Virtuozzo vs VMware – Which is Best?

Known as the two biggest names in virtualization, Virtuozzo and VMware are the top choices for setting up a virtual private server. While they are both big names, they don’t provide the same features and functionality. Here’s a look at the main differences between the two.

Security and Reliability

One of the major differences between Virtuozzo and VMware is found in the security and reliability category. When you set up a virtual machine and all of the accounts use common operating system, it causes a weak security system. This type of environment is set up to cause issues across the entire server if one operating system is hacked or one OS experiences a bug in the software.

With VMware, this isn’t an issue because it uses critical OS patches. However, with Virtuozzo, every new patch has to be approved by the software provider, which causes issues. Overall, VMware offers better security and reliability.

Flexibility

Another key difference between VMware and Virtuozzo is found in the category of flexibility. Actually, the level of virtual server creation is one of the biggest differences. VMware will actually create different virtual servers with the hardware directly, while Virtuozzo creates the different virtual servers at the OS level.

With Virtuozzo, every virtual server run on the same physical hardware will also have to use the same single operating system. This doesn’t provide much flexibility. On the other hand, VMware doesn’t deal with these same issues because the virtual servers are created on the hardware level. This allows administrators to choose the operating system they want to use instead of sharing the same one with all accounts.

Virtual Memory

Virtuozzo cannot offer any virtual memory since the virtual servers are created on the operating system level. VMware, on the other hand, offers virtual memory to users.

Virtual memory is a very important thing. It will allow the user to utilize the free disk space for temporary storage for applications running out of RAM. This also allows for better performance and stability of the system.

Rebooting

Virtuozzo and VMware are also very different when it comes to rebooting. Virtuozzo containers require a scheduled system outage for a reboot, even during a test phase. This is due to the way the system is set up on the operating system level. The entire physical server will need to go down for the reboot, which means all accounts will experience downtime.

With VMware, a reboot can happen at any time without causing an entire server outage. You can reboot as often as necessary and when you need to since it creates the virtual servers on the hardware level.

On-Demand Capacity

Since VMware works on the hardware level and it can be powered by any physical server, users are able to migrate data to another server without any downtime. This may allow money saving benefits for customers and will certainly save the company time and data. Hosting companies are also able to take a server down for maintenance, while using an alternative server without interruption.

With Virtuozzo, this simply isn’t possible. Since it’s an OS virtual environment, live migration isn’t possible.

Balancing Recovery, High Availability and Weight Disaster Options

With VMware, you get the ability to use load balancing, high availability and disaster recovery options. This means your system has the ability to operate on a physical server meeting your requirements during peak times.

Virtuozzo cannot offer these options because it’s an operating system level environment. It’s not possible to allow the system to run on the server meeting your specific requirements during peak times. During busy times, you may even need to reboot the server with an OS-level environment.

Making the Decision Between Virtuozzo and VMware

After looking at the differences between Virtuozzo and VMware, it’s pretty clear which one offers a better choice for most applications. With Virtuozzo, you will be using an operating system level environment setting up the virtual servers at the OS level. This may cause issues for both the hosting company and the users.

However, VMware offers a solution at the hardware level allowing the virtual servers to use the operating system of their choice. This creates a more secure environment and provides many other benefits. For most applications, VMware is the better choice.