[nzlug] VMware x Xen x KVM x Qemu

[Daniel Lawson]

On 2/04/2008, at 2:56 PM, Papalagi Pakeha wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> I'm playing with virtualization to get a better understanding of the
> many technologies now available for linux. And I wonder what are your
> favourites and why?


You're talking about a couple of different fundamental technologies  
here, and understanding the difference in the technologies will really  
help you pick a platform that suits you best.

I wrote a quick summary of this in response to a similar question last  
year: http://www.linux.net.nz/pipermail/nzlug/2007-December/011289.html


I don't think I went into KVM and QEMU properly, but other people have  
discussed their merits. The basic take-home is that Xen is not a  
desktop virtualisation[1]  platform. You can do it, sure, but it's not  
intended for that purpose, and if you try to compare it against the  
desktop virtualisation platforms and use it like one, you're probably  
going to get frustrated.

If you want VMs running on your desktop and laptop, then tools like  
VMWare Server (Or Player  / Workstation or whatever they're called  
now), or Microsoft Virtual PC, or Innotek's VirtualBox, or possibly  
QEMU or KVM, are probably the best options.

If you want to virtualise your server infrastructure, I'd really  
recommend *not* using a desktop virtualisation platform. Some of them  
work in server mode (eg,can start unattended when the host boots,  
don't require a local display to output the console to, etc), but in  
general it's not what they're designed for. Use the right technology.



[1] Of course, you can virtualise desktops within Xen, but it's not  
designed to run as an application inside a window on your desktop -  
unlike the other options.