If you want to get started with virtualization, you can’t neglect hypervisors. In this article, I will introduce what the 2 types of hypervisors are, and compare type 1 hypervisor with type 2 for reference.
Running only one operating system (OS) on a single computer can lead to wasted resources, especially for software developers. As a result, virtualization technologies that allow a single physical machine to run multiple operating systems have emerged.
Virtualization divides the underlying hardware resources via hypervisors. A hypervisor, also known as virtual machine monitor (VMM), is a software that allows one to create and manage multiple, mutually independent virtual machines (VMs). VMs are logically separated from each other, so that even if one OS crashes for some reason, the other VMs can run unhindered.
Hypervisors are divided into 2 types based on the presence or absence of the underlying operating system:
In this article, I will introduce what they are and make a comparison of type 1 hypervisor vs type 2.
Type 1 hypervisors are also known as bare-metal hypervisors, because they run directly on the host’s physical hardware without loading the attack-prone underlying OS, making them very efficient and secure.
Type 1 hypervisors themselves act like lightweight OSs dedicated to running VMs. They may allow only simple server configuration, such as changing IP addresses and passwords.
You need to install a web-based or software management console on another computer to connect to the server remotely, and then create and manage the VMs via the console. In addition, you may need to provide a license fee depending on the features you need.
One of the best features of type 1 hypervisors is that they allow for over-allocation of physical resources. VMs themselves do not consume all the RAM you allocate to them. In fact, they only use the amount of RAM needed to perform specific tasks. That’s why they are resource efficient.
1. VMware vSphere/ ESXi
2. Microsoft Hyper-V
3. Citrix XenServer/ Xen
4. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV)
5. KVM
Type 2 hypervisors are also known as hosted hypervisors, because they are installed on existing OSs, and rely on them for virtualization and resource management.
Type 2 hypervisors essentially act like VM management applications running on the existing OS, so you don’t need to install separate consoles on another machine remotely. You can perform most tasks using the free built-in features, making them very cost-effective.
However, they do not have direct access to the host hardware and resources, all hypervisor and VM activities must pass through the host OS, which inevitably results in latency and wasted resources. In addition, security flaws and vulnerabilities in the host OS could potentially compromise all VMs running on it.
You also need to be careful when using type 2 hypervisors to allocate physical resources. VMs will take up all the RAM you allocated to them, and you still need to reserve certain RAM to maintain the running of the host and VMs.
1. VMware Workstation/Fusion/Player
2. Oracle VM VirtualBox
3. VMware Server
4. QEMU
5. Microsoft Virtual PC
In summary, the main difference between type 1 vs type 2 hypervisors is the presence or absence of the underlying operating system.
Here I make a comparison of type 1 hypervisor vs type 2 and summarize the following differences.
| Type 1 hypervisor | Type 2 hypervisor | |
| Definition | Runs on bare metal | Runs on an existing OS |
| Virtualization | Hardware virtualization | OS virtualization |
| Security | More secure | Less secure |
| Latency | Lower latency | Higher latency |
| Resource saving | More effective | Less effective |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
| Remote console required | Yes | No |
When choosing between Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors, you should start with your needs. Aspects that must be considered include:
For most times, type 1 hypervisors are suitable for enterprise development environments, or large organizations that need to deploy hundreds of VMs.
Type 2 hypervisors are suitable for personal use, smaller deployments, or multiple-environment test requirements. In addition, some development environments may also need type 2 hypervisors, such as where administrators require access to multiple OSs and their variants, or devices are not dedicated to the VM host roles.
In practical use, VMs can also be converted between type 1 and type 2 hypervisors. For example, convert Hyper-V to VMware or vice versa.
Whether you use type 1 or type 2 hypervisor, you have the need of virtual machine backup. But they do not provide the same data protection solutions.
For administrators using type 2 hypervisors such as VMware workstation, there are not many VMs need to be backed up, and no excessive requirement for downtime. Therefore, you can backup VMware workstation VMs by manually copying the VM files or export VMs to OVF templates.
For administrators using type 1 hypervisors, however, free built-in features are always not enough due to the higher requirements of enterprise development environments. And the license fees for advanced backup features may be uneconomical or just unaffordable.
So, IT staffs often use professional backup tools to compensate for the built-in features. Here I recommend you AOMEI Cyber Backup for the following benefits:
✦ Image-level VMs Backup: with 3 easy steps you can create a complete automatic backup task of VMs on the host. ✦ Auto Backup: set up a schedule to auto-run the VMs backup daily, weekly, monthly. ✦ Restore Entire VM: restore entire virtual machine from any backed up point quickly. ✦ Role Assignment: allows one administrator to create sub-accounts with limited privileges, effectively reduce human errors. ✦ Support Free ESXi: support both paid and free versions of VMware ESXi. ✦ Perpetual Free Edition: you can always use this free edition without a time limit.
You can click the following button to enjoy the freeware:
*You can choose to install this VM backup software on either Windows or Linux system.
By opening a hypervisor, you open a door to the world of virtualization. No matter you want to create new VMs to run different OSs, or just convert physical to virtual machine, you operate on a hypervisor.
Choosing a suitable hypervisor can increase efficiency and reduce costs. In this article, I introduced what the 2 types of hypervisors are, and made a comparison between type 1 hypervisor vs type 2 for reference.
Type 1 hypervisor is resource effective and secure for separating VMs from underlying OSs, therefore popular among enterprises. However, business data can still be lost due to VM crashes, therefore, taking regular backups is still necessary.