Assuming your are really doing this for study and not for any hacking / or trying
Humm...originally, I present my question as purely academic. I pictured that if I came into an office as a consultant and was asked this question (Physical or Virtual) by a client. I would like to be able to present a short answer. I gathered that there should be a simple method to determine the state of vSphere. Because as I mentioned prior, there will be some features that I can or cannot present to a client depending on their configuration.
Judging from your comment, I gather there is also a security concern. Is there a greater risk going with one over the other (Physical or Virtual)?