Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET) Practice Exam

Which type of hypervisor is hosted and runs within an operating system environment?

1. Type 1

2. Type 2

3. Type 3

4. Type 4

The correct answer is: Type 2

The correct answer is that a Type 2 hypervisor is hosted and runs within an operating system environment. This means that the Type 2 hypervisor relies on the underlying operating system to manage the hardware and resources. It is installed as a software application on top of an existing operating system, which means it can leverage the features and capabilities of that host OS. Common examples of Type 2 hypervisors include VMware Workstation, Oracle VirtualBox, and Parallels Desktop. The importance of this distinction lies in the operational characteristics of the hypervisors. Type 2 hypervisors utilize the service capabilities of the host OS for tasks like memory management, CPU management, and I/O operations, making them more user-friendly and easier to set up for personal or small-scale use. However, they may be less efficient than Type 1 hypervisors, which run directly on the hardware, providing better performance and scalability, especially in enterprise environments. Understanding hypervisors is crucial for anyone entering the cybersecurity field, as virtualization is a foundational technology that underpins cloud computing and many IT infrastructures.