In the world of virtualization there are two kingpins; VMware and Microsoft. As I researched these two vendors it has become apparent that comparing these two giants would be like comparing apples and oranges; like apples and oranges are fruit, and VMware and Microsoft make virtualization software, they are different altogether. This happens to be the scenario that I have seen, not only between the two companies, but in blog posts and forums.
VMware’s vSphere is a suite. In other words it’s like Microsoft office. You can’t use Microsoft office but you can use the applications that are in it. With Microsoft’s Hyper-v, It’s an all in one app. Microsoft’s Hyper-v has System Center which uses the Server Management Suite Datacenter. In my research this all-in-one Center is much more convenient for core functions. Microsoft is ahead in many of the areas required for a robust desktop to datacenter virtualization and management solution (Ali,M 2011).
Granted that was with vSphere 4 and Hyper-v R2. Between those two versions Microsoft seemingly beat out VMware’s version mainly because of System Center.
When comparing VMware’s newer vSphere 5 version to Microsoft’s Hyper-v R2, there wasn’t really a comparison. vSphere outperformed Hyper-v in memory performance in a controlled scenario. But to me this is an un-fair comparison as Microsoft’s newer version Hyper-v 3 wasn’t out. In a comparison of vSphere 5 and Hyper-v 3 on Windows Server 8, they match up pretty well. Here’s the short comparison:
The Essay on Compare Microsoft and VMWare for virtual computing
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MaximumsMicrosoft Hyper-V on Windows Server 8Vmware vSphere 5 Physical Machine Hardware160 logical CPUs, 2TB RAM160 logical CPUs, 2TB RAM Virtual Machine Hardware32 virtual CPUs, 512GB RAM 32 virtual CPUs, 1TB RAM
Virtual Machines per Cluster40003000
Physical Machines per Cluster6332
Although this is a short comparison it doesn’t give much of the technical issues IT would need to face from implementing either one; like pricing vs. functionality. When it comes to licensing, some of the scenarios I have seen favor Microsoft. But then again those prices are all contingent on factors relating to what each business is doing. Still, given those factors, Microsoft still seems to have a price advantage, especially with licensing.
In conclusion, there are many factors to consider when deciding on which vendor to choose. VMware is well established, have the majority of their bugs worked out, and has a foothold on the market. Also they have newer releases that come out before Microsoft. Microsoft is becoming a major player and powerhouse in virtualization. With every new release they come that much closer, and in some instances that much better, to VMware. With virtualization migrating to cloud services, Microsoft will have a stronger foot hold in the market. Microsoft already has many cloud services so migrating into this with virtualization should be, if not already, seamless.
Resources
Ali, M. (2011, March 30).
Microsoft Vs VMware. My Blog. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://smbitsolutions.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/microsoft-vs-vmware/
Urquidi, J. (2011, September 15).
Hyper-V v3 and vSphere 5 Capacities Compared. . Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/hyper-v-virtualization-windows_server_8-vsphere,1-16.html
Microsoft (n.d.).
Competitive Comparison Between Microsoft and VMware Cloud Computing Solutions. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO8wcxSYZTBlQALCtXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzODVwZ2FkBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDQ1M18x/RV=2/RE=1401338290/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdownload%2fF%2fA%2f9%2fFA917DF8-39F1-4FBF-84A6-50551E110765%2fMSCloudCompareWhitepaperApr2010.pdf/RK=0/RS=7RuQWqDgCNhmaODFCPBl7QPK6J8-
