Comparison of platform virtual machines

Platform virtual machines are software packages that emulate the whole physical computer machine, often giving multiple virtual machines on one physical platform. The table below compares basic information about platform virtual machine (VM) packages.

Contents

General

Name Creator Host CPU Guest CPU Host OS(s) Guest OS(s) License
Bochs Kevin Lawton Any x86, x86-64 Windows, Linux, Unix/X11, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, BeOS, MorphOS, OS/2[1][2] Windows, Linux, DOS, BSD, OS/2 LGPL
Containers, or Zones Sun Microsystems x86, x86-64, SPARC (portable: not tied to hardware) Same as host Solaris 10, Solaris 11 Express, OpenSolaris 2009.06 Solaris (8, 9, 10, 11), Linux (BrandZ) CDDL
Cooperative Linux (coLinux) Dan Aloni, other developers x86[3] Same as host Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista[3] Linux GPL version 2
Denali University of Washington x86 x86 Denali Ilwaco, NetBSD ?
DOSBox Peter Veenstra, Sjoerd, community help Any x86 Linux, Windows, Mac OS classic, Mac OS X, BeOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, QNX, IRIX, MorphOS, AmigaOS, Maemo, Symbian Internally emulated DOS shell; classic PC booter games, unofficially Windows 1.0 to 3.11 GPL
DOSEMU Community project x86, x86-64 x86 Linux DOS GPL version 2
FreeBSD Jail FreeBSD Any running FreeBSD Any running FreeBSD FreeBSD FreeBSD, Linux ABI BSD
GXemul Anders Gavare Any ARM, MIPS, M88K, PowerPC, SuperH Unix-like NetBSD, OpenBSD, Linux, Ultrix, Sprite BSD
Hercules Begun by Roger Bowler, as of 2011 maintained by Jay Maynard Any z/Architecture Unix-like Linux on zSeries, z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, OS/360, DOS/360, DOS/VS, MVS, VM/370, TSS/370 QPL
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Microsoft x86-64 + hardware-assisted virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) x86-64, x86 (up to 8 physical CPUs) Windows 2008 w/Hyper-V Role, Windows Hyper-V Server supported drivers for Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows 2008, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux (SUSE 10 released, more announced) Proprietary
iCore Virtual Accounts iCore Software x86 x86 Windows XP Windows XP Proprietary
Integrity Virtual Machines Hewlett-Packard IA-64 IA-64 HP-UX HP-UX, Windows, Linux (OpenVMS announced) Proprietary
JPC (Virtual Machine) Oxford University Any running the Java Virtual Machine x86 Java Virtual Machine DOS, Linux, Windows up to 3.0 GPL version 2
KVM Qumranet [7] x86, x86-64, IA-64, with x86 virtualization, s390, PowerPC[4] Same as host Linux, illumos FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris, Windows, Plan 9 GPL version 2
Linux-VServer Community Project x86, x86-64, IA-64, Alpha, PowerPC 64, PA-RISC 64, SPARC64, ARM, S/390, SH/66, MIPS Compatible Linux Linux variants GPL version 2
LynxSecure LynuxWorks x86, Intel VT-x, Intel VT-d x86 No host OS LynxOS, Linux, Windows Proprietary
lxc Community project lxc.sourceforge.net x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC 64, SPARC64 Same as host Linux Linux variants GPL version 2
Mac-on-Linux Mac-on-Linux PowerPC PowerPC Linux Mac OS X, Mac OS 7.5.2 to 9.2.2, Linux GPL
Mac-on-Mac Sebastian Gregorzyk PowerPC PowerPC Mac OS X, up to Tiger excluded Mac OS X, Mac OS 7.5.2 to 9.2.2, Linux GPL
OpenVZ Community project, supported by SWsoft, now Parallels, Inc. x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC 64, SPARC64 Same as host Linux Linux variants GPL
Oracle VM for x86 Oracle Corporation x86, x86-64, Intel VT-x, AMD-V x86, x86-64, Intel VT-x, AMD-V No host OS Microsoft Windows, Oracle Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Solaris Oracle VM Server GPL; Manager proprietary
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms) Oracle Corporation UltraSPARC T1, UltraSPARC T2, UltraSPARC T2+, SPARC T3 Compatible Solaris 10 Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD Proprietary
OVPsim OVP [8] x86 OR1K, MIPS32, ARC600/700, ARM; and public API which enables users to write custom processor models, RISC, CISC, DSP, VLIW all possible Microsoft Windows, Linux Depends on target machine, for example includes MIPS Malta that runs Linux or SMP-Linux; and includes public API which enables users to write custom peripheral and system models Proprietary, Apache 2.0 for models
Parallels Desktop for Mac Parallels, Inc. x86, Intel VT-x x86 Mac OS X x86 DOS, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X Server, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, Solaris Proprietary
Parallels Workstation Parallels, Inc. x86, Intel VT-x x86 Windows, Linux Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, DOS, Solaris Proprietary
PearPC Sebastian Biallas x86, x86-64, PowerPC PowerPC Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD Mac OS X, Darwin, Linux GPL
PikeOS SYSGO AG PowerPC, x86, ARM, MIPS, SPARC, SuperH Same as host PikeOS PikeOS native, Linux, POSIX, AUTOSAR, ANDROID, RTEMS, OSEK, ARINC 653 APEX, ITRON Proprietary
PowerVM IBM POWER4, POWER5, POWER6, PowerPC 970 POWER4/5/6, PowerPC 970, X86 (PowerVM-Lx86) No host OS Linux PowerPC, x86; AIX, i5/OS, IBM i Proprietary
QEMU Fabrice Bellard, other developers x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC, Alpha, SPARC 32/64, ARM, S/390, M68k x86, x86-64, ARM, CRIS, LM32, MicroBlaze, MIPS, SPARC 32/64, PowerPC Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, BeOS Changes regularly[5] GPL/LGPL
QEMU w/ kqemu module Fabrice Bellard x86, x86-64 Same as host Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, Windows Changes regularly[5] GPL/LGPL
QEMU w/ qvm86 module Paul Brook x86 x86 Linux, NetBSD, Windows Changes regularly GPL
QuickTransit Transitive Corp. x86, x86-64, IA-64, POWER MIPS, PowerPC, SPARC, x86 Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris Linux, Mac OS X, Irix, Solaris Proprietary
RTS Hypervisor Real-Time Systems x86 x86 No host OS Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Embedded, Windows CE, Linux, Android, VxWorks, OS-9, RTOS-32, QNX, RTEMS, T-Kernel, proprietary Proprietary
ScaleMP vSMP Foundation ScaleMP x86, x86-64 Same as host, up to 8,192 CPUs and 64 TB per VM No host OS Linux Proprietary
vNUMA Matthew Chapman ia64 ia64, combines CPUs and memory from independent nodes into a virtual NUMA machine No host OS Linux Open source/research
Safe Virtual Machine, SVM Altreonic, www.altreonic.com Any Any OpenComRTOS or any other (RT)OS N.A. Binary, Open Technology License
SIMH Bob Supnik, The Computer History Simulation Project Alpha, ARM, HPPA, x86, IA-64, x86-64, M68K, MIPS, MIPSel, POWER, s390, SPARC Data General Nova, Eclipse; Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-1, PDP-4, PDP-7, PDP-8, PDP-9, PDP-10, PDP-11, PDP-15, VAX; GRI Corporation GRI-909, IBM 1401, 1620, 1130, 7090/7094, System 3; Interdata (Perkin-Elmer) 16b/32b systems; Hewlett-Packard 2114, 2115, 2116, 2100, 21MX; Honeywell H316/H516; MITS Altair 8800 with 8080 and Z80; Royal-Mcbee LGP-30, LGP-21; Scientific Data Systems SDS 940 BSD, Linux, Solaris, VMS, Windows Depends on target machine, includes NetBSD/VAX, OpenBSD/VAX, VAX/VMS, Unix v6, Unix v7, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, ITS BSD-like, unique
Simics Virtutech x86, x86-64, SPARC v9 Alpha, ARM, IA-64, MIPS 32/64, MSP430, POWER, PowerPC 32/64, SPARC v8/v9, x86, x86-64, TI TMS320C64xx Windows, Linux, Solaris Depends on target machine, VxWorks, OSE, QNX, Linux, Solaris, Windows, FreeBSD, RTEMS, TinyOS, many others Proprietary
Sun xVM Server Sun Microsystems x86-64, SPARC Same as host No host OS Windows XP, 2003 Server (x86-64 only), Linux, Solaris GPL version 3
SVISTA 2004 Serenity Systems International x86 x86 Windows, OS/2, Linux Windows, Linux, OS/2, BSD Proprietary
TRANGO TRANGO Virtual Processors, Grenoble, France ARM, XScale, MIPS, PowerPC Paravirtualized ARM, MIPS, PowerPC No host OS, Linux or Windows as dev. hosts Linux, eCos, µC/OS-II, WindowsCE, Nucleus, VxWorks Proprietary
User Mode Linux Jeff Dike, other developers x86, x86-64, PowerPC Same as host Linux Linux GPL version 2
VirtualBox Innotek, acquired by Oracle Corporation x86, x86-64 x86, (x86-64 only on VirtualBox 2 and later with hardware virtualization) Windows, Linux, Mac OS X x86, Solaris, FreeBSD, eComStation DOS, Linux, Mac OS X Server,[6] FreeBSD, Haiku, OS/2, Solaris, Syllable, Windows GPL version 2; full version with extra enterprise features is proprietary
Virtual Iron 3.1 Virtual Iron Software, Inc., acquired by Oracle x86 VT-x, x86-64 AMD-V x86, x86-64 No host OS Windows, Linux Full product is proprietary, a few components are GPL version 2[7]
Virtual PC 2007 Connectix x86, x86-64 x86 Windows Vista (Business, Enterprise, Ultimate), XP Pro, XP Tablet PC Edition DOS, Windows, OS/2, Linux (SUSE, Xubuntu), OpenSolaris (Belenix) Proprietary
Windows Virtual PC Connectix x86, x86-64 with Intel VT-x or AMD-V x86 Windows 7 Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 Proprietary
Virtual PC 7 for Mac Connectix PowerPC x86 Mac OS X Windows, OS/2, Linux Proprietary
VirtualLogix VLX VirtualLogix ARM, TI DSP C6000, x86, Intel VT-x, Intel VT-d, PowerPC Same as host No host OS Linux, Windows XP, C5, VxWorks, Nucleus, DSP/BIOS, proprietary Proprietary
Virtual Server 2005 R2 Connectix x86, x86-64 x86 Windows 2003, XP Windows NT, 2000, 2003, Linux (Red Hat, SUSE) Proprietary
CoWare Virtual Platform CoWare x86, x86-64, SPARC v9 Devices including (multi) cores from ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, Toshiba MeP, Renesas SH, TI, Tensilica, ZSP Windows, Linux, Solaris Depends on guest CPU; includes: Linux (various flavors), mITRON (various flavors), Windows CE, Symbian, more Proprietary
Virtuozzo SWsoft, now Parallels, Inc. x86, IA-64, x86-64 x86, IA-64, x86-64 Linux, Windows Linux, Windows Proprietary
VMware ESX Server VMware x86, x86-64 x86, x86-64 No host OS Windows, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OSx86 (as FreeBSD), virtual appliances, Netware, OS/2, SCO, BeOS, Darwin, others: runs arbitrary OS[8] Proprietary
VMware ESXi VMware x86, x86-64 x86, x86-64 No host OS Same as VMware ESX Server Proprietary
VMware Fusion VMware x86, x86-64 x86, x86-64 Mac OS X x86 Same as VMware ESX Server Proprietary
VMware Server VMware x86, x86-64 x86, x86-64 Windows, Linux Same as VMware ESX Server Proprietary
VMware Workstation 7.1 VMware x86, x86-64 x86, x86-64 Windows, Linux Same as VMware ESX Server Proprietary
VMware Player 3.1 VMware x86, x86-64 x86, x86-64 Windows, Linux Same as VMware ESX Server Proprietary, free of charge for personal non-commercial use[9][10]
Wind River hypervisor Wind River x86, PowerPC Same as host No host OS Linux, VxWorks, unmodified guests (including MS Windows and RTOSes such ach OSE, QNX and others), bare metal virtual board Proprietary
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform Wind River PowerPC Same as host No host OS VxWorks, bare metal virtual board Proprietary
Xen Xensource x86, x86-64, IA-64 Same as host NetBSD, Linux, Solaris FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux, Solaris, Windows XP & 2003 Server (needs vers. 3.0 and an Intel VT-x (Vanderpool) or AMD-V (Pacifica)-capable CPU), Plan 9 GPL
XtratuM Universidad Politecnica de Valencia x86, x86; SPARC v8 LEON2/3 Same as host No host OS GPOS: Linux, RTOS: PartiKle, RTEMS GPL
z/VM IBM z/Architecture z/Architecture, z/VM does not run on predecessor mainframes No host OS, itself (single or multiple levels/versions deep, e.g. VM/ESA running in z/VM 4.4 in z/VM 5.2 in z/VM 5.1.) Linux on zSeries, z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, z/VM, VM/CMS, MUSIC/SP, OpenSolaris for System z, predecessors Proprietary
z LPARs IBM z/Architecture z/Architecture Integrated in firmware of System z mainframes Linux on zSeries, z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, z/VM, MUSIC/SP, and predecessors Integrated in firmware of System z mainframes
Name Creator Host CPU Guest CPU Host OS(s) Guest OS(s) License

Features

Name Guest OS SMP available Runs arbitrary OS Supported guest OS drivers Method of operation Typical use Speed relative to host OS Commercial support available
Containers, or Zones Yes, over 500-way on current systems No Uses native device drivers Operating system-level virtualization Server consolidation with workload isolation, single workload containment, hosting, dev/test/prod Native Yes
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Yes, up to 4 VCPUs per VM Yes Yes Virtualization Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test, desktop virtualization, could computing Near native Yes
OpenVZ Yes No Compatible Operating system-level virtualization Virtualized server isolation Native[9]  ?
KVM Yes[11], up to 16 VCPUs per VM Yes Yes AMD-V and Intel-VT-x  ?  ? Yes, Look at RedHat or Novell for details
Linux-VServer Yes No Compatible Operating system-level virtualization Virtualized server isolation Native[10] Yes
Oracle VM Server for x86 Yes Yes Yes Paravirtualization and hardware virtualization Server consolidation and security, enterprise and business deployment Near native Yes
Oracle VM Server for SPARC Yes Yes Yes Paravirtualization and hardware virtualization Server consolidation and security, enterprise and business deployment Near native Yes
OVPsim Yes Yes Yes, but most of the time unmodified is the goal Full system simulation with optional component virtualization Software development (early, embedded), advanced debug for single and multicore software, compiler and other tool development, computer architecture research, hobbyist Depends on target, up to 500% faster than embedded target, runs over 1,000 MIPS on desktop Yes, with commercial license from Imperas[12]
PikeOS Yes Yes, but modifications required as paravirtualization is used Yes Paravirtualization Safety and security critical embedded systems. Near native Yes
RTS Hypervisor Yes Yes Compatible. OS drivers run unmodified, no special drivers required Two modes: full virtualization and paravirtualization; both modes may be used for different operating systems concurrently x86 based devices: vertical markets include robotics, industrial automation, medical, telecom, test and measurement; focus is on real-time uses Native Yes
ScaleMP vSMP Foundation Yes, up to 8,192 CPUs and 64 TB per VM Yes Yes Virtualization Server scaling (large workloads), Server consolidation, Cloud computing Near Native Yes
Safe Virtual Machine Altreonic Not applicable Runs on any OS OpenComRTOS all services Interpreter Executes binary code on any embedded processor, diagnostics, dynamic code loading, 3KB code size Depends on application Yes
Sun xVM Server Yes Yes Yes Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization Servers Up to near native speed[11] Yes
SVISTA 2004 No ? ? ? Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation ? ?
TRANGO Yes Yes[12] Yes Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization Mob. phone, STB, routers, etc. Native[13] ?
User Mode Linux ??? No special guest kernel+modules required Porting used as a separate machine for a server or with X11 networking near Native [14] (Runs slow as all calls are proxied) ?
Oracle VirtualBox Yes Yes Yes Virtualization Business workstation, server consolidation, service continuity, developer, hobbyist Near native Yes (with commercial license)
Virtual Iron 3.1 Yes, up to 8 way Yes Yes Native virtualization Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test Near Native Yes
Virtual PC 2007 No Yes Yes Virtualization, guest calls trapping where supported Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation Near native with virtual machine additions ?
Windows Virtual PC Yes Yes Yes Hardware virtualization Developer, Business workstation, support for Compatibility with Windows XP applications Near native with virtual machine additions No
Virtual PC 7 for Mac No Yes Yes dynamic recompilation (guest calls trapping where supported) Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation Slow ?
Virtual Server 2005 R2 No Yes Yes Virtualization (guest calls trapping where supported) Server, server farm Near native with virtual machine additions ?
CoWare Virtual Platform Yes Yes Yes ( Same compiled Software image as for the real device) Full-system virtualization (Processor Core ISA + Hardware + External connections) Early embedded software development and integration (from driver to application), Multi-core software debugging and optimization Depending on the system characteristics and the software itself, ranges from faster than real time to slow. Yes
Virtuozzo Yes No Compatible Operating system-level virtualization Server consolidation, service continuity, disaster recovery, service providers Native [15] Yes
VMware ESX Server 4.0 (vSphere) Yes, add-on, up to 8 way Yes Yes Virtualization Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test, cloud computing Up to near native Yes
VMware ESX Server 3.0 Yes, add-on, up to 4 way Yes Yes Virtualization Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test Up to near native Yes
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3 Yes, add-on, 2 way Yes Yes Virtualization Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test Up to near native Yes
VMware Fusion Yes Yes Yes Virtualization Hobbyist, Developer, Tester, Business workstation Near native Yes
VMware Server Yes (2-way) Yes Yes Virtualization Server/desktop consolidation, dev/test Up to near native Yes
VMware Workstation 6.0 Yes (2-way) Yes Yes Paravirtualization (VMI) and virtualization Technical professional, advanced dev/test, trainer Up to near native Yes
VMware Player 2.0 Yes (2-way) Yes Yes Virtualization Technical professional, advanced dev/test, trainer, end user on prebuilt machines Up to near native Yes
Wind River hypervisor No Yes Yes Paravirtualization, hardware assisted virtualization Embedded, safety critical, secure Native Yes
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform No Yes Yes Paravirtualization, hardware assisted virtualization Embedded, safety critical, secure Native Yes
Xen Yes, v4.0.0: up to 128 VCPUs per VM Yes Not required with the exception of the networking drivers where a NAT is required. A modified guest kernel or special hardware level abstraction is required for guest OSs. Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization Server/desktop consolidation, dev/test Up to near native speed,[16] substantial performance loss on some workloads (network and disk intensive especially) Yes
XtratuM Yes No Yes, but not required. Paravirtualization Embedded, safety critical, secure Native (overhead lower than 1%) Yes
z/VM Yes, both real and virtual (guest perceives more CPUs than installed), incl. dynamic CPU provisioning and reassignment Yes Yes, but not required Virtualization (among first systems to provide hardware assists) Servers Near Native[17] Yes
z LPARs Yes, both real and virtual (guest perceives more CPUs than installed), incl. dynamic CPU provisioning and reassignment; up to 64 real cores Yes Yes, but not required Microcode and hardware hypervisor Servers Native: System z machines always run with at least one LPAR Yes
Name Guest OS SMP available Runs arbitrary OS Supported guest OS drivers Method of operation Typical use Speed relative to host OS Commercial support available

Other features

Name Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest USB support GUI Live memory allocation 3D acceleration Snapshots per VM Snapshot of running system Live migration Shared folders Shared clipboard
KVM Yes Yes Yes[14] Yes Yes (via AIGLX) Yes Yes[15] Yes[16]
User Mode Linux Yes No No No No No Yes N/A
Oracle VirtualBox-OSE (GPLv2) Partial (since version 1.4, but unsupported) [18] USB 1.1 Yes Yes OpenGL 2.0[17] DirectX 3D[18] Yes branched[19] Yes Yes Yes Yes
Oracle VirtualBox-PUEL (pre-compiled, not free) Partial (since version 1.4, but unsupported) [19] USB 2.0 Yes Yes OpenGL 2.0[17] Yes branched[19] Yes Yes Yes Yes
Oracle VM Server for SPARC Yes USB 2.0 Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No
Virtual Iron 4.2 Yes
Virtual PC 2007 No No Yes No No No Yes Yes
Windows Virtual PC No partially Yes
VirtualPC 7 for Mac Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 No Yes No No  ? Yes No
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Yes Partial support over remote desktop connections [20] Yes Yes DirectX 9.0c [21] branched Yes Yes
Virtuozzo Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
VMware ESX Server 3.0 atp Yes No  ? Yes Yes
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3 Yes No
VMware ESX Server 4.0 (vSphere) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes  ? Yes Yes
VMware Fusion 2.0 Yes Yes Yes No DirectX 9 Shader model 2 No
VMware Server Yes Yes Yes Yes No 1 Yes No Yes Yes
VMware Workstation 5.5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Experimental support for DirectX 8; also supported with VMGL[20] Yes branched Yes No Yes Yes
VMware Workstation 6.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Experimental support for DirectX 8; Also supported with VMGL[20] Yes branched Yes No Yes Yes
VMware Workstation 7.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Support for DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.13D.[21] Yes branched Yes No Yes Yes
VMware Player Yes Yes Yes Yes supported with VMGL[20] No No No Yes
Wind River hypervisor Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform Yes
Xen Yes Yes[14] Yes Supported with VMGL[20]  ? Yes Yes
z/VM Yes Not applicable with add-ons Yes No No
z LPARs Yes Not applicable Yes Yes No No
Zones Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Name Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest USB GUI Live memory allocation 3D acceleration Snapshots per VM Snapshot of running system Live migration Shared folders Shared clipboard

Restrictions

This table is meant to outline restrictions in the software dictated by licensing or capabilities.

Name Maximum host physical processors (sockets) Maximum host cores per processor Maximum host memory Maximum host disk volume size Maximum number of guest VM running Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest Maximum amount of memory per VM guest, 32/64 bit Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest Maximum disk size per VM guest
Containers, or Zones 72 No limit 4TB No limit 8191 No limit No limit No limit No limit
VMware Player 3.1[25]  ?  ? No limit N/A  ? 8 8/32 GB  ? 2 TB
VMware Server 2.0[26] 16 16 No limit N/A 64 2 8/8 GB 4 IDE; 60 SCSI 950 GB
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 4.1[27] 160 160 1 TB 2 TB minus 512 bytes 320 8 255/255 GB 4 IDE; 60 SCSI 2 TB minus 512 bytes
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0[28] 160 160 2 TB 64 TB 512 32 1 TB 4 IDE; 60 SCSI 2 TB minus 512 bytes
VirtualBox 4.0.x No limit ? No limit ? No limit ? No limit No limit[29] 16 No limit 4 IDE; no limit SATA, SCSI, SAS 2 TB
Hyper-V 2008 R2[30] 64 64 1 TB No limit 384 4 64 GB 4 IDE; 256 SCSI 2 TB

Note: No limit means no enforced limit. For example, a VM with 1 TB of memory cannot fit in a host with only 8 GB memory and no memory swap disk, so it will have a limit of 8 GB physically.

See also

References

  1. ^ The list of platforms supported by Bochs. Retrieved on 2011-07-27.
  2. ^ Instructions on compiling Bochs. Retrieved on 2011-07-27.
  3. ^ a b Cooperative Linux FAQ. Retrieved on 2009-01-27.
  4. ^ KVM supports PowerPC with restrictions, e.g., no PowerPC 970 support
  5. ^ a b QEMU Official OS Support List
  6. ^ Oracle VM VirtualBox® User Manual, Chapter 3: Configuring virtual machines | Mac OS X Server guests
  7. ^ Oracle and Virtual Iron
  8. ^ Can run a guest OS without modifying it, and hence is generally able to run any OS that could run on a physical machine the VM simulates
  9. ^ VMware Player FAQ. Retrieved on 2011-07-27.
  10. ^ VMware Player 3.1 EULA. Retrieved on 2011-07-27.
  11. ^ http://www.linux-kvm.com/content/running-windows-smp-guests
  12. ^ Imperas
  13. ^ http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~mef/research/vserver/paper.pdf
  14. ^ a b "Virtual Machine Manager". http://virt-manager.et.redhat.com/. Retrieved 2010-02-20. 
  15. ^ "Sheepdog is a distributed storage system for KVM". http://www.osrg.net/sheepdog/. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  16. ^ "KVM Migration". http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Migration. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  17. ^ a b "VirtualBox Changelog". http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-3.0. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 
  18. ^ "VirtualBox Changelog". http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-4.1. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 
  19. ^ a b "VirtualBox Changelog 3.1". http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-3.1. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
  20. ^ a b c d "VMGL (formerly Xen-GL)". http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~andreslc/xen-gl. 
  21. ^ http://www.vmware.com/products/workstation/new.html
  22. ^ http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817581(WS.10).aspx
  23. ^ http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817578(WS.10).aspx
  24. ^ http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817602(WS.10).aspx
  25. ^ [1] Getting Started Guide VMware Player 3.1
  26. ^ [2] VMware Server User’s Guide VMware Server 2.0
  27. ^ [3] Configuration Maximums VMware® vSphere 4.1
  28. ^ [4] Configuration Maximums VMware® vSphere 5.0
  29. ^ [5] Oracle VM VirtualBox User Manual. Accessed 2011-04-07
  30. ^ [6] Requirements and Limits for Virtual Machines and Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2

External links