CCSP Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Security Practice Question
A cloud security architect is designing a multi-tenant environment on a hypervisor. Which hypervisor type provides the most robust isolation between tenant virtual machines by running directly on the hardware without a host operating system?
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
✓
Type 1 bare-metal hypervisor (e.g., VMware ESXi)
Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisors run directly on the hardware, providing better performance and isolation because there is no host OS layer that could be compromised. Type 2 hypervisors run on top of an OS, adding attack surface.
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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Type 2 hosted hypervisor (e.g., VirtualBox)
Why it's wrong here
Type 2 hypervisors run on a host OS, which adds a larger attack surface and reduces isolation.
- ✗
Paravirtualized hypervisor (e.g., Xen)
Why it's wrong here
Xen is a Type 1 hypervisor, but the question asks for the type that runs directly on hardware; both Type 1 and paravirtualized are correct, but the best answer is the general category.
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Container runtime (e.g., Docker)
Why it's wrong here
Containers share the host kernel and do not provide the same level of isolation as hypervisors.
- ✓
Type 1 bare-metal hypervisor (e.g., VMware ESXi)
Why this is correct
Type 1 hypervisors run directly on hardware, minimizing attack surface and providing strong isolation.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.