its resources among the virtual machines. It is the foundation of virtualization.

What it does

The hypervisor's core job is to sit between the physical hardware and the virtual machines, allocating the real resources, like processing power, memory, and storage, among them. It keeps the virtual machines isolated from each other, so each runs independently and a problem in one does not affect the others. It also presents each virtual machine with what looks like its own dedicated hardware. In short, the hypervisor orchestrates sharing one physical machine among many virtual ones, safely and efficiently.

Type 1: bare-metal hypervisors

There are two main types of hypervisors. A Type 1, or bare-metal, hypervisor runs directly on the physical hardware, with the virtual machines running on top of it. Because it sits right on the hardware without a host operating system in between, this type is efficient and is commonly used in data centers and enterprise environments where performance and scale matter. It is the type behind much of cloud computing and large-scale virtualization.

Type 2: hosted hypervisors

A Type 2, or hosted, hypervisor runs on top of a normal operating system, like an application on your computer. You install it within your existing operating system, and it lets you run virtual machines alongside your regular programs. This type is common for personal and development use, such as running a different operating system on your laptop for testing. It is more convenient to set up but generally less efficient than a bare-metal hypervisor, since it works through the host operating system.

Why hypervisors matter

Hypervisors are the technology that makes virtualization and much of cloud computing possible. By letting one physical machine run many virtual ones, they allow hardware to be used far more efficiently, since a single powerful server can host many workloads instead of sitting underused. This underpins cloud providers, data centers, and countless IT setups, enabling flexibility, efficiency, and isolation. Without hypervisors, the modern cloud as we know it would not exist.

Why it matters

The hypervisor is a foundational piece of modern computing infrastructure, quietly enabling the virtualization that powers the cloud and efficient data centers. Understanding what a hypervisor is, and the difference between the two types, clarifies how one physical machine can run many virtual computers and why that is so valuable. For anyone interested in virtualization, cloud computing, or how modern IT works, the hypervisor is an essential concept.

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See also: What is virtualization? Virtual machines explained, What is the cloud? IaaS, PaaS, SaaS explained.

Sources

• Hypervisor - Wikipedia

Published date reflects the original event date (2023-08-15). This article is original Skillo editorial written from the sources above; facts were verified in September 2026.