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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
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (9th)
VMware Workstation
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
54
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 4.8%, up 3.7% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 16.8% mindshare, up 14.1% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Siva Kuppala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 22, 2023
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
Currently, we are creating storage, and we are using multiple machines. We use the solution for production purposes, and we are creating Linux and Windows machines VMware has included graphical uses and many features in VMware Workstation. VMware Workstation is easy to manage and understand. It…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is extremely stable."
"The solution is extremely user friendly."
"I find it very easy to manage and at a cost that small customers would never refuse (free)."
"What I like the most is the support of the GPU Graphics and the VM Live migration."
"Citrix Hypervisor is quick to deploy and easy to manage."
"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."
"This is a good product for virtualization and it is easy to use."
"Ability to move your virtual machines from one host to another."
"The most valuable feature of the VMware Workstation is the ease to create a development environment. When you have different ongoing developments, you often need to create a lot of different development environments. With this workstation solution, you can have a development environment for all the things you develop."
"The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support, you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution."
"I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."
"VMware is incredible and is designed for simple use. They help with efficiency."
"The technical support is good."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
"Technical support is very good."
 

Cons

"The interface has to be updated."
"There's a learning curve, especially for those coming from a Microsoft background. Setting it up and managing it can introduce some complexity."
"It needs to have a more robust backup solution."
"It can be useful to have a web management program because we have to install our client-server. We have to properly manage the host, if we had administration tools through a web interface it would be a benefit."
"The product could be faster and licensing options could be improved."
"Network management needs improvement because it is not very stable."
"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."
"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 support can be improved."
"VMware Workstation’s scalability could be improved."
"I need to buy a newer version of the tool to support Windows Server."
"It would be better if software updates occur automatically."
"The price of VMware Workstation is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"The product could provide the features available in Microsoft Hyper-V."
"It would be helpful if VMware Workstation included an in-built monitoring tool for monitoring things."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Citrix Hypervisor is expensive."
"There is a license required to use this solution. You need a license on every server, but the license is more for support than anything else. The cost is not expensive, it is a fraction of the cost of VMware. When you look at the cost overall and features, Citrix Hypervisor has a very attractive offering."
"There are free and paid versions. The free version is limited in features but not by time limit. The paid version has more features."
"The licensing is straight forward based on usage and features."
"The most valuable feature is the cost; it is a free product."
"We migrated from VMware to XenCenter to cut costs."
"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 differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"The product has a moderate price."
"The price of the solution per workstation is approximately 200 Francs annually. We pay a total of 800 francs. Everything is included in the price such as the support."
"VMware Workstation's costs are lifetime."
"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
52%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
9%
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.
Akademiska Hus
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