FC0-U71 Infrastructure Practice Question
A technician is setting up a virtual machine on a laptop running Windows 10. The technician installs VirtualBox and creates a Linux VM. Which type of hypervisor is VirtualBox?
⚠ Common exam trap
FC0-U71 often tests the confusion between Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors by describing a desktop virtualization product and expecting candidates to recognize that installing on top of Windows makes it Type 2, not bare-metal.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
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Type 2 hypervisor
VirtualBox is a Type 2 hypervisor because it installs as an application on top of an existing host operating system (Windows 10) and relies on that OS for hardware access and scheduling. It does not run directly on the bare metal like ESXi or Hyper-V. This host-dependent architecture is the defining characteristic of Type 2 (hosted) hypervisors.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Bare-metal hypervisor
Why it's wrong here
Bare-metal hypervisors execute directly on hardware without an underlying OS, but VirtualBox runs as a Windows 10 application, so it is Type 2. Bare-metal deployment suits data-centre hosts running ESXi or Xen, where no general-purpose host operating system is present.
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Type 2 hypervisor
Why this is correct
VirtualBox runs as an application atop the host Windows 10 operating system, relying on it for hardware access and scheduling. That hosted architecture defines a Type 2 hypervisor, unlike Type 1, which runs directly on bare metal. This satisfies the scenario's constraint of a desktop OS hosting the virtualisation software.
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Type 1 hypervisor
Why it's wrong here
A Type 1 hypervisor runs directly on bare metal, whereas VirtualBox installs as an application atop Windows 10, making it Type 2. Type 1 suits dedicated servers such as ESXi or Hyper-V Server, where the hypervisor replaces the host OS entirely.
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Container
Why it's wrong here
A container shares the host kernel and isolates processes; it does not run a full Linux guest OS with its own kernel as VirtualBox does. Containers suit packaging microservices on a shared Linux host, which is why the term appears in virtualisation discussions, but VirtualBox is a hosted hypervisor, not a container runtime.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This FC0-U71 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the FC0-U71 exam.