The hypervisor is the most important component in virtualization. It is responsible for creating an emulated environment that a guest operating system uses to function. Each type of operating system, irrespective of whether it is designed for a desktop, server, network, or mobile device, requires particular hardware components to ensure optimal and seamless functioning. This is where the hypervisor works its magic to make the impossible happen, allowing you to run multiple different operating systems on a single computer.

A hypervisor can be installed in one of two ways on a hardware device, which will be explored in more detail later in the chapter:

• It can be installed on top of a host operating system, such as Windows, Linux, or macOS.
• It can be installed directly on top of hardware in order to function as the native operating system.

Listed here are the types of hypervisors available:

• Type 1
• Type 2

In the next two sections, we will look at the two types of hypervisors and understand their similarities and differences.