The Most Popular Enterprise-level Virtualization Platform, Ranked

Choose the enterprise-level virtualization platform you think is the most popular!

Author: Gregor Krambs
Updated on May 1, 2024 06:36
In the dynamic world of IT, where organizations strive to optimize efficiency and cost-effectiveness, the choice of a virtualization platform can significantly impact business operations. As companies leverage virtual environments to boost flexibility and scalability, understanding which platforms lead the industry becomes crucial. This insight guides IT decision-makers in aligning their strategic initiatives with the most efficient and reliable virtualization technologies available. A live ranking that reflects current preferences helps organizations identify which virtualization platforms are favored by the majority for their robust features and performance. By participating in this voting process, users contribute to a clearer industry landscape, enabling others to make informed choices. This ranking is continually updated based on user votes, providing a snapshot of which solutions are currently meeting the needs of businesses most effectively.

What Is the Most Popular Enterprise-level Virtualization Platform?

  1. 1
    81
    votes
    VMware vSphere
    TimeWaitsForNobody · CC BY-SA 3.0

    VMware vSphere

    VMware, Inc.
    VMware vSphere is considered the industry leader in enterprise virtualization, it offers a range of features and capabilities including high availability, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery.
    VMware vSphere is a leading enterprise-level virtualization platform that provides infrastructure and services for creating, managing, and running virtual machines (VMs) in data centers. It enables organizations to consolidate their physical servers and efficiently utilize hardware resources.
    • Hypervisor: vSphere ESXi
    • Architecture: x86-64
    • Virtual CPUs per VM: Up to 128 vCPUs
    • Memory per VM: Up to 6TB
    • Maximum VMs per Host: Up to 1024
  2. 2
    15
    votes

    Microsoft Hyper-V

    Microsoft Corporation
    Microsoft Hyper-V is part of the Windows Server operating system, it offers a range of features such as live migration, storage migration, and network virtualization.
    Microsoft Hyper-V is a popular enterprise-level virtualization platform that allows users to create and manage virtual machines on Windows servers. It was first released in 2008 as a feature of Windows Server 2008. Hyper-V provides a scalable and reliable solution for virtualization, enabling organizations to consolidate their infrastructure, enhance server utilization, and optimize resource allocation.
    • Hypervisor Type: Type 1 - Native Bare Metal Hypervisor
    • Operating System Compatibility: Windows Server
    • Live Migration: Supports live migration of virtual machines between hosts
    • High Availability: Includes features like failover clustering, replication, and automatic workload balancing
    • Storage Migration: Allows migrating virtual machine storage between different storage devices
  3. 3
    13
    votes

    Citrix XenServer

    Citrix Systems
    Citrix XenServer is offers a range of enterprise-level features including high availability, disaster recovery, and workload balancing.
    Citrix XenServer is an enterprise-level virtualization platform that enables organizations to create and manage multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a single server. It provides a scalable and flexible solution for consolidating server resources and optimizing infrastructure efficiency. Developed by Citrix Systems, XenServer offers robust features and capabilities to streamline virtualization operations.
    • Hypervisor Type: Xen-based hypervisor
    • Virtual Machine Density: Supports large numbers of VMs per host
    • Live Migration: Enables seamless movement of VMs between hosts
    • High Availability: Provides fault tolerance and automatic VM restart
    • Resource Pooling: Allows efficient resource allocation and sharing
  4. 4
    5
    votes
    Red Hat Virtualization is based on the open-source KVM hypervisor, it offers a range of features including live migration, high availability, and disaster recovery.
    Red Hat Virtualization is an open-source, enterprise-grade virtualization platform developed by Red Hat. It provides advanced virtualization and management capabilities for businesses to efficiently manage their virtualized infrastructure.
    • Hypervisor Type: Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)
    • Scalability: Supports up to thousands of nodes and hundreds of thousands of virtual machines
    • High Availability: Built-in high availability features for continuous operations
    • Live Migration: Successful movement of virtual machines between hosts with zero downtime
    • Virtual Disk Format: Supports QCOW2 and RAW disk formats
  5. 5
    20
    votes

    Oracle VM

    Oracle Corporation
    Oracle VM is based on the open-source Xen hypervisor, it offers a range of features including live migration, high availability, and disaster recovery.
    Oracle VM is an enterprise-level virtualization platform developed by Oracle Corporation. It enables consolidation and management of multiple virtual machines on a single physical server, allowing organizations to optimize their infrastructure and reduce costs. Oracle VM is based on the Xen hypervisor and incorporates various management features to simplify virtual machine deployment and administration.
    • Hypervisor: Xen
    • Management Console: Oracle VM Manager
    • Supported Guest Operating Systems: Oracle Linux, Oracle Solaris, Microsoft Windows, and various Linux distributions
    • Live Migration: Supports movement of running virtual machines between physical servers without downtime
    • High Availability: Ensures virtual machines remain accessible in the event of server failures
  6. 6
    11
    votes

    Proxmox VE

    Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH
    Proxmox VE is based on the open-source KVM hypervisor, it offers a range of features including live migration, high availability, and disaster recovery.
    Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment) is an open-source, enterprise-level virtualization platform that combines virtualization, containerization, and software-defined storage in a single, integrated solution. It provides a powerful web-based management interface for users to deploy, manage, and monitor virtual machines and containers.
    • Hypervisor: KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
    • Containerization: LXC (Linux Containers)
    • Software-defined storage: Ceph, ZFS
    • High availability: Built-in clustering and HA management
    • Backup and restore: Integrated backup and recovery solutions
  7. 7
    6
    votes

    Nutanix Enterprise Cloud

    Nutanix, Inc.
    Nutanix Enterprise Cloud is offers a range of features including high availability, disaster recovery, and workload balancing.
    Nutanix Enterprise Cloud is a popular enterprise-level virtualization platform that provides a hyperconverged infrastructure for managing and running virtualized applications.
    • Hyperconverged Infrastructure: Integrates compute, storage, and virtualization resources into a single, scalable platform.
    • Software-defined: Utilizes software-based management and control of resources, allowing for flexibility and agility.
    • High Availability: Ensures continuous availability of applications and data through redundant infrastructure components.
    • Scalability: Easily scales resources to meet the changing demands of a growing enterprise.
    • One-Click Upgrades: Simplifies the process of upgrading the platform with minimal downtime.
  8. 8
    11
    votes
    OpenStack is an open-source cloud computing platform, it offers a range of virtualization features including live migration, high availability, and disaster recovery.
    OpenStack is a widely-used open-source software platform for creating and managing public and private clouds. It provides a set of flexible and scalable components for compute, networking, and storage, allowing enterprises to build and deploy infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solutions. OpenStack enables organizations to control and automate their cloud infrastructure, delivering self-service provisioning, resource orchestration, and scalable infrastructure management.
    • OpenStack Compute: Also known as Nova, it provides virtual machines and bare metal instances for processing workloads.
    • OpenStack Networking: Also known as Neutron, it offers network connectivity-as-a-service for managing networks and IP addresses.
    • OpenStack Block Storage: Also known as Cinder, it provides persistent block storage capabilities for virtual machines.
    • OpenStack Object Storage: Also known as Swift, it offers scalable and redundant object storage for storing large amounts of unstructured data.
    • OpenStack Identity: Also known as Keystone, it handles authentication and authorization across all OpenStack services.
  9. 9
    2
    votes
    IBM Cloud Private is based on the open-source Kubernetes container orchestration system, it offers a range of virtualization features including high availability and workload balancing.
  10. 10
    14
    votes

    Docker Enterprise

    Docker Inc.
    Docker Enterprise is based on the popular Docker containerization platform, it offers a range of virtualization features including high availability and workload balancing.
    Docker Enterprise is a popular enterprise-level virtualization platform that enables organizations to build, manage, and deploy applications using containerization technology. It provides a robust and scalable solution for running software in isolated containers, offering increased efficiency, portability, and security.
    • Containerization: Ability to run applications in isolated containers
    • Scalability: Support for large-scale deployments
    • Orchestration: Built-in orchestration features for managing containerized applications
    • Security: Advanced security measures, such as image scanning and role-based access control
    • Multi-tenancy: Ability to manage multiple isolated environments

Missing your favorite enterprise-level virtualization platform?

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Ranking factors for popular enterprise-level virtualization platform

  1. Performance
    The platform should deliver high performance and efficient resource utilization to ensure seamless operation across the enterprise infrastructure.
  2. Scalability
    The platform should be able to scale up or down according to the changing needs of the enterprise. This includes support for a large number of virtual machines and the ability to add or remove hardware resources as needed.
  3. Reliability
    Enterprise-level virtualization platforms must have high availability and fault tolerance to minimize downtime and ensure the smooth functioning of the enterprise's critical applications and services.
  4. Security
    The virtualization platform must offer robust security features, such as data encryption, access control, and compliance monitoring, to protect the sensitive data and privacy of the enterprise.
  5. Manageability
    The platform should offer easy and centralized management of virtual machines, networks, and storage resources. This includes monitoring, provisioning, and automation of virtual environments.
  6. Interoperability
    The virtualization platform should be compatible with different operating systems, applications, and hardware platforms. This ensures seamless integration with the existing enterprise IT infrastructure.
  7. Cost-effectiveness
    The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), including acquisition, deployment, and management costs should be considered when evaluating virtualization platforms. A platform that offers competitive pricing and flexible licensing options can provide long-term value.
  8. Technical support and community
    A virtualization platform vendor should provide solid technical support, including documentation, training, and customer service, to ensure smooth operation and troubleshooting. A strong community of users and developers can also offer valuable resources and support.
  9. Vendor reputation and stability
    Choosing a well-established and reputable vendor is crucial for long-term success with a virtualization platform. This ensures the ongoing development, updates, and support for the platform.
  10. Integration with third-party tools
    The virtualization platform should offer an ecosystem of compatible tools and applications to enhance the functionality, security, and management of the virtual environment. This includes compatibility with monitoring, backup, and security solutions.

About this ranking

This is a community-based ranking of the most popular enterprise-level virtualization platform. We do our best to provide fair voting, but it is not intended to be exhaustive. So if you notice something or platform is missing, feel free to help improve the ranking!

Statistics

  • 1731 views
  • 178 votes
  • 10 ranked items

Voting Rules

A participant may cast an up or down vote for each platform once every 24 hours. The rank of each platform is then calculated from the weighted sum of all up and down votes.

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More information on most popular enterprise-level virtualization platform

Virtualization has become an essential component of modern-day enterprise IT infrastructure. It enables businesses to run multiple operating systems and applications on a single physical server, thus reducing hardware costs and increasing resource utilization. One of the most popular virtualization platforms used by enterprises today is VMware. Founded in 1998, VMware has been at the forefront of virtualization technology, providing a range of products and solutions that cater to different business needs. VMware's flagship product, vSphere, is a comprehensive virtualization platform that offers a wide range of features, including high availability, disaster recovery, and automated workload management. Other popular enterprise-level virtualization platforms include Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and Red Hat Virtualization. These platforms offer similar features and capabilities, but each has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, the choice of virtualization platform depends on the specific needs and requirements of the enterprise.

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