Final answer:
Paravirtualization is a software-assisted virtualization technique that optimizes the performance of virtual machines by linking them to the hypervisor via specialized APIs. This method reduces overhead compared to full virtualization, by allowing direct access to hardware resources and is suitable for high-density virtualization environments.
Step-by-step explanation:
Paravirtualization is a software-assisted virtualization technique that uses specialized APIs to link virtual machines with the hypervisor to optimize their performance. Unlike traditional virtualization, which emulates hardware, paravirtualization allows for a more efficient execution by enabling the virtual machines to be aware of the hypervisor. This awareness is facilitated through paravirtualized drivers and APIs, which help in reducing the overhead that typically comes with full virtualization.
In paravirtualization, the guest operating system is modified to work with the hypervisor, enabling more direct access to the hardware resources. This modification allows hypervisors to support a greater number of virtual machines without significant degradation in performance. As a result, paravirtualization is ideal for environments where high-density virtualization is required, such as in data centers or cloud computing platforms.