Item: Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

KVM is the underlying technology for all of the virtualization that we run. We wanted to ensure that we weren't tied into a specific vendor and could easily migrate if one started to misbehave. By using KVM based solutions, we can easily shift to new solutions as things improve, set up low cost lab/testing environments, and provide solid virtualization environments for our clients.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Virtualization
Snapshotting
Management

Cons

Graphical performance is lacking
Sometimes documentation isn't as strong as we would like.

Return on Investment

Deploy low/no cost software solutions
Become hardware agnostic
Free ourselves of vendor lock-in

Usability

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.

Alternatives Considered

VMware ESXi
XenServer

We've found KVM to be less problematic, both from a stabilty standpoint, but also in a flexibility and licensing standpoint. We love being able to deploy the hardware we want, as we want it, without needing the blessing of a specific vendor.

Key Insights

Do you think Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)'s feature set?

Yes

Did Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) again?

Yes

Other Software Used

TrueNAS, Fedora Linux, Debian OS, KeePassXC

Likelihood to Recommend

If you are running software from a vendor that doesn't require something specific (like VMWare) KVM is likely a great fit. It performs well (outside of graphics work), supports pretty much all features one would need in a small to mid size enterprise, and doesn't lock you into bad licensing schemes. It also lets you easily move from one vendor to another easily, so it gives you a lot of agility in how you manage your infrastructure.

KVM Feature Ratings

Comments

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