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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Ubuntu

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AUbuntu Linux is a Linux-based operating system for personal computers, tablets and smartphones. There is also a Server version which is used on physical or virtual servers in the data center.N/A

    XenServer

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/AXenServer (formerly Citrix Hypervisor) is a virtualization management platform optimized for application, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures.N/A
    Pricing
    UbuntuXenServer
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    UbuntuXenServer
    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
    UbuntuXenServer
    Considered Both Products
    Canonical Ltd
    No answer on this topic
    Cloud Software Group
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    24 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    24 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    24 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    17 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    22 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    UbuntuXenServer
    Server Virtualization
    Comparison of Server Virtualization features of Ubuntu and XenServer
    Feature
    Ubuntu
    -
    Ratings
    XenServer
    7.6
    12 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Virtual machine automated provisioning00 Ratings7.011 Ratings
    Management console00 Ratings7.012 Ratings
    Live virtual machine backup00 Ratings8.010 Ratings
    Live virtual machine migration00 Ratings8.012 Ratings
    Hypervisor-level security00 Ratings8.011 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    UbuntuXenServer
    Small Businesses
    CentOS Linux
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Proxmox VE
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    IBM AIX
    Score9.4 out of 10
    VMware vSOM (discontinued)
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    IBM PowerVM
    Score9.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    UbuntuXenServer
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.7
    (47 ratings)
    7.0
    (12 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    6.0
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.6
    (6 ratings)
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.7
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    UbuntuXenServer
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Canonical Ltd
    If somebody whishes to be an IT professional, learning the basics of Linux is amust. Ubuntu [Linux] is one of the most beginner-friendly, widely supported, easy-to-use-relative-to-the-fact-that-its-still-linux OS on the market. As somebody who learned the basics of UNIX/LINUX on Ubuntu, it was a very good experience. It is customizable, has a lot of improvements over the years, and live up to be a viable alternative to any modern OS in 2021 as well.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    It can be really helpful & useful if we are using Citrix Hypervisor with other provisioning tools. Here are some specific scenarios where Citrix Hypervisor (formerly Citrix XenServer) is well-suited: Server Consolidation, Virtual Desktops, Disaster Recovery, Development & Testing Environments. On the other hand, there are some scenarios where Citrix Hypervisor may be less appropriate: Small-scale Deployments, Highly Heterogeneous Environments, and Limited Virtualization Requirements.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Canonical Ltd
    • PACKAGE MANAGEMENT. You can update everything - OS installed software, you name it with either a few clicks in a GUI or a single command.
    • No bloatware.
    • No need for antivirus software.
    • Certainly the price is right.
    • My 83 year old grandmother has been using it - and because of this I rarely need to provide tech support. But I still visit my grandmother.
    • You can choose from a variety of user interfaces or rock it in the terminal.
    • Generally speaking, Ubuntu is as polished an OS as any you might pay for.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    • Citrix hypervisor does price very well for small organizations. It is free.
    • Since this product is open source it does not have any type of vendor lockdown issues.
    • Allows live migration of VM's so you can keep systems up and running when changes are needed to the hardware in the background.
    • The GUI management tools are quite easy to learn.
    • Has Snapshot capability which is a great way to protect against malware as well as do risk-free upgrades.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Canonical Ltd
    • The repository system could be a little better, as some of the software needed is not easily available there.
    • Ubuntu sometimes does not play nicely or easily with some modern firmwares.
    • Some people report slow responses with newer versions of Ubuntu, although we have not experienced any.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    • Adding or presenting additional storage to the host can often be a task that is far more involved than competitive products.
    • The product can require reboots more frequently than competitors due to the DOM kernel getting "hung up".
    • Sometimes when a virtual machine is deleted it still leaves behind orphaned vdisks.
    • Recovering from the loss of a host can sometimes cause virtual machines to require lengthy command prompt scripting to fix so they can be powered back on from another host.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Canonical Ltd
    While it works, we're finding that SNAP is getting more and more annoying, so we're probably going to migrate to Debian.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    With the knowledge and usage of solutions from VMware and Microsoft offering more compelling cloud integrated options it makes it more compelling in many environments which I consult. XenServer is a good product and fits the bill in many smaller environments but as clients look to the cloud or a hybrid cloud it can in some cases make it a bit more difficult.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Canonical Ltd
    I gave it 10 out of 10 because it allows me to do the work I need on a server, such as running a website and database, and making developments. In addition, thanks to its easy and useful interface during installation, it can be easily installed. In addition, thanks to its easily accessible documents, when a problem occurs, it can be solved easily and quickly.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    XenServer is a good product in its use and probably free if you have the right Citrix licenses already. However, it does require specific knowledge to manage, which makes it harder to manage if you don't have that knowledge in house.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Cloud Software Group
    It's been a little problematic in the past at larger VDI deployments requiring a bit more care and feeding than other vendors. But the latest releases (6.5.x) have brought about huge improvements in the stability and availability.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Cloud Software Group
    When running like a top XenServer is a fantastic hypervisor. There is relatively low overhead on the Dom0 so workloads get the most of the resources.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Canonical Ltd
    We did not use the managed commercial support, but instead relied on community forums and official documentation. Ubuntu is very well documented across both instructional documentation from the developers themselves as well as informal support forums [ServerFault, YCombinator, Reddit]. It's easy enough to find an answer to any question you may have
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    The staff I've worked with are very knowledgeable or able to get a very well articulated and capable support team member on the phone or helping them if necessary and they always want to ensure the best experience possible for you on the platform. The ability for the support team to reach out to hardware vendors for assistance is a nice plus too.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Cloud Software Group
    Part of a training for certification to become a trainer for Citrix included an in-person training with a Master CCI. The XenServer training at this time was pretty simplified due to the product primarily being installed however you did have to work with it and mildly configure the system.
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Cloud Software Group
    Haven't given it a real go with any online training however there are some options out there. I have taught a course following Citrix material for XenDesktop which leverages XenServer and it is pre-built so not the best for XenServer specifically for installation but configuration is mildly touched on
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Canonical Ltd
    It was all pretty much automatic for our use cases. It integrates nicely with Laravel Forge, which is our primary use case.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    Ensure you review the HCL (hardware compatibility list) and reach out to the hardware vendors to ensure they support the platform and in case they have documentation that can be followed for the implementation. Also ensure the prerequisites are completed prior to implementation so that as few unexpected delays occur as you can control.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Canonical Ltd
    Windows 10: Expensive, with more security problems, more difficult to keep updated and less variety of free / open source applications. Its use encourages bad information security practices. OpenSuse Linux: A different distribution at source (Suse Linux), use of rpm packages (with fewer repositories and incompatible with Ubuntu Linux dpkg packages), and whose main objective is to be a "testing ground" for its paid version / professional, SUSE enterprise Linux.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    Feature for feature they are neck and neck. I have used Hyper-V 2012 and 2016, VMware ESXi and XenServer evenly. XenServer is a fast install, good documentation, with enterprise features out the box that compare or exceed what VMWare offered with a higher cost of entry.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Canonical Ltd
    No answers on this topic
    Cloud Software Group
    The servers latest versions have made massive improvements to scalability. But from past experience there have been issues when running workloads for extended periods of time without reboot on the hosts. I would need to run similar workloads on the 6.5 release which has changed much of the bottlenecks or issues so I'd imagine its far more capable now, Perhaps able to stand near the best in the market.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Canonical Ltd
    • Systems administration with Ubuntu is easy with little deep knowledge about it. Docs and community publications are great resources for any task you need to perform on any Ubuntu server and the organization can save several salaries of specialized sys admins in favor of more active roles.
    • Having been an Ubuntu user for many years personally, setting up new Ubuntu servers on my organization came with zero cost for me. I just deployed one instance from my hosting/cloud provider and started working right after it was running, no need to ask support or hire new staff for these tasks.
    • Replacing paid options with Ubuntu have also saved thousands of dollars on Windows Server licenses. I've migrated Windows/SQL Server based systems to Ubuntu/MySQL/PostgreSQL several times during my career and saved about USD 5000/year in licenses to many of them.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    • Xenserver is easy to learn. We paid for support only for installation and deployment in the first three years, and now our team has the knowledge to solve most problems.
    • Low CAPEX if you have a team that uses open source software day by day.
    • But paid support is necessary to solve critical problems. The open source community is not enough. Actually, we have difficulty solving some bugs without paying for support.
    • Medium OPEX if you have a team that uses open source software day by day.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots