In virtualization, what mechanism allows multiple VMs to share the same physical resources efficiently?

In virtualization, hardware abstraction is fundamental to allowing multiple virtual machines (VMs) to share the same physical resources efficiently. This mechanism involves creating a virtual layer that sits between the physical hardware and the operating systems of the VMs. The hypervisor, which is the virtualization software, abstracts the physical hardware components such as CPU, memory, storage, and network interfaces, thereby presenting these resources as a collection of virtual resources.

This abstraction enables multiple VMs to operate independently and concurrently on a single physical host without interfering with one another. For example, the hypervisor can allocate CPU time to different VMs, manage memory usage, and handle I/O operations, ensuring that each VM receives the resources it needs while optimizing the utilization of the underlying hardware.

The other choices, while related to resource management in a virtual environment, do not capture this core mechanism of virtualization as effectively. Load balancing pertains more to distributing workloads across multiple resources to optimize performance and prevent overload, but it does not specifically define how VMs share physical resources. Resource management broadly covers the strategies to oversee the allocation of resources but does not delve into the abstraction layer that allows for efficient sharing. Dynamic allocation refers to the capability of adjusting resource allocation in real-time based on demand, which relies