Microsoft Hyper-V Server vs bhyve

Struggling to choose between Microsoft Hyper-V Server and bhyve? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Microsoft Hyper-V Server is a System & Hardware solution with tags like hypervisor, virtualization, virtual-machines.

It boasts features such as Hypervisor-based virtualization, Live Migration, Dynamic Memory, RemoteFX, Storage Spaces Direct, Shielded VMs, Storage Replica, Storage QoS and pros including Free and standalone product, Small footprint, Built on Windows Server, Integrates with System Center and Microsoft Azure, Supports Windows and Linux VMs.

On the other hand, bhyve is a System & Hardware product tagged with hypervisor, virtualization, virtual-machines, freebsd.

Its standout features include Supports virtualization of x86-64 guest operating systems, Utilizes hardware virtualization capabilities on AMD and Intel CPUs, Supports UEFI firmware for guest VMs, PCI passthrough allows direct access to physical hardware from guest VMs, SMP allows configuring multiple virtual CPUs for guest VMs, virtio drivers provide high performance network and disk I/O, Live migration moves running VMs between hosts, and it shines with pros like Free and open source software, Good performance and low overhead, Supports modern virtualization features, Integrated into FreeBSD for ease of use and management.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Microsoft Hyper-V Server

Microsoft Hyper-V Server

Microsoft Hyper-V Server is a free, standalone product that provides a hypervisor-based virtualization platform for running virtual machines on x64 Windows servers. It has a small footprint and basic management tools.

Categories:
hypervisor virtualization virtual-machines

Microsoft Hyper-V Server Features

  1. Hypervisor-based virtualization
  2. Live Migration
  3. Dynamic Memory
  4. RemoteFX
  5. Storage Spaces Direct
  6. Shielded VMs
  7. Storage Replica
  8. Storage QoS

Pricing

  • Free

Pros

Free and standalone product

Small footprint

Built on Windows Server

Integrates with System Center and Microsoft Azure

Supports Windows and Linux VMs

Cons

Limited management tools

No live storage migration

No dynamic resizing of VHDX

Limited to 64 logical processors


bhyve

bhyve

bhyve is an open-source hypervisor that allows users to run multiple operating systems as virtual machines on FreeBSD. It supports features like UEFI firmware, PCI passthrough, SMP, virtio drivers and more.

Categories:
hypervisor virtualization virtual-machines freebsd

Bhyve Features

  1. Supports virtualization of x86-64 guest operating systems
  2. Utilizes hardware virtualization capabilities on AMD and Intel CPUs
  3. Supports UEFI firmware for guest VMs
  4. PCI passthrough allows direct access to physical hardware from guest VMs
  5. SMP allows configuring multiple virtual CPUs for guest VMs
  6. virtio drivers provide high performance network and disk I/O
  7. Live migration moves running VMs between hosts

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source software

Good performance and low overhead

Supports modern virtualization features

Integrated into FreeBSD for ease of use and management

Cons

Only runs on FreeBSD hosts

Limited management tools compared to other hypervisors

Less extensive documentation and community support

Fewer guest OS support than alternatives like KVM