Para virtualization is a virtualization technique where the guest operating system is aware of the virtual environment and can communicate directly with the host machine’s hypervisor to request resources. This direct communication allows for a more efficient system, as it does not require the same level of emulation and overhead as full virtualization. In para virtualization, the guest OS is typically modified to interact with a thin layer of software called a hypervisor, which coordinates access to the physical hardware resources. This setup is designed to reduce the performance overhead that typically occurs with full virtualization, where the guest OS must go through a more complex abstraction layer to access resources.

References: The information provided is based on standard practices of para virtualization in network security and aligns with the Certified Network Defender (CND) curriculum, which includes understanding various virtualization techniques as part of network infrastructure management12.