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Citrix XenServer vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Citrix XenServer
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (10th)
VMware Workstation
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Virtualization solutions, they serve different purposes. Citrix XenServer is designed for Server Virtualization Software and holds a mindshare of 5.1%, up 3.7% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 17.2% mindshare, up 14.5% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Siva Kuppala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Phanindar Ada - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers ease of deployment and use along with a comfortable configuration process to be handled
The tool's performance is really good, so I can rate it a ten out of ten. The product did meet my expectations by allowing me to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up. I took care of the integration part of VMware Workstation with vSphere. I describe the product's documentation as a good area. My company gets complaints about technical notes from VMware. My company does face limitations with the product, and it is based on the licenses that we have purchased from VMware. I rate the overall product a ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution allows the end users to clone, start, stop, or remotely control their VMs."
"This is a dependable solution for virtualization with a good community for product support."
"The onboarding process is pretty straightforward."
"Citrix is easy to use and is stable."
"This is a good product for virtualization and it is easy to use."
"The initial setup is easy."
"It is quite flexible and rugged. It is also easy to understand and user-friendly. It is not as complicated as some of the other solutions. It has its technicalities, but it is easy to understand. You can easily pick up in a short period of time and understand how to manage the infrastructure."
"Ability to move your virtual machines from one host to another."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
"I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for."
"VMware Workstation is great for migrating and patching operating systems."
"The solution's technical support team is excellent."
"Having ten people working off a single piece of hardware reduces costs."
"Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"VMware Workstation has tons of third-party support, the largest partner ecosystem. VMware works with a ton of different vendors. They have plugins for almost everything. Other hypervisors lack the flexibility that VMware Workstation offers."
 

Cons

"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 licensing costs are too high on the solution. They should work to make the costs more reasonable."
"We'd like them to add more automation to the product."
"The self-service user portal needs to be more granular and be more customizable."
"Citrix could provide more tools to help the client manage the solution because we need to build our own tools in some cases. Everything is available through PowerShell, but then you need to build your own scripts to do the more advanced work."
"I am not very sure about how flexible Citrix Hypervisor is with different types of infrastructures. I only know it is flexible with Nutanix, but I am not sure if it is also flexible with others. They can make its integration with other platforms or OEMs easy. They should also make it easy for users to manage their infrastructure. Citrix should make compatibility information related to a hypervisor easily available in a datasheet. Citrix isn't really recognized in this part of the world, and they need to expand their solution and make it more available. There are a lot of customers and companies that are looking for a solution like Citrix, and it should be available in this part of the world. They need to educate people more. Technically, it is good and flexible and has good ability, but it is not as much known as VMware or Microsoft. Their support should also be improved. Currently, if you don't have an updated version, they will not give you the attention."
"The built-in networking features are a little limited."
"The product could provide the features available in Microsoft Hyper-V."
"My experience with Workstation is limited, so I don't know all the functionalities of this tool. Maybe Workstation could add some more compatibility with other vendors."
"The product’s virtual machine data backup feature needs upgrading."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"Lacks the ability to clone onto another system rather than starting from scratch."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
"It would be better if software updates occur automatically."
"The network configuration was not as easy as it could be and could take less time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am fine with their license support. What we have right now is permanent, so I don't have a problem with their license."
"Citrix is a good low-cost alternative to VMware, so if budgeting is an issue then I would recommend it."
"There are three editions available and I believe they are perpetual licenses."
"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."
"This solution is open source, it's free."
"The licensing is straight forward based on usage and features."
"The pricing and licensing is so important. Customers do consider the price seriously."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"I use the free version of VMware Workstation."
"The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
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Comparison Review

VL
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
53%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
 

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.
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.
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...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

Also Known As

Hypervisor
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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