Hey everyone! I'm trying to get my head around the underlying architecture of Azure. The common belief is that Hyper-V is the core component, but I read this article that threw me off:
It mentions that Azure uses Windows as its OS, and all VMs actually run as guests of Microsoft Hyper-V. This makes Hyper-V a Type 1 hypervisor. My initial thought was that the Azure Host OS has direct hardware control, with Hyper-V sitting on top of it. If that's true, it would contradict the Type 1 hypervisor definition. I'm confused and have searched for more clarification but came up empty. I even asked several AI models for help, but they didn't give me accurate answers. I'm hoping someone here can shed some light on this!
1 Answer
Hyper-V is indeed a Type 1 hypervisor. When it's enabled on Azure, the Windows OS becomes the first parent partition of Hyper-V. The hypervisor operates at the hardware level, controlling the resources, while the Windows OS runs as a partition underneath it. So, in essence, Hyper-V manages the hardware directly, and the Azure Host OS is like its overseer, enabling multiple guest VMs to run smoothly under it.
Great explanation! Just to add, understanding the execution levels in CPU virtualization can help clarify things. The hypervisor operates in a lower ring (typically -1), which allows better performance and control over guest VMs.