LogMeIn Central by GoTo vs. Oracle VirtualBox

LogMeIn Central by GoTo is well suited for easy, direct access to specific, perhaps mission critical, machines. Its remote control functionality and speed is very good - best in class, really. However, it simply can't replace a true and traditional RMM product in terms of robustness and overall ability (or lack thereof).

Incentivized

It is best suited when you want to have different operating systems on your laptop or desktop. You can easily switch between operating systems without the need to uninstall one. In another scenario, if you expect some application to damage your device, it would be best to run the application on the VM such that the damage can only be done to the virtual machine. It is less appropriate when time synchronization is very important. At times the VMs run their own times differently from the host time and this may cause some losses if what you doing is critical. Another important thing to take note of is the licensing of the application you want to run your VM. Some licenses do not allow the applications to be run on virtual servers so it is not appropriate to use the VM at this time.

Incentivized

• IT professionals can explore and use the platform more easily because to its intuitive interfaces and user-friendly features.
• It keeps an eye on the functionality and health of the gadgets, sending out notifications in real time if anything seems wrong.
• It expands to meet the demands of expanding companies and can handle a higher volume of devices.

Incentivized

• It is simple to install - there is no advanced knowledge required to begin building virtual computers
• It is easy to use - adding new virtual machines is simple with wizard-based deployment
• It enables easy portability - moving virtual machines from one host to another is straight-forward and simple
• It is free

Incentivized

• It could pull up the user's login in addition to the hostname
• Employee shortcuts like "win+r", "Ctrl+shitf+dell", on the computer that is connected remotely. This is needed
• Being able to minimize the bar in the top corner of the screen that is left when you are connected to a remote computer

• I have had issues in the past when it has come to resizing VM disk storage. The issue is entirely detailed here: https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/9103 -- the problem was caused because of having existing snapshots (which error message output was not detailing). I haven't had to deal with the issue due to my dynamic disk sizes not being small from the start anymore (this is mostly an issue for my Windows VMs where the base disk may need significant size for the OS). It looks like, for a resize, that a merge of all snapshots has to occur first -- one user on that list details a workaround to maintain snapshots by cloning the VM. (Note: 5.2 was just released a few weeks ago, and looks like it should prevent the problem happening in the future by properly informing users that it isn't possible with snapshots).
• Certain scenarios, like resizing disks, required dropping into a terminal as there were no options to previously do so via the GUI. According to some recent posts, I've seen that v5.2 has added disk management stuff like that to the GUI (or will be adding it). I'm comfortable with dropping into the terminal, but in a teaching scenario or when evaluating the learnability of the tools, it complicates things.

Incentivized

What I dont like is when I run out of licenses that the only way to get more is to buy large amounts. this is very frustrating and as a small business I need to watch how much i am spending. smaller license packs would be better

Incentivized

I give this rating because virtual box is inexpensive but there is another product such as vm ware that can also be used

Incentivized

It is wonderful after the initial setup and implementation.It's fairly intuitive and easy to use for more of our tech and users. These types of products have come a long way. I've been in tech for 20+ years, and thinking back to tools like PC anywhere things have become just so much more user friendly on both ends of the device.

Incentivized

I love using the Graphical User Interface. The VirtualBox Manager is very easy to understand and use. You can quickly create, configure and manage all your virtual machines in one window. It makes operating virtual machines easy and simple. When using VBoxManage it gives the user comprehensive control over VirtualBox so that you can use automation and scripting at the command-line interface

Incentivized

During our 6 years of use, we [have] never seen any downtime from their side. The application simply works. We have had incidents when we were not able to connect to remote servers by any means, but LogMeIn Central always worked. It has saved us trips to other offices. We have few users are who live in rural areas where internet speeds are not great. Supporting these users is a big challenge, but LogMeIn Central was always a lifesaver.

Incentivized

Dependency on the Host OS means it is as reliable as it is possible to be. Application errors are beyond the purview of the application.

Incentivized

No issues, especially with the extensions addons.

Incentivized

Every time I called in with a question or concern, your support team always provided the right information. It's great to call in to support and everyone that answers is very knowledgeable of the product.

Incentivized

Oracle have a very fast response rate and a strong user community. One can geet help from many sources if they choose to research for themselves.

Incentivized

I was not involved in the implementation of the product.

Incentivized

We really enjoy using virtual box. We do not require to buy expensive hardware but instead we can minimize costs and maximize profits.

Incentivized

LogmeIn Central is the fastest RMM in terms of remote connection. It generally performs well on networks that have low bandwidth too. In terms of features, Datto RMM does best it because it offers such a good platform for integrations and also for scripting. The community is very open with that software which really gives it a boost, and this is something LogMein Central could work on.

Incentivized

VirutalBox is very similar to using Vmware with the slight difference in appearance and what might be considered a less polished look. However, what it lacks in polish and looks it makes up for in functionality, easy of use and the wide range of operating systems and features it supports without the need of buying the full professional edition

Incentivized

The only problem I have found is that the deployment is dependent and intrinsically linked to the Host OS. This is different from bare metal solutions which remove that dependency on a Host OS. The latter is more reliable and removes a layer of potential failure.

Incentivized

• Its a very comprehensive and cost effective solution from Central that is very easy to use and user friendly.
• Its compliant with many security policies. Hence boost security for our clients and end users.
• The downtime was very low, hence making it more reliable and top-notch.

• Minimal-to-no support needed from the DevOps team.
• Provides a direct and an easy way to access multiple VMs inside the same machines which enables performing various testing and QA tasks without the need to switch hardware.
• Automatic provisioning using tools (esp. Vagrant) which enables developing a base image once, and allows for exporting/importing anywhere across the developers team.
• Very cost-effective (no fees or monthly subscriptions).

Incentivized