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Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) vs. Scale Computing Platform

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    KVM

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AKernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is a virtualization solution developed by small Israeli software company Qumranet and supported by Red Hat since that company's acquisition in 2008.N/A

    Scale Computing Platform

    Score9.2 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Scale Computing offers edge computing, virtualization, and hyperconverged solutions for customers around the globe. Scale Computing HyperCore software promises to eliminate traditional virtualization software, disaster recovery software, servers, and shared storage, replacing these with a fully integrated, highly available system for running applications. The vendor says that, using patented HyperCore™ technology, the SC//HyperCore self-healing platform automatically identifies, mitigates, and…

    $249

    per year per core

    Pricing
    KVMScale Computing Platform
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Standard
    $249
    per year per core
    Professional
    $312
    per year per core
    Professional Essentials
    $5,600
    one-time fee
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    KVMScale Computing Platform
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional DetailsPricing shown in U.S. Dollar. Pricing for other regions available on request.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    KVMScale Computing Platform
    Considered Both Products
    Red Hat
    No answer on this topic
    Scale Computing
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    Even though SCP uses parts of KVM, their approach is an engineers dream: you order, you deploy, you are productive.
    oVirt is also a very sophisticated product, but the learning curve for us was a bit steep
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    KVM: Scale HC3 Hypervisors builds on KVM, but extends it massively with their hassle-free setup, integration and support. Proxmox: Also builds on KVM, but needs much more manpower to keep it running. VMware ESXi: I'm a long-time ESXi expert and had to deal with all the hassles …
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    Price and easy of use - Scale won hands down for me.
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    We looked into various systems but the one that stood out was a Unitrends backup system and I liked what I saw at the time. But when I discovered Scale Computing HC3, I realized I could get more out of it than Unitrends and at a lower cost. Scale has reduced the number of …
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    Each system I evaluated has its own strengths and weaknesses. I ended up choosing Scale because of the features and the price. I feel Scale has the best value for the money. I also like to support smaller businesses and I feel that you often get better customer support, which …
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    After reviewing several options, including upgrading our Hyper-V setup. We determined that the Cost vs Benefit for our setup fell directly to the Scale HC3. We were in a situation where we needed new hardware and new software, so with the other options we were still looking at …
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    Scale Computing had zero pressure tactic and delivered on every word they said and more. The pricing was on par with the competitors, but I was getting the high end of Scale's solution while with the others I was getting their low end. Without a doubt we made the perfect choice …
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    Pricing is an SMB scope. Scale Computing is by far the best ability. No reoccurring licensing costs, just annual maintenance.
    Incentivized
    Chose Scale Computing Platform
    We ended selecting Scale because they seemed to care about their customers. Also Scale was very competitively priced vs some of the competitors. Lastly the interface and system were very simple to use and deploy. Simplivity at the time did not support Hyper-V. and we did not …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    75 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    74 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    75 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    73 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    69 Answers
    Features
    KVMScale Computing Platform
    Server Virtualization
    Comparison of Server Virtualization features of Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and Scale Computing Platform
    Feature
    Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)
    9.2
    6 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Scale Computing Platform
    -
    Ratings
    Virtual machine automated provisioning7.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Management console10.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Live virtual machine backup10.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Live virtual machine migration10.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Hypervisor-level security9.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    KVMScale Computing Platform
    Small Businesses
    Proxmox VE
    Score9.2 out of 10
    StarWind HCA
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    VMware vSOM (discontinued)
    Score10 out of 10
    StarWind HCA
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    IBM PowerVM
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    KVMScale Computing Platform
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    9.8
    (245 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.4
    (22 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.5
    (40 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (245 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    KVMScale Computing Platform
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Red Hat
    KVM is the best solution in the case you need to test and turn up any virtual environment with limited vCPU/RAM resources. The obvious area of its use is a network environment when we want to avoid being tied to one type of hardware/vendor and being able to swap from one instance to another with no downtimes. The use of a vSwitch (that supports VLAN tagging) is a significant bonus for network engineers that some other hypervisors do not provide.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scale Computing
    Scale is best suited to environments that do not have excessive external or proprietary peripherals. Integrating with tape drive backups or robot tape libraries can be problematic. The most effective use of Scale systems is for companies running multiple instances of the same operating system. The hypervisor's code/file-sharing nature does an excellent job managing new instances while keeping the increase in storage to a minimum.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Red Hat
    • KVM is really good at providing fast and reliable virtualization for Linux guests
    • Since KVM is a kernel module, every VM is a Linux process which can be managed by Linux system tools
    • KVM integrates very well with the management framework libvirt, which is why KVM can be integrated in automation tools as well
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scale Computing
    • Simplicity - I do not have to create storage buckets or micromanage anything.
    • Efficiency - Lower power use since moving to a hyperconverged environment.
    • Scalability - Adding additional hardware is easy, and increasing things like the amount of RAM or number of cores is easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Red Hat
    • KVM itself doesn't ship with a management interface
    • KVM itself is a bit complicated to handle
    • KVM needs Qemu to virtualize Windows guests
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scale Computing
    • Dedicated Lights-Out Solution for low-end systems
    • Ability to replace smaller storage drives with larger ones, rather than requiring the addition of an entire node for storage increases
    • Different UI views for VMs: ability to minimize certain groups and have that persist through log-ins
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    Since I have had no issues with downtime; easier management of my cluster and the ability to lower the number of devices in my Infrastructure, I will gladly renew my support contract with Scale Computing HC3 and upgrade my equipment with them when it comes time for it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Red Hat
    It does the job and stays out of the way. The specifics of usability relies on the implementation, but with things like Icarus and libvirt, things are standardizing nicely.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scale Computing
    Everything you need to do is point-and-click easy. If you are the kind of admin who wants to edit every config file and endlessly customize your environment, then Scale may not be for you. On the other hand, if you just want it to work really well, and do what they told you it will do, then Scale is the ideal system.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    Never had an outage or an error. Once a hard drive failed, but Scale kept on working flawlessly without interruption.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    Performance has been just as outstanding as reliability. I have never experienced delays in any aspect of usage.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    They are very knowledgeable about their own products and hardware addressing my concerns or issues very quickly and on the first contact. Calls concerning VMware migrations and Acronis backup took a little more time for more complicated issues, but the Scale Computing Platform techs were diligent to stay on top of issues until they were resolved. Most of my issues have been with the initial setup/migration.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    I did not do in-person training.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    Because Scale is so simple, the training is just as quick and easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    The implementation was very easy. We had Scale support on standby and they were ready and eager to help if needed. The process went so fast the employees in the organization did not even know it was done.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Red Hat
    It is a very reliable solution that can be used for x86 architecture virtualization with low overhead. It is a free and open source software. Easy to use withOpenStack.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scale Computing
    We previously used Microsoft Hyper V and VMWare and, before that, a room for single-purpose servers. My satisfaction with Scale is because it is a more straightforward product to install and use; it has incredible speed and reliability. In the past, getting support from Microsoft was labor intensive, and with VMWare, there was a language accent barrier.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Red Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Scale Computing
    HC3 is one of the best products I have purchased for our district. It is unbelievably reliable to the point that they shoot themselves in the foot on support contracts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Red Hat
    • Fast provisioning of new servers.
    • Huge drop of the cost of servers compared to bare metal.
    • Easy upgrades of resources, sometimes now even requiring a server restart.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scale Computing
    • With the high cost of the leading competitor the savings starts day one and saves every year after.
    • Scale can be administered by a tier one technician so cost of labor is reduced.
    • If there is a problem like a cyber attack, the savings kick in with the least amount of downtime.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Scale Computing Platform Screenshots

    Screenshot of Scale Computing Fleet Management Dashboard - 
At-a-glance summary of the health of the fleet upon login.Screenshot of Cluster Details -
Details of a particular cluster, including health, fleet manager connectivity, nodes, and VMsScreenshot of Scale Computing Fleet Manager -
Manages an organization’s fleet of Clusters.Screenshot of Hypercore UI -
Simple Web Interface for Local Management of the Cluster and its Workloads