What is the role of a hypervisor in enabling cloud services?

The role of a hypervisor in enabling cloud services is primarily focused on virtualization. A hypervisor is a critical component in cloud architecture as it allows multiple virtual machines (VMs) to run on a single physical host machine. By virtualizing physical resources—such as CPUs, memory, and storage—the hypervisor efficiently allocates these resources to different VMs. This means that cloud service providers can optimize resource utilization, scale services as needed, and provide isolated environments for different clients or applications.

This virtualization capability is essential to the flexibility and scalability of cloud services, enabling users to deploy applications quickly without being concerned about the underlying hardware. It allows for dynamic resource allocation and better management of workloads, which is fundamental in a cloud computing environment.

The other options do not accurately reflect the primary function of the hypervisor. Managing user accounts involves identity and access management; changing network configurations pertains to network infrastructure management; and creating backup copies of data is related to data protection strategies. These functions are typically handled by separate management tools and processes rather than the hypervisor itself.