What is the primary function of a Type 1 hypervisor?

A Type 1 hypervisor, also known as a bare-metal hypervisor, has the primary function of managing hardware virtual resources directly. This means it runs directly on the physical hardware of the host system, rather than on top of an existing operating system. By doing so, it can effectively allocate physical resources such as CPU, memory, and storage to multiple virtual machines (VMs) with higher performance and efficiency compared to a Type 2 hypervisor, which relies on a host OS.

This direct interaction with the hardware allows Type 1 hypervisors to provide more robust resource management, enhanced security, and better performance for running multiple operating systems concurrently. They are typically used in enterprise environments and data centers where performance and resource management are critical.

In contrast, running on a host OS describes the function of a Type 2 hypervisor, while supporting desktop applications and facilitating software development are more general tasks associated with operating systems and application management rather than the primary function of a hypervisor.