CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201)Virtualization and Cloud ComputingEasy
A systems administrator is building a dedicated virtualization host and wants the hypervisor to run directly on the server hardware, without relying on a general-purpose host operating system, in order to maximize performance and reduce attack surface. Which hypervisor type should be installed?
- AA VDI connection broker
- BType 2 (hosted) hypervisor
- CType 1 (bare metal) hypervisor
- DA container runtime engine
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Type 1 (bare metal) hypervisor
Type 1 hypervisors install directly on the physical hardware without an underlying OS, giving better performance and security than Type 2 hypervisors, which run on top of a host OS.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A connection broker manages VDI sessions, not hardware-level virtualization.
- B. Type 2 hypervisors require a host OS, adding overhead.
- D. Containers share a host OS kernel and are not hypervisors.
Type 1 Hypervisor
A hypervisor installed directly on physical hardware (bare metal) without a host operating system, commonly used in enterprise data centers.
- Examples: VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V (server core), Citrix Hypervisor
- Better performance and security than Type 2
- Used for production virtualization hosts
Memory trick: Type 1 = 'one layer only' (hardware + hypervisor).