May 2009 | Reading time: 6 min
In 2009, virtualization is no longer just an emerging trend — it is a critical component of modern IT infrastructure strategies. As adoption increases, organizations face a key decision: which hypervisor platform best fits their environment? While VMware remains the dominant player, Microsoft’s Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer are gaining traction, each offering distinct advantages.
Understanding the Core Players
VMware ESX/ESXi offers mature capabilities, robust management through vCenter, and strong third-party ecosystem support. Enterprises with demanding workloads or specific needs around HA, DRS, or VMotion tend to favour VMware despite higher licensing costs.
Microsoft Hyper-V, bundled with Windows Server 2008, is making significant strides. For organizations heavily invested in Microsoft infrastructure, Hyper-V offers tight integration with Active Directory, SCVMM, and future System Center tools.
Citrix XenServer presents a cost-effective option with open-source roots, good performance, and integration with Citrix's desktop virtualization stack. It also supports live migration and basic clustering at no cost.
Evaluation Criteria in 2009
- Performance: ESX leads in benchmarks, but Hyper-V is catching up quickly, especially with 64-bit guest support and synthetic device drivers.
- Licensing: XenServer and Hyper-V are included with their respective ecosystems, while VMware requires separate licensing even for basic features.
- Management Tools: vCenter is unmatched, but SCVMM is improving. XenCenter is lightweight and functional but lacks advanced orchestration.
- Hardware Compatibility: VMware supports a wider range of CPUs and memory configurations, while Hyper-V requires Intel VT or AMD-V support explicitly enabled in BIOS.
Integration with Existing Infrastructure
One of the most overlooked decision points is ecosystem compatibility. If your datacenter already runs Exchange, SQL Server, and Active Directory, then Hyper-V can integrate seamlessly. Similarly, Citrix shops running Presentation Server or experimenting with XenDesktop may prefer XenServer’s tighter integration and cost alignment.
Support and Training Availability
VMware has a well-established training and certification ecosystem (VCP, VCDX), which can be appealing for teams seeking standardization. Microsoft and Citrix are catching up with official curricula, but community-driven support remains stronger for VMware at this stage.
Choosing the Right Fit
Rather than seeking a one-size-fits-all answer, IT leaders should assess their operational maturity, licensing appetite, and future roadmap. For greenfield deployments where budget is tight and Microsoft infrastructure is dominant, Hyper-V makes a strong case. For mission-critical environments or those requiring deep integration with enterprise tools, VMware retains its edge.
As 2009 progresses, we expect to see further innovation, especially from Microsoft’s Hyper-V R2 release, which promises improved live migration. Until then, the decision still leans on feature parity, operational ease, and long-term flexibility.