Table of Contents
What is a Hypervisor?
A hypervisor (Virtual Machine Monitor) is software that creates and manages virtual machines by abstracting hardware resources. Type 1 hypervisors run directly on hardware (bare-metal). Type 2 hypervisors run on top of an operating system.
KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
KVM is a Type 1 hypervisor built into the Linux kernel since version 2.6.20. It leverages CPU virtualisation extensions (Intel VT-x, AMD-V) for near-native performance. Power Down uses KVM because it is open-source, actively maintained, and provides genuine hardware-level isolation between VMs.
VMware vSphere
VMware's enterprise hypervisor platform. Industry-standard in corporate datacenter environments with comprehensive management tools. Expensive licensing makes it uncommon for commodity VPS hosting.
Microsoft Hyper-V
Microsoft's Type 1 hypervisor, included free with Windows Server. Excellent Windows guest performance. Limited Linux guest optimization compared to KVM.
FAQ
Can KVM VMs run Windows?
Yes. KVM runs Windows Server, Windows 10/11, and virtually any other operating system with appropriate drivers installed.
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