Remote Desktop Services vs. Oracle VM VirtualBox

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Remote Desktop Services
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Remote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
Oracle VM VirtualBox
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Open source, cross-platform, virtualization software that enables developers to deliver code faster by running multiple operating systems on a single device, used to deploy applications on-premises and to the cloud. Oracle VM VIrtualBox is Oracle's cross-platform virtualization offering, acquired with Sun Microsystems in early 2010. The software was originally developed by Innotek GmbH.N/A
Pricing
Remote Desktop ServicesOracle VM VirtualBox
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Remote Desktop ServicesOracle VM VirtualBox
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
Remote Desktop ServicesOracle VM VirtualBox
Features
Remote Desktop ServicesOracle VM VirtualBox
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
5.5
4 Ratings
37% below category average
Oracle VM VirtualBox
-
Ratings
Screen sharing7.64 Ratings00 Ratings
File transfer6.34 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant message1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication6.72 Ratings00 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers3.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session5.54 Ratings00 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile5.43 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations6.93 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management7.53 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard5.43 Ratings00 Ratings
Session record5.63 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts5.43 Ratings00 Ratings
Server Virtualization
Comparison of Server Virtualization features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
-
Ratings
Oracle VM VirtualBox
8.1
50 Ratings
0% below category average
Virtual machine automated provisioning00 Ratings8.036 Ratings
Management console00 Ratings8.646 Ratings
Live virtual machine backup00 Ratings8.236 Ratings
Live virtual machine migration00 Ratings7.033 Ratings
Hypervisor-level security00 Ratings9.029 Ratings
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Remote Desktop ServicesOracle VM VirtualBox
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Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.3 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 9.3 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Remote Desktop ServicesOracle VM VirtualBox
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(18 ratings)
8.3
(53 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(3 ratings)
10.0
(7 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Remote Desktop ServicesOracle VM VirtualBox
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Remote Desktop Services provides access to work environments from any device. This allows us to ensure business continuity in case of disaster. It provides admins more control over access and security. Remote Desktop Services simplifies software updates and compliance management by reducing the need to act on end users devices.
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Oracle
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.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • When you connect with RDS, everything looks and feels (and is) exactly like you're sitting at that desktop. This is great for us and for users.
  • You can sign in with RDS and the desktop will be the same as when you left it (if you choose to set it up that way).
  • Although they take some setup, RemoteApps are a very handy way to let users access a program without requiring them to actually connect to a remote desktop on the server.
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Oracle
  • 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
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Cons
Microsoft
  • Remote Desktop Services currently does not support multiple monitors on the terminal server. Unlike other applications such as Teamviewer, there's no feature to toggle between multiple screens even if they were connected to the terminal server.
  • Remote Desktop Services should provide an option to scale up or down the screen size after a connection is established. Currently you can only adjust the screen size prior to a connection is established. So you'll have to take a best guess at what display screen resolution will fit best on your screen.
  • Remote Desktop Services should offer some kind of menu to send special key strokes like Ctrl+Alt+Del to the terminal server. Currently the substitute for that particular combination is Ctrl+Alt+End. But I have yet to discover a replacement for other combination keystrokes such as Alt+PrintScrn.
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Oracle
  • 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.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Oracle
I give this rating because virtual box is inexpensive but there is another product such as vm ware that can also be used
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Usability
Microsoft
The initial setup for Remote Desktop Services is complex, and licensing is costly. Each user connects to their virtual desktop hosted by a single server or group of servers, so a change or issue with servers quickly impacts every single user at the same time. Aside from that, users appreciate seeing their same personal desktop from any device or geographical location.
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Oracle
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
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Oracle
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.
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Performance
Microsoft
There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
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Oracle
No issues, especially with the extensions addons.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
As with any Microsoft Server product, support for Remote Desktop Services requires a paid support package. These are license-based and very costly, on top of the already costly product licensing. Microsoft's licensing is complicated to begin with, so setting up licensing alone essentially requires a licensing expert's counsel. There is community documentation and support available on Microsoft websites, as well as community websites.
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Oracle
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.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Oracle
We really enjoy using virtual box. We do not require to buy expensive hardware but instead we can minimize costs and maximize profits.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
We selected Remote Desktop Services based upon price alone. Other solutions on the market are significantly more expensive, but if your company can foot the bill you should seriously consider products that have been on the market for longer. The lack of an ability to easily upgrade farm servers has been a challenge for us - although it is still faster than updating an application on 2000+ machines. The lack of a centralized management console in 2008 R2 is also challenging, but you get by with the tools available to you. If you don't have the money to spend on Citrix or VMWare Horizon, Remote Desktop Services is a decent replacement.
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Oracle
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
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Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Oracle
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.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Allowed remote users access from home
  • Shared file access for multipolar users from a centralized location
  • Cost to add additional users when maxed out
  • Purchase multiple licenses for programs to run in virtual machines. Or unable to run on a virtual machine
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Oracle
  • 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).
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ScreenShots