Final answer:
The hypervisor is a software layer that abstracts the physical hardware to allow multiple virtual machines to operate on a single hardware host, supporting efficient, scalable, and cost-effective IT infrastructure.
Explanation:
The hypervisor, or virtual machine monitor (VMM), is a crucial layer in virtualization that allows multiple operating systems to share a single hardware host. Its main function is to abstract and isolate the physical hardware from the virtual machines (VMs) that run on top of it. This enables each virtual machine to operate as if it has its own set of hardware resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage, while in reality, they are allocated and managed by the hypervisor. The hypervisor provides an interface between the VMs and the underlying physical hardware. It allocates and controls the hardware resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage, to ensure efficient sharing among the VMs. By abstracting the physical hardware, the hypervisor enables VMs to run independently and securely without interfering with each other.
There are two main types of hypervisors: Type 1, also known as a bare-metal hypervisor, which runs directly on the host's hardware, and Type 2, which runs on a host operating system and is considered less efficient. With virtualization technologies, businesses can improve the utilization of their hardware, reduce costs, and allow for better scalability and manageability of their IT infrastructure.