Hyper-V Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

Manager of Operations at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Jul 4, 2012

Hyper-V is a solution for virtual machines with better scalability, better dynamic memory management, and excellent virtual storage management.

What is most valuable?

The proven technological prowess of Microsoft has produced yet another wonder for virtual machines - Hyper-V. The Windows Server 2008 R2 Hypervisor, is indeed a step towards the virtual world. Gone are those days where you start to scratch your head for low disk space and complicated hardware and networking solutions. The excellent features included in Hyper-V are dynamic memory management, better end user virtual performance, 3D Graphics enhancements, and good quality of media streaming. There is a significant change in Hyper-V for Live migration. This is a step taken by Microsoft to give tough competition to VMWare. Hyper-V with its 64 logical processors has got a new edge in its VM performances. There is a quantum change in previous releases of Hyper-V that is better in SP1 than in SP2.

What needs improvement?

To optimize the performance of your desktops and servers, you need to install extra RAM and multiprocessors to use Hyper-V. Hyper-V is useful for X64 platforms. VMware has got the edge over Hyper-V in the case of X86 platforms. The latest release of Hyper-V has got better scalability than its previous one. Hyper-V lags in the case of Maximum VM RAM (64GB), where VMware provides 255GB VM RAM. In its earlier version it has got also a smaller number of nodes that can be added in a single cluster which is 16. The number is 32 in the case of VMware.

What other advice do I have?

Microsoft with its better reach and excellent customer support is always a preferable choice. Although VMware may still be leading the enterprise market, there is neck to neck competition between Hyper-V and VMware. Moreover, in its latest version, Hyper-V has enhanced some excellent features, like additional capability of Memory for VM, running up to 1TB. It has also increased the single VM RAM capacity up to 64GB. There is also an enhancement of 160 logical processors per Hyper-V host, 1024 virtual machines per host, 64 nodes per cluster, 4000 virtual machines per cluster, and 32 virtual processors.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user947223

Technician at Computer Geeks

Dec 13, 2018

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I find the ease of use the most valuable asset of the solution.

Pros and Cons

"I find the ease of use the most valuable asset of the solution."

"An improvement I suggest is having more guest operating systems."

What is our primary use case?

The reason we use this solution is because we can do a lot more with rate configurations, and large span networks. It's a lot easier doing that versus with some of the KVM based hypervisors.

How has it helped my organization?

We use it for testing new software. We especially use it for software updates because half of the time we're running an accounting program. It updates, and then breaks something else. This way we can run a couple of different VM's with a setup similar to what we use on all of the desktops. So, that way, you can test it without actually causing downtime.

Some of the things we run have to have a very specific Linux bistro, and you can't get it
all in Hyper-V.

What is most valuable?

I find the ease of use the most valuable asset of the solution.

What needs improvement?

An improvement I suggest is having more guest operating systems.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very stable product.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used a Linux KVM based hypervisor called Proxmox.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing isn't too bad, because you can do the bare metal hyper-visor, and it is pretty fair. Other competitors are more expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure to do your research before you choose a solution. Be sure it fits your needs.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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it_user683457

Systems Architect at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jun 29, 2017

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Live migration and SMB3 are very valuable.

Pros and Cons

"Live migration, SMB3."

"Storage via SMB3."

How has it helped my organization?

We built a private cloud with it.

What is most valuable?

Live migration, SMB3.

What needs improvement?

Storage via SMB3.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Yes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No.

How are customer service and technical support?

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously used VMware. Switched due to cost.

How was the initial setup?

It was reasonably straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's cheap, but not the best.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Vmware was better, but it was more expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Don’t use it for mission critical clouds.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Chris ThibeauTechnical Support Analyst at a government with 10,001+ employees

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Jan 5, 2018

hyper-v does allow storage on smb3
technet.microsoft.com.aspx

If cost is a factor, try looking at proxmox or xen server. They are great for lab setup and dev work,

it_user9222

Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees

Oct 2, 2013

Hyper-V 2008 – VMs Show Host MAC Address In ARP Cache

Recently while working with a customer that was migrating from Hyper-V 2008 R2 to Hyper-V 2012, I came across an issue where VMs on the original host were having odd intermittent network connectivity issues. As I dug into the problem, I realized that when I ran arp -a on any of the Hyper-V hosts, VMs on the original host were showing up in the ARP cache with a MAC address of the physical host, instead of their virtual MAC address.

As it turned out, it was the drivers for the Broadcom NICs in this particular system. Windows Server 2008 does not support NIC teaming natively, and instead relies on the 3rd party drivers to support teaming. Due to a bug in some versions – possibly all, I have not been able to confirm this as of yet – of the Broadcom drivers, Hyper-V 2008 hosts using a Broadcom teamed interface will advertise the hosts’s MAC address to the physical switch rather than the VM’s virtual MAC.

The workaround was to break the team, and only use one physical interface during the migration to 2012. This resolved the MAC issues, and since Windows/ / Hyper-V 2012 supports native NIC teaming, the issue did not occur on the new hosts.

Disclosure: The company I work for is partners with several vendors - http://www.latisys.com/partners/strategic_partnerships.html

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user9222

Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees

Aug 30, 2013

Hyper-V has made great strides since it was first released alongside Windows 2008

Hyper-V has made great strides since it was first released alongside Windows 2008. If I were a SMB/small enterprise running mostly a Windows shop and looking into virtualization, I would definitely give it a serious look - it can do most everything I would need for a lot less than vSphere. However, vSphere is still the king as far features, specifically when it comes to availability and DR.

That said, the growth of KVM & Openstack and the community surrounding them excite me more than anything coming down the pipe for either Hyper-V or vSphere.

Disclosure: The company I work for is partners with several vendors - http://www.latisys.com/partners/strategic_partnerships.html

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user8256Senior Manager of Infrastructure with 501-1,000 employees

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Sep 30, 2013

But you have all of these features in Hyper-V (like HA, Clustering, Live Migration and others) for free! If you use ESXi you don't have! You have to go to the pay version to get those features!

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it_user8919

Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees

Aug 22, 2013

Has come a long way...but the fact that it uses CSVs... is always going to be a problem

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet and would just like to point out is Microsoft lacking to have a true cluster file system. I think Hyper-V has come a long way (very ruff start) but the fact that it uses CSVs, which is just NTFS with a bunch of duck tape... is always going to be a problem. They have made the right steps to enhance their Core server and try to get a lightweight platform to run their hypervisor on but that file system needs to change.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user2652Project Manager at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees

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Aug 25, 2013

could you please give me more details what are CSVs terms in related to Hyper-V? Is there descriptive article for this?

it_user142614

Datacenter and Cloud Architect with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jul 27, 2014

If you don't have a need for complex apps then Hyper-V is the correct solution to choose

I've used Hyper-V 2012 for 6 months for deployment of new VM's. The speed of the VM's has improved the way we function, although the storage features could use some improvement. Overall, I gave Hyper-V 4 stars although we did encounter issues with deployment and there were times when it was not stable which caused the VM to reboot without notice.

Before implementing Hyper-V, we also evaluated options from VMware. If you don't have a need for complex apps then Hyper-V is the correct solution to choose. We chose to implement in-house and our setup cost was $4,100.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user8178Product Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

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Jul 28, 2014

DO look for an alternative backup software such as Acronis:
www.acronis.com

Protect your entire Citrix XenServer environment with one-step backups, flexible storage, and ultra-fast data recovery—all managed from one easy-to-use dashboard.

Keeping virtual data safe can be a complex undertaking that demands smart, efficient solutions that simplify rather than complicate critical tasks. Keep it simple with Acronis Backup Advanced—the fastest, most efficient way to protect your entire Citrix XenServer environment.

Full backups. Acronis Backup Advanced combines patented image-based backups with seamless Citrix XenServer integration to capture your entire setup quickly and easily.

Application support. Acronis Backup Advanced includes the ability to capture application data for Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, Active Directory, and SharePoint running on Citrix XenServer VMs.

Hybrid Protection. For complete peace of mind, Acronis Backup Advanced can create and send multiple backup copies to both local storage and the Acronis cloud—without any additional steps!

Fast, flexible recovery. Our near-instant recovery technology allows you to restore individual files, application data, or an entire VM—all from the same backup! We also offer the flexibility of restoring data to its original location or to an entirely new one (even a completely different hypervisor platform).

All Acronis Backup Advanced products are designed to work as stand-alone solutions, or in combination with each other under one unified management console. This includes Acronis Backup Advanced for Citrix XenServer, which you can seamlessly combine with other Acronis products to create the ideal solution for your specific needs.

Current Version: Acronis Backup Advanced for Citrix XenServer Version 11.5

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it_user8223

IT Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Jul 31, 2013

Hyper-V 2012

Hyper-V 2012 is a good virtualization product that is suitable for small businesses. The 2012 edition is very simple to use and performance so far is exceptional. I am using Server 2012 with the Hyper-V role in a small remote office to run infrastructure virtual servers.
The setup is very simple, install the Hyper-V role. Configure where you want to save the virtual machine files, and then select to add a new virtual machine. You can apply the desired hardware specs, and one feature that really stands out is dynamic memory allocation. The host server will scale the guest memory allocation as needed and it works very well.
There are better virtualization solutions for large deployments, but for small businesses or a small remote office that only requires a couple of servers, Hyper-V is hard to beat for the cost (included with the OS).

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.