Best Server Virtualization Software include:
VMware ESXi, Nutanix AOS, vSphere, Oracle VM VirtualBox, and Hyper-V.
Server Virtualization Software TrustMap
TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 10 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.
Server Virtualization Software Overview
What is Server Virtualization Software?
Server virtualization software allows multiple operating systems to run independently of each other on a single machine in a data center. Virtualization software called Hypervisors encapsulates a guest version of the operating system and emulates hardware resources. In this way, virtualization software uses hypervisors to allow multiple server instances to run on a single machine.
Virtualization software reduces the need for physical hardware systems. The resulting increase in resource utilization lowers server costs. Containerization, however, popular since the emergence of Docker, supplies an alternative to server virtualization for organizations that only require the use of one operating system. Containerization achieves greater efficiency than server virtualization software by foregoing a hypervisor and sharing a single instance of the operating system and running on the “bare metal” of the server.
Server Virtualization Software Features & Capabilities
Server virtualization software provides these common features:
- Type 1 or type 2 hypervisor
- Run multiple virtual machines using different OS on same server
- Automated virtual machine provisioning
- Manage remote physical locations, branch locations with rapid provisioning
- Server health monitoring, performance bottleneck, workload rebalancing
- Centrally control and optimize virtual machine environment
- Patch or backup virtual machines without interrupting service
- Migrate live virtual machines between hosts during scheduled maintenance
- Hypervisor-level security, including antivirus and anti-malware
- Secure apps and infrastructure with guest operating system lockdown
- Auditable activity, performance log
Types of Virtualization Software
Virtualization software can be distinguished by the type of hypervisor they utilize. Hypervisors are an important part of virtualization software as they allow a host machine to manage multiple virtual machines.Type 1 hypervisors are installed directly onto the server. As a result, type 1 hypervisors provide high efficiency and stability. Server virtualization software that uses a type 1 hypervisor is ideal for larger operations that use many server instances.
Type 2 hypervisors are installed on top of a server’s operating system. Virtualization software using a type 2 hypervisor is easier to install and manage for smaller projects but can become more difficult to manage as projects grow.
Pricing Information
Server virtualization inherently reduces data center costs by improving resource utilization. Virtualization software subscriptions are available at a monthly or (more common) annual cost, with reduction in cost for up-front multi-year commitments. Subscriptions are priced according to managed hypervisor socket pairs, or per number of physical processors featuring virtualization. Free trials ranging from 30 to 60 days are available from some vendors. Server virtualization is also sometimes offered with on-demand pricing (e.g. compute capacity per hour).
Server Virtualization Products
(1-24 of 24) Sorted by Most Reviews
Scale Computing offers edge computing, virtualization, and hyperconverged solutions for customers around the globe. Scale Computing HC3® software promises to eliminate traditional virtualization software, disaster recovery software, servers, and shared storage, replacing these with a fully integrate…
Nutanix in San Jose, California offers their software-defined Enterprise Cloud as a hyper-converged infrastructure solution. The Nutanix Enterprise Cloud solution combines the Nutanix Acropolis virtualization solution, Nutanix AHV hypervisor (though Acropolis works with other hypervisors), Prism clu…
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.
VMware Workstation Pro is virtualization software which allows running multiple x86-based operating systems on one PC.
IBM Cloud for VMware
Solutions is designed to make cloud adoption fast and easy, allowing the user to optimize the
value of existing on-premises infrastructure, while leveraging the
same tools, technologies and skills in the cloud. Gain rapid scalability,
deployment in 35+ global data centers and ac…
Citrix Hypervisor (formerly XenServer) is a virtualization management platform optimized for application, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures.
Oracle Linux, which is 100% application binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, is free to download, use, and share. There is no license cost, no need for a contract, and no usage audits. Cost-effective, 24/7 enterprise-grade support is available for business critical environments. A single…
Red Hat Virtualization (formerly Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, broadly known as RHEV) is an enterprise level server and desktop virtualization solution. Red Hat Virtualization also contains the functionality of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktop in later editions of the platform.
Nerdio provides streaming IT services over the Internet by virtualizing hardware and software. Companies using Nerdio no longer have to maintain servers, desktops and software, but instead plug into virtual services in the cloud.
Kernel-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.
Virtual Machines (VMs) are available on Microsoft Azure, providing what is built as a low-cost, per-second compute service, available via Windows or Linux.
VSOM from VMware was a solution that delivered vSphere server virtualization, and also added capacity management and performance monitoring features. It is discontinued as of February 2019. Users were migrated to VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus and VMware vRealize Operations Standard.
The Evolve IP OneCloud Virtual Data Center is a Virtual Private Cloud Computing Service that is designed to enable customers to leverage guaranteed resource reservation pools (processor, memory and disk resources) at Evolve IP’s data centers. The vendor says that by using the Virtual Private Cloud (…
HostSailor’s Netherlands VPS Servers is virtual service provider solution (VSP). This solution includes free DDoS protection for all VPS plans in Romania as well as free technical support.
Virtuozzo, formerly Parallels Cloud Server is a container based server virtualization technology.
OpenVZ is container-based virtualization for Linux supported by Odin and fundamental to that company's commercial offering, Virtuozzo.
VMware Cloud Foundation on IBM Cloud brings together VMware vSphere, vSAN, and NSX into a natively-integrated stack of virtual compute, virtual storage, and virtual networking built upon IBM Bluemix bare metal servers.