Citrix XenServer vs IBM PowerVM comparison

Citrix and IBM are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. Citrix is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.4, while IBM is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.3. Citrix holds a 4.9% mindshare in SVS, compared to IBM’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of Citrix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Citrix XenServer

Read 47 Citrix XenServer reviews

9,387 Views
6,634 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

IBM PowerVM

Read 33 IBM PowerVM reviews

2,224 Views
1,913 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Citrix XenServer

IBM PowerVM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

IBM PowerVM and Citrix XenServer compete in the virtualization category. PowerVM seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced features like Live Partition Mobility and its strong reputation for stability and security.

Features: IBM PowerVM offers advanced capabilities such as Active Memory Sharing, Live Partition Mobility, and high security to efficiently manage resources and ensure compliance. Citrix XenServer, on the other hand, boasts ease of setup, management with Windows-based applications, and real-time performance monitoring, accommodating Windows and Linux OS compatibility.

Room for Improvement: IBM PowerVM is often criticized for its high cost and limited OS compatibility, which restricts it to IBM-approved systems. Users also call for improved cloud integration and a more user-friendly interface. Citrix XenServer needs better management tools, enhanced Linux support, and integration with third-party solutions. The free version's limitations often push users towards its paid support for full functionality.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM PowerVM is known for its effective technical support, characterized by responsive assistance, though some suggest improvements in complex cases. Citrix XenServer offers easy deployment, backed by average customer service and adequate technical support, which benefits from a broad user community.

Pricing and ROI: IBM PowerVM is priced at a premium, but users find its comprehensive licensing and reliability worth the investment, although cost remains a concern. Citrix XenServer's free edition is appreciated for its cost-effectiveness with available paid options. Despite significant cost savings compared to VMware, high licensing costs can deter budget-conscious buyers.

To learn more, read our detailed Citrix XenServer vs. IBM PowerVM Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Citrix XenServer vs. IBM PowerVM

October 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Citrix XenServer

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM PowerVM

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Citrix XenServer is 4.9%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM PowerVM is 1.2%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Virtualization Software

Featured Reviews

Siva Kuppala

Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited

Apr 29, 2024

Allows us to allocate CPU, memory, storage, and network resources across VMs and minimizes downtime in case of hardware failure or maintenance

It is a scalable product and provides great benefits for virtualization needs. However, there are a few considerations: * Cost: Citrix Hypervisor can be fairly expensive. * Complexity: There's a learning curve, especially for those coming from a Microsoft background. Setting it up and managing it can introduce some complexity. * Hardware Support: Not all major hardware vendors fully support Citrix Hypervisor. * Third-party Integration: Integrating Hypervisor with other technologies within a large ecosystem can sometimes be challenging. * Community Support: Compared to solutions like Microsoft Hyper-V, the community support for Citrix Hypervisor is somewhat less extensive. It is not vast. If there are any issues or errors, the community support is not that good. Those are definitely important disadvantages.

Read full review

Atif Najam

Chief Information Officer and Program Lead at Gatron Industries Ltd

Oct 18, 2022

A stable system for high-end data processing with a great support structure

The only problem with the IBM system is improving its hardware licensing model. For example, when you procure a server with 40 physical codes, you must also procure licenses to activate the codes. In Dell or any system, you procure the hardware and have the full right to use the hardware. For IBM, it's different because when you procure a 40-code processor and have 40 physical codes, you only have a license to use 20. As a result, the 20 alert codes will always be in activated mode. Hence, the hardware licensing model could be improved because the licensing model is a bit different from the standard hardware procured.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution's security is its most valuable aspect."

"The compatibility of the solution is its most valuable feature. It's compatible on almost every cloud these days."

"The core function enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server. This maximizes hardware utilization and efficiency."

"Scripting can automate procedures."

"The solution is easy to deploy. It's very easy to understand problems and read logs."

"The support for this solution is phenomenal."

"There's no complexity in using the tool, especially with the VBI integration. It works very well and has proven to be a stable platform. I have experienced attacks, such as ransomware, but my Citrix Hypervisor virtual machines were protected. This is due to its hardened operating system and DNS, which successfully protected the virtual machines on that platform."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is very fast. It also works very well for physically small servers."

More Citrix XenServer pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is administration."

"IBM technical support is always good and quick."

"It's in English, so its exceptional qualities make the control environment more flexible, easier, more stable, and easy to recover after issues."

"Active Memory Sharing dynamically reallocates memory of running partitions based on changing workload demands. The memory for the pool is carved out from Physical memory and is made logical memory. The said memory is not available to be assigned to partitions as dedicated memory. A min, max and desired as well as weight is assigned to the memory of each lpar to help hypervisor make a decision in case a condition where priority is to be given to a certain lapr to use the memory form shared pool."

"The support is easily reachable."

"It is a complete solution."

"Technical support is great."

"The most valuable feature of PowerVM is the dynamic allocation of resources."

More IBM PowerVM pros

Cons

"It would be very helpful if I could browse the data store directly in the GUI, similar to VMware and Hyper-V. This feature would be particularly useful when something goes wrong with a virtual machine or virtual disk."

"The main problem with Citrix Hypervisor is getting readily available backup solutions for it. It would be wonderful if Hypervisor were better integrated with third-party backup solutions."

"It needs to have a more robust backup solution."

"The built-in networking features are a little limited."

"The solution needs better backup facilities that are available for virtual machines to create servers on."

"I would like the possibility of updating the hypervisor by applying security patches."

"The solution is too expensive and people are kind of moving away from Citrix. It's starting to become a problem. It is a primary reason that while we are rebuilding we're going to seek out open-source solutions."

"The solution should be more flexible and allow for greater customization."

More Citrix XenServer cons

"As understand it, IBM sells all its hardware to Lenovo, and only PCs servers are managed by IBM. It's uncertain how much longer IBM will continue in this way, especially with the current trend of transitioning from on-premises to cloud and hybrid models. The market is evolving. Given this market shift, it's essential to identify areas for improvement. IBM has introduced the PowerVM Series, including Linux, which is a positive step. However, customers are already moving towards x86 servers due to cost considerations. The cost of PowerVM compared to x86 servers appears to be a significant factor."

"I don't know whether this has been trialed already, but IBM should give us an alert when we reach seven or eight failovers so that we can automatically switch it to manual mode. That would be great because if we cross the 10-day licensing limit, we have to pay a hefty license cost to Oracle. If IBM could view that feature, it would be helpful in license compliance."

"The solution is quite pricey."

"This solution is lacking the ability to have servers act as a cluster, such as in VMware. IBM has come out with a feature similar to VMware's vCenter but it is not as mature. They need to add LPM shared-nothing feature, such as in vMotion."

"Any improvements that can be made in the interface will go a long way to helping us work better."

"If it could actually virtualize the entire platform it might be better. If you're having more than one virtualization technology, maybe there's a way to actually have less - one technology to run the data center and maybe one special virtualization for power. If it integrated with other platforms more effectively it might be better."

"PowerVM's platform build and performance could be improved."

"The interface is not user-friendly in places, so it could use some improvement."

More IBM PowerVM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is straight forward based on usage and features."

"Citrix Hypervisor is a licensed product, and customers who buy the Citrix XenDesktop get Citrix Hypervisor for free. If they don't buy the license for Citrix XenDesktop, they'll need to pay for Citrix Hypervisor and its price is high. Pricing is even higher than VMware. The licensing policy for Citrix Hypervisor is good. It's straightforward. The only issue is the price because it's an expensive product."

"The cost of this product is not high."

"While it is free for small networks, the pricing is high if your network grows past a certain size."

"We migrated from VMware to XenCenter to cut costs."

"This solution is open source, it's free."

"Citrix is a good low-cost alternative to VMware, so if budgeting is an issue then I would recommend it."

"There are free and paid versions. The free version is limited in features but not by time limit. The paid version has more features."

More Citrix XenServer pricing and cost advice

"The license cost is bundled with IBM Power Systems as it is limited to RISC-based IBM systems only."

"IBM PowerVM costs more than other products but the customer does not need to pay additional money for the licenses. In VMware, you need to license everything. With IBM PowerVM it is unlimited and all-inclusive in the price you pay."

"Even if the product is expensive, it works well in the long term. The tool is more or less expensive, and I would presently describe it as an optimally priced product."

"The pricing for PowerVM is on the higher. Regarding the license, it can be on a monthly or annual basis, depending on the deal. Customers may choose to pay annually, one-time, or monthly based on their agreement with the sales team. As for additional costs, customers need to pay for support if they opt for it. If not, they only pay for the hardware cost as per the agreement."

"We have to purchase the product's licenses."

"IBM PowerVM's pricing is cheap."

"The cost is on the higher side. Typically, we invest in the machine and support for two, three, or five years."

"The price varies from case to case and you have to negotiate it for every project."

More IBM PowerVM pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

Thang Le Toan (Victory Lee)

CIO at Robusta Technology & Training

Jan 13, 2015

vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer

We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

52%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Hypervisor?

The core function enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server. This maximizes hardware utilization and efficiency.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Hypervisor?

I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with one being very inexpensive and ten being very expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Citrix Hypervisor?

It would be very helpful if I could browse the data store directly in the GUI, similar to VMware and Hyper-V. This feature would be particularly useful when something goes wrong with a virtual mach...

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM PowerVM?

Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM PowerVM?

PowerVM is expensive but worth the investment for the reliability and performance it offers.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM PowerVM?

Currently, all the necessary features are working fine for us. However, technical support could be improved, especially when seeking solutions to issues.

See all answers

Comparisons

Proxmox VE vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 36% of the time

VMware vSphere vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 25% of the time

Hyper-V vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 21% of the time

KVM vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 7% of the time

Nutanix AHV Virtualization vs Citrix XenServer

Compared 5% of the time

More Citrix XenServer Competitors

VMware vSphere vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 62% of the time

KVM vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 12% of the time

Hyper-V vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 8% of the time

Proxmox VE vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 7% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM PowerVM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Citrix XenServer

November 2024

Download Citrix XenServer product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM PowerVM

November 2024

Download IBM PowerVM product report

Also Known As

Hypervisor

PowerVM

Learn More

Citrix

IBM

Overview

Citrix XenServer is a virtualization platform used in industries such as banking, automotive, and data applications for cloud automation, server virtualization, and VDI scenarios. It supports infrastructure management, virtual machine hosting, and enterprise software deployment, reducing costs by migrating from other platforms.

As a virtualization tool, Citrix XenServer stands out for its ease of maintenance, support, scalability, and centralized management. Commonly deployed on-premises and in data centers, it provides real-time monitoring, live migration, and strong security features. With compatibility across many operating systems, users benefit from a Windows-based management interface that is easy to install and navigate. Integration capabilities with active directory, storage, and load balancing contribute to resource optimization and reliability.

What are the key features of Citrix XenServer?

Cost-effectiveness: Reduces operational expenses across IT environments.
High Performance: Real-time monitoring and live migration support high efficiency.
Security: Strong safeguards protect data and processes.
Management Interface: Windows-based, offering user-friendly controls.
OS Compatibility: Works with a range of operating systems for flexibility.
Advanced Integrations: Active directory, storage, and load balancing maximize resources.

What benefits should users consider in Citrix XenServer reviews?

Scalability: Easily adapts to growing demands.
Ease of Deployment: Streamlines the installation process for quick setup.
Comprehensive Virtualization: Offers extensive capabilities for seamless operations.
Centralized Management: Facilitates control through XenCenter.

Implementation in banking, automotive, and data applications leverages Citrix XenServer's strengths in cloud automation and virtualization. Organizations manage resources, deploy services, and ensure stable operations within their infrastructure. The platform is used both on-premises and in data centers, aiding in areas such as cost reduction and maintenance efficiency.

Power is server virtualization without limits. Businesses are turning to PowerVM server virtualization to consolidate multiple workloads onto fewer systems, increasing server utilization and reducing cost. PowerVM provides a secure and scalable server virtualization environment for AIX, IBM i and Linux applications built upon the advanced RAS features and leading performance of the Power Systems platform.

Sample Customers

U.S. Army Shared Services Center, SoftLayer, Educational Services of America, Independent Bank, and SK Telecom.

Sto, Soitec, SNO, Bundesrechenzentrum GmbH, Al Mansour Holding, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Huhtamaki, ELK Group, IT-Informatik, Arkansas Tech University, Pneuhage

Buyer's Guide

Citrix XenServer vs. IBM PowerVM

October 2024

Free Report: Citrix XenServer vs. IBM PowerVM

Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix XenServer vs. IBM PowerVM and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

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