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VMware ESX 2 vs. MS Virtual Server?

Posted by Cliff on from the hare-vs-the-gorilla dept.

Saqib Ali asks: "I m sure most of you have heard that Connectix, the makers of Virtual PC/Server, have been acquired by Microsoft. Based on the technology acquired, MS has developed a new product called Microsoft Virtual Server, using which a Windows Server 2003 based server can run multiple operating systems concurrently. I am doing a preliminary analysis of using MS Virtual Server vs. running VMware ESX Server 2.0 on Clustered Linux Environment. Both solutions offer a way of running multiple OSes in a virtual environment using the same underlying OS (Windows 2003 or Linux). Of course, running VMware on Linux, offers the stability, scalability, and reliability of Linux, and also prevents a business form being locked into one single vendor. However running Microsoft Virtual Server does have some merits from a business perspective (vendor viability, reduced licensing costs etc). Any thoughts on merits/benefits/downside of using either of the technology stacks?"

7 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I wouldn't consider a Microsoft Virtual Server by stonebeat.org · · Score: 2, Informative

    well they didnt actually "produced" the virtual server, they just bought the technology from Connectix. So we should be evaluating how good of product Connectix produced.

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    Consensus is good, but informed dictatorship is better
  2. ESX does not run under linux by QuantumG · · Score: 3, Informative

    it has it's own BSD style kernel which does more sophisticated (fair) scheduling and memory management (on-demand page sharing between VMs). People think it's linux based because it has the GNU toolchain ported to it (ie, they're morons).

    --
    How we know is more important than what we know.
    1. Re:ESX does not run under linux by stonebeat.org · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually ESX technology is not based on either:
      The following is a passage from http://www.vmware.com/products/server/esx_faqs.htm l: "VMware's patented and patent-pending technology serves as the foundation for VMware ESX Server; it is not derived from Linux or FreeBSD." However vmware's GSX technology can run on either Linux or Windows.

      --


      Consensus is good, but informed dictatorship is better
    2. Re:ESX does not run under linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Vmware ESX server does not rely on Linux kernel modules for hardware support. It does rely on ESX kernel modules for hardware support.

      The console OS is Linux and can see any device Linux is capable of seeing with the proper driver. However, if the ESX kernel does not support your device (RAID controller, NIC, etc.) you can't assign it for use by virtual machines. Currently ESX server only supports a small subset of devices in comparison to Linux. The ESX kernel does use the kernel module paradigm, but that is as far as the similarity goes.

      The console OS (Redhat Linux) serves primarily as a bootloader for the ESX kernel. It does run processes which aid in I/O for Remote Console sessions among other things, but that's it. The ESX kernel sees the console OS as just another virtual machine.

    3. Re:ESX does not run under linux by chunkwhite86 · · Score: 2, Informative

      it has it's own BSD style kernel which does more sophisticated (fair) scheduling and memory management (on-demand page sharing between VMs). People think it's linux based because it has the GNU toolchain ported to it (ie, they're morons).

      Yes, it does. ESX server is based on RedHat 7.2. It's a Linux kernel that boots when you power on the machine. Only at the end of the bootup process, the Linux kernel is swapped out into it's own single CPU VM, and the VMware kernel is swapped in and controls the remaining CPU's and the individual VM's.

      --
      I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
  3. Re:VMWare works by foooo · · Score: 3, Informative

    VMWare works, but Microsoft is trying to make you buy a license for every virtual image on the machine.

    so.... VMWare($300) on top of windows (at least $100) and
    on top of VMWare copies of windows (at least $100) and any copies of office or anything like that (X dollars) TIMES the number of virtual machines that you have saved.

    Or you could run virtual images of linux or whatever.

    But if you bought VMWare with the purpose of being able to inexpensively and quickly deal with multiple Images (for corporate imaging testing or what have you) or multiple MS operating systems.. then they try and rope you into a MSDN license.

    It's nutty

  4. Re:VMWare works by bhtooefr · · Score: 2, Informative

    But this guy is looking at VMware ESX Server 2 and MS Virtual Server. You're using the price for Workstation, which is probably much less than ESX (anyone got a quote?). Virtual PC 5 (for Windows) was approximately $130.