Microsoft Hyper-V Server vs SmartOS

Struggling to choose between Microsoft Hyper-V Server and SmartOS? 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, SmartOS is a Os & Utilities product tagged with virtualization, cloud-computing, open-source.

Its standout features include Built on Illumos kernel for improved security, ZFS filesystem for efficient storage and snapshots, KVM hypervisor for hardware-accelerated virtualization, Crossbow virtual network virtualization, DTrace for system observability and troubleshooting, Zones for OS-level virtualization and isolation, and it shines with pros like High performance and efficiency, Advanced storage features with ZFS, Strong security model, Flexible virtualization options, DTrace debugging capabilities, Open source model allows customization.

Feature	Microsoft Hyper-V Server	SmartOS
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	System & Hardware	Os & Utilities

Product Overview

Microsoft Hyper-V Server

Description: 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.

SmartOS

Description: SmartOS is an open-source operating system designed for cloud computing environments. It is built on top of the Illumos kernel, a derivative of Solaris, and enhances security, virtualization, storage, and networking features.

Key Features Comparison

Microsoft Hyper-V Server Features

• Hypervisor-based virtualization
• Live Migration
• Dynamic Memory
• RemoteFX
• Storage Spaces Direct
• Shielded VMs
• Storage Replica
• Storage QoS

SmartOS Features

• Built on Illumos kernel for improved security
• ZFS filesystem for efficient storage and snapshots
• KVM hypervisor for hardware-accelerated virtualization
• Crossbow virtual network virtualization
• DTrace for system observability and troubleshooting
• Zones for OS-level virtualization and isolation

Pros & Cons Analysis

Microsoft Hyper-V Server

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

SmartOS

Pros

• High performance and efficiency
• Advanced storage features with ZFS
• Strong security model
• Flexible virtualization options
• DTrace debugging capabilities
• Open source model allows customization

Cons

• Limited hardware support compared to major OSes
• Smaller user and developer community
• Not as feature-rich as proprietary cloud OSes
• Steep learning curve for some advanced features

Pricing Comparison

Microsoft Hyper-V Server

• Free

SmartOS

• Open Source