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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Kubernetes

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/AKubernetes is an open-source container cluster manager.N/A

    Windows Server Failover Clustering

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AWindows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) is a group of independent servers that work together to increase application and service availability.N/A
    Pricing
    KubernetesWindows Server Failover Clustering
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    KubernetesWindows Server Failover Clustering
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    KubernetesWindows Server Failover Clustering
    Considered Both Products
    Kubernetes
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    9 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    9 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    75%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    Features
    KubernetesWindows Server Failover Clustering
    Container Management
    Comparison of Container Management features of Kubernetes and Windows Server Failover Clustering
    Feature
    Kubernetes
    9.2
    4 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Windows Server Failover Clustering
    -
    Ratings
    Security and Isolation9.34 Ratings00 Ratings
    Container Orchestration9.84 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cluster Management9.84 Ratings00 Ratings
    Storage Management8.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Resource Allocation and Optimization8.84 Ratings00 Ratings
    Discovery Tools9.34 Ratings00 Ratings
    Update Rollouts and Rollbacks9.34 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-Healing and Recovery9.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Analytics, Monitoring, and Logging9.14 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    KubernetesWindows Server Failover Clustering
    Small Businesses
    Mirantis Kubernetes Engine
    Score8 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS)
    Score8.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    SUSE Rancher
    Score9.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    KubernetesWindows Server Failover Clustering
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (19 ratings)
    9.2
    (13 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    9.7
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    KubernetesWindows Server Failover Clustering
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Kubernetes
    K8s should be avoided - If your application works well without being converted into microservices-based architecture & fits correctly in a VM, needs less scaling, have a fixed traffic pattern then it is better to keep away from Kubernetes. Otherwise, the operational challenges & technical expertise will add a lot to the OPEX. Also, if you're the one who thinks that containers consume fewer resources as compared to VMs then this is not true. As soon as you convert your application to a microservice-based architecture, a lot of components will add up, shooting your resource consumption even higher than VMs so, please beware. Kubernetes is a good choice - When the application needs quick scaling, is already in microservice-based architecture, has no fixed traffic pattern, most of the employees already have desired skills.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Windows ServerFailover Clustering works very well for applications that can sustain a short disconnect when failing over. It works, and works well, in providing single-node applications HA, meaning an active/passive setup. It is not a load balancing solution. Use NLB for that. Another area that it works well is when used in combination with Hyper-V. We set our Hyper-V hosts up as clusters, and those clusters also host clusters for SQL Server and other enterprise class applications like BMC's Control-M/Enterprise and Control-M/Server.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Kubernetes
    • Complex cluster management can be done with simple commands with strong authentication and authorization schemes
    • Exhaustive documentation and open community smoothens the learning process
    • As a user a few concepts like pod, deployment and service are sufficient to go a long way
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Live Migration of VMs between hosts. If you have sufficient network bandwidth, it is fast and I never had a failed live migration break the VM or kill it. Worst case is the live migration will fail (not enough RAM for example) but the VM always stayed up.
    • Windows Server Failover Clustering enables Scaleout Storage, which is probably the coolest feature Microsoft has to offer at this moment. It gives you Active-Active SMB file shares which can now be used by most Microsoft Services like MS SQL, Hyper-V, etc. and clients if Windows 8+
    • Cluster Validation is really complete and easy to understand. The validation gives you comprehensive error messages that help to diagnose and fix rapidly to get your Failover Cluster running in no time.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Kubernetes
    • Local development, Kubernetes does tend to be a bit complicated and unnecessary in environments where all development is done locally.
    • The need for add-ons, Helm is almost required when running Kubernetes. This brings a whole new tool to manage and learn before a developer can really start to use Kubernetes effectively.
    • Finicy configmap schemes. Kubernetes configmaps often have environment breaking hangups. The fail safes surrounding configmaps are sadly lacking.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • The setup of the Windows Server Failover Clustering is complex, requiring different networks and multiple network cards.
    • Better integration between the Windows Failover clustering and Hyper-V. Unlike VMWare you have to make changes to two places instead of just one panel.
    • I wish there was a web portal to manage the cluster. Instead you have to remote desktop into the VIP address and go to the Cluster manager.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Kubernetes
    The Kubernetes is going to be highly likely renewed as the technologies that will be placed on top of it are long term as of planning. There shouldn't be any last minute changes in the adoption and I do not anticipate sudden change of the core underlying technology. It is just that the slow process of technology adoption that makes it hard to switch to something else.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    It has proven its value to us both for maintaining SLAs and providing the ability to perform much needed and regular systems maintenance without taking applications offline for more than a few seconds.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Kubernetes
    It is an eminently usable platform. However, its popularity is overshadowed by its complexity. To properly leverage the capabilities and possibilities of Kubernetes as a platform, you need to have excellent understanding of your use case, even better understanding of whether you even need Kubernetes, and if yes - be ready to invest in good engineering support for the platform itself
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Usability of Failover Clustering on Windows Server is generally good. Failover Clustering console is not hard to understand if the complexity of the product is taken into account. Most of the task on the Cluster can be done via PowerShell, so automation is possible and not hard (PowerShell is very intuitive). Configuring storage is the hardest and most confusing task during cluster configuration, so storage configuration should be planned in advance. Cluster Validation Wizard is verbose but most of the errors are easy to understand.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Kubernetes
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Online documentation is excellent. Everything I needed to know, I learned from the online documentation. I haven't used phone support as I haven't needed to but would presume it is similar to Microsoft Support for other products that I've used. Phone support from Microsoft is hit and miss. It depends on who you get. That said, my rating is based on the online documentation.
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    Alternatives Considered
    Kubernetes
    Most of the required features for any orchestration tool or framework, which is provided by Kubernetes. After understanding all modules and features of the K8S, it is the best fit for us as compared with others out there.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Both VMware and Microsoft Failover do the job and they both do it extremely well. For many bussiness and environments though, they will have the existing investment in a Microsoft environment and Microsoft infrastructure. The introduction of VMware will or may achieve the end result however it introduces new dimensions like support, licensing, documentation and ensuring the support team are trained.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Kubernetes
    • Because of microservices, Kubernetes makes it easy to find the cost of each application easily.
    • Like every new technology, initially, it took more resources to educate ourselves but over a period of time, I believe it's going to be worth it.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Failover Cluster gives us the power to do updates or hardware upgrade / change without having to create an outage. Which permit us not to work night shifts.
    • By creating one cluster with all Hyper-V servers, it enabled us to move VMs via live migration between host to balance RAM usage which was time consuming and took a lot of time over network before.
    • It created some problems that caused us to have to investigate quite some time before finding the cause. We encountered dll locking that caused the Failover Cluster to force-restart a host. Logs are really not the strong point of Failover Cluster Manager, and even Microsoft Support wasn't able to help much. We had to find the problem ourself.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots