CompTIA CASP+ Practice Test

What type of hypervisor allows the hypervisor to communicate directly with physical hardware for efficient resource allocation?

1. Type 2 hypervisor

2. Bare metal hypervisor

3. Type 1 hypervisor

4. Hosted hypervisor

The correct answer is: Type 1 hypervisor

A hypervisor that communicates directly with physical hardware for efficient resource allocation is referred to as a Type 1 hypervisor or bare metal hypervisor. This type of hypervisor operates directly on the host's hardware, allowing it to manage the underlying physical resources without the need for an intermediary operating system. This direct interaction with the hardware leads to improved performance, as it can allocate resources such as CPU, memory, and storage more efficiently to the virtual machines it manages. Type 1 hypervisors are typically used in enterprise environments where maximizing performance, scalability, and system management is critical. Examples include VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Xen. These hypervisors have lower overhead compared to Type 2 hypervisors, which run on top of a host operating system, and are thus generally more efficient for high-performance applications and server virtualization. Understanding the distinction between Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors is essential in the context of virtualization technology, as it allows for better resource management and optimization in virtualized environments.