Comparison of platform virtualization software
Updated: 11/6/2025, 1:02:26 AM Wikipedia source
Platform virtualization software, specifically emulators and hypervisors, are software packages that emulate the whole physical computer machine, often providing multiple virtual machines on one physical platform. The table below compares basic information about platform virtualization hypervisors.
Tables
· General
86Box
86Box
Name
86Box
Creator
Miran Grča
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, ARMv7, AArch64
Guest CPU
x86 (Intel 8086 to Pentium II and compatible)
Host OS
Windows, Linux, macOS
Guest OS
Windows, Linux, DOS, BSD, OS/2, Haiku
License
GPL version 3
bhyve
bhyve
Name
bhyve
Creator
FreeBSD
Host CPU
x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
FreeBSD, Illumos
Guest OS
FreeBSD, FreeNAS, pfSense, OpenBSD, Linux, Windows, Illumos
License
BSD
Bochs
Bochs
Name
Bochs
Creator
Kevin J. Lawton
Host CPU
Any
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Unix/X11, Mac OS 9, macOS, BeOS, MorphOS, OS/2
Guest OS
Windows, Linux, DOS, BSD, OS/2, Haiku
License
LGPL
Containers, or Zones
Containers, or Zones
Name
Containers, or Zones
Creator
Sun Microsystems
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, SPARC (portable: not tied to hardware)
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Solaris 10, Solaris 11, OpenSolaris 2009.06, illumos distributions
Guest OS
Solaris (8, 9, 10, 11), illumos, Linux (BrandZ)
License
CDDL
Cooperative Linux (coLinux)
Cooperative Linux (coLinux)
Name
Cooperative Linux (coLinux)
Creator
Dan Aloni, other developers
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista
Guest OS
Linux
License
GPL version 2
CHARON
CHARON
Name
CHARON
Creator
Stromasys
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
PDP-11, VAX, Alpha, HP3000, Sparc
Host OS
Windows, Linux
Guest OS
VMS, OpenVMS, Tru64 UNIX, MPE/iX, RSX-11, RT11, RSTS, Solaris, SunOS
License
Proprietary
Denali
Denali
Name
Denali
Creator
University of Washington
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Denali
Guest OS
Ilwaco, NetBSD
License
Not distributed
DOSBox
DOSBox
Name
DOSBox
Creator
Peter Veenstra, Sjoerd with community
Host CPU
Any
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Linux, Windows, classic Mac OS, macOS, BeOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, QNX, IRIX, MorphOS, AmigaOS, Maemo, Symbian
Guest OS
Internally emulated MS-DOS shell; self-booting disks, unofficially Windows 1.0 to 98
License
GPL
DOSEMU
DOSEMU
Name
DOSEMU
Creator
Community project
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Linux
Guest OS
DOS
License
GPL version 2
FreeBSD Jail
FreeBSD Jail
Name
FreeBSD Jail
Creator
Poul-Henning Kamp / FreeBSD
Host CPU
Any running FreeBSD or DragonFly BSD
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
FreeBSD, DragonFly BSD
Guest OS
same as host (shared *BSD kernel), plus Linux ABI through compat layer
License
BSD
GXemul
GXemul
Name
GXemul
Creator
Anders Gavare
Host CPU
Any
Guest CPU
ARM, MIPS, Motorola 88000, PowerPC, SuperH
Host OS
Unix-like
Guest OS
NetBSD, OpenBSD, Linux, Ultrix, Sprite
License
BSD
Hercules
Hercules
Name
Hercules
Creator
Roger Bowler
Host CPU
Any
Guest CPU
z/Architecture
Host OS
Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux, macOS
Guest OS
Linux on IBM Z, z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, OS/360, DOS/360, DOS/VS, MVS, VM/370, TSS/370
License
QPL
Hyper-V (2008)
Hyper-V (2008)
Name
Hyper-V (2008)
Creator
Microsoft
Host CPU
x86-64 with Intel VT-x or AMD-V
Guest CPU
x86-64, x86 (up to 8 physical CPUs)
Host OS
Windows Server 2008 (R2) w/Hyper-V role, Microsoft Hyper-V Server
Guest OS
Supported drivers for Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows 2008, Windows XP, Windows Vista, FreeBSD, Linux (SUSE 10 released, more announced)
License
Proprietary
Hyper-V (2012+)
Hyper-V (2012+)
Name
Hyper-V (2012+)
Creator
Microsoft
Host CPU
x86-64 with Intel VT-x or AMD-V, ARMv8
Guest CPU
x86-64, (up to 64 physical CPUs), ARMv8
Host OS
Windows 8, 8.1, 10, and Windows Server 2012 (R2) w/Hyper-V role, Microsoft Hyper-V Server
Guest OS
Supported drivers for Windows NT, FreeBSD, Linux (SUSE 10, RHEL 6, CentOS 6)
License
Proprietary. Component of various Windows editions.
INTEGRITY
INTEGRITY
Name
INTEGRITY
Creator
Green Hills Software
Host CPU
ARM, x86, PowerPC
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Linux, Windows
Guest OS
INTEGRITY native, Linux, Android, AUTOSAR, Windows (on some platforms)
License
Proprietary
Integrity Virtual Machines
Integrity Virtual Machines
Name
Integrity Virtual Machines
Creator
Hewlett-Packard
Host CPU
IA-64
Guest CPU
IA-64
Host OS
HP-UX
Guest OS
HP-UX, Windows, Linux (OpenVMS announced)
License
Proprietary
JPC (Virtual Machine)
JPC (Virtual Machine)
Name
JPC (Virtual Machine)
Creator
University of Oxford
Host CPU
Any running the Java Virtual Machine
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Java Virtual Machine
Guest OS
DOS, Linux, Windows up to 3.0
License
GPL version 2
KVM
KVM
Name
KVM
Creator
Qumranet, now Red Hat
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, IA-64, with x86 virtualization, s390, PowerPC, ARM
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Linux, illumos
Guest OS
FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris, Windows, Plan 9
License
GPL version 2
Linux-VServer
Linux-VServer
Name
Linux-VServer
Creator
Community project
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, IA-64, Alpha, PowerPC 64, PA-RISC 64, SPARC64, ARM, S/390, SH/66, MIPS
Guest CPU
Compatible
Host OS
Linux
Guest OS
Linux variants
License
GPL version 2
LynxSecure
LynxSecure
Name
LynxSecure
Creator
LynuxWorks
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
LynxOS, Linux, Windows
License
Proprietary
LXC
LXC
Name
LXC
Creator
Community project, Canonical Ltd.
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC 64, SPARC64, Itanium, ARM
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Linux
Guest OS
Linux variants
License
GPL version 2
OKL4 Microvisor
OKL4 Microvisor
Name
OKL4 Microvisor
Creator
Open Kernel Labs, acquired by General Dynamics Corporation
Host CPU
ARM, x86, MIPS
Guest CPU
ARM (v5, v6, v7, v8; paravirtualization), ARMv7VE (hardware virtualization)
Host OS
No Host OS
Guest OS
Various OSes and RTOSes including Linux, Android, QNX
License
Proprietary
OpenVZ
OpenVZ
Name
OpenVZ
Creator
Community project, supported by SWsoft, now Parallels, Inc.
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC 64, SPARC64
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Linux
Guest OS
same as host (shared Linux kernel), choice of userland distribution
License
GPL
Oracle VM Server for x86
Oracle VM Server for x86
Name
Oracle VM Server for x86
Creator
Oracle Corporation
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Microsoft Windows, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Solaris
License
GPLv2, Oracle VM Server; Manager is proprietary
OVPsim
OVPsim
Name
OVPsim
Creator
OVP
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
OR1K, MIPS32, ARC600/700, ARM; and public API which enables users to write custom processor models, RISC, CISC, DSP, VLIW all possible
Host OS
Microsoft Windows, Linux
Guest OS
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
License
Proprietary, Apache 2.0 for models
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Name
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Creator
Parallels, Inc.
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64, aarch64
Host OS
macOS
Guest OS
DOS, Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, Solaris, Haiku
License
Proprietary
Parallels Workstation (discontinued 2013)
Parallels Workstation (discontinued 2013)
Name
Parallels Workstation (discontinued 2013)
Creator
Parallels, Inc.
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Windows, Linux
Guest OS
Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, DOS, Solaris, Haiku
License
Proprietary
PearPC
PearPC
Name
PearPC
Creator
Sebastian Biallas
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, PowerPC
Guest CPU
PowerPC
Host OS
Windows, Linux, OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD
Guest OS
Mac OS X, Darwin, Linux
License
GPL
PikeOS
PikeOS
Name
PikeOS
Creator
SYSGO
Host CPU
PowerPC, x86, ARM, MIPS, SPARC, RISC-V
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
No host OS, Linux or Windows as dev. hosts
Guest OS
PikeOS native, Linux, ELinOS, Windows, POSIX, AUTOSAR, Android, RTEMS, OSEK, ARINC 653 APEX, ITRON
License
Proprietary
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE
Name
Proxmox VE
Creator
Proxmox
Host CPU
x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
Debian Based
Guest OS
Windows, Linux, Linux variants, Solaris, FreeBSD, OSx86 (as FreeBSD), virtual appliances, Netware, OS/2, SCO, BeOS, Haiku, Darwin
License
AGPLv3
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Name
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Creator
Oracle Corporation
Host CPU
UltraSPARC T1, UltraSPARC T2, UltraSPARC T2+, SPARC T3, SPARC T4
Guest CPU
Compatible
Host OS
Solaris 10, Solaris 11
Guest OS
Oracle support: Solaris; unsupported: Linux, FreeBSD
License
Proprietary
PowerVM
PowerVM
Name
PowerVM
Creator
IBM
Host CPU
POWER4, POWER5, POWER6, POWER7, POWER8, POWER9, Power10
Guest CPU
POWER4/5/6/7/8/9/Power10, x86 (PowerVM-Lx86)
Host OS
PowerVM Firmware
Guest OS
Linux PowerPC, x86; AIX, IBM i
License
Proprietary
QEMU
QEMU
Name
QEMU
Creator
Fabrice Bellard, other developers
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC, SPARC 32/64, ARM, S/390, MIPS
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64, Alpha, ARM, CRIS, LM32, M68k, MicroBlaze, MIPS, OpenRisc32, PowerPC, S/390, SH4, SPARC 32/64, Unicore32, Xtensa
Host OS
Windows ("experimental"), Linux, macOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, BeOS
Guest OS
Changes regularly
License
GPL/LGPL
QEMU w/ kqemu module
QEMU w/ kqemu module
Name
QEMU w/ kqemu module
Creator
Fabrice Bellard
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, Windows
Guest OS
Changes regularly
License
GPL/LGPL
QEMU w/ qvm86 module
QEMU w/ qvm86 module
Name
QEMU w/ qvm86 module
Creator
Paul Brook
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Linux, NetBSD, Windows
Guest OS
Changes regularly
License
GPL
QuickTransit
QuickTransit
Name
QuickTransit
Creator
Transitive Corp.
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, IA-64, POWER
Guest CPU
MIPS, PowerPC, SPARC, x86
Host OS
Linux, OS X, Solaris
Guest OS
Linux, OS X, Irix, Solaris
License
Proprietary
RTS Hypervisor
RTS Hypervisor
Name
RTS Hypervisor
Creator
Real-Time Systems GmbH
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Windows, Linux, Windows Embedded, QNX, RTOS-32, VxWorks, OS-9, T-Kernel
License
Proprietary
SIMH
SIMH
Name
SIMH
Creator
Bob Supnik, The Computer History Simulation Project
Host CPU
Alpha, ARM, HPPA, x86, IA-64, x86-64, M68K, MIPS, MIPSel, POWER, s390, SPARC
Guest CPU
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
Host OS
BSD, Linux, Solaris, VMS, Windows
Guest OS
Depends on target machine, includes NetBSD/VAX, OpenBSD/VAX, VAX/VMS, Unix v6, Unix v7, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, ITS
License
BSD-like, unique
Simics
Simics
Name
Simics
Creator
Virtutech, acquired by Intel
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
8051, 68000, ARM (v4, v5, v6, v7), MIPS32, MIPS64, Cavium cnMIPS, Broadcom XLR MIPS, Freescale (e300, e500, e600, e5500, e6500), IBM (POWER, PPC44x, PPC46x, 47x), SPARC v8 (LEON), SPARC v9 (UltraSparc), x86 (from 80286 to Sandy Bridge), x86-64 (from Pentium4 to Sandy Bridge), TI TMS320C64xx, Renesas H8, Renesas SH
Host OS
Windows 32-bit and 64-bit, Linux 32-bit and 64-bit
Guest OS
Depends on target machine, typically runs unmodified software stacks from the corresponding real target, including VxWorks, VxWorks 653, OSE, QNX, Linux, Solaris, Windows, FreeBSD, RTEMS, TinyOS, Wind River Hypervisor, VMware ESX, and others
License
Proprietary
Sun xVM Server
Sun xVM Server
Name
Sun xVM Server
Creator
Sun Microsystems
Host CPU
x86-64, SPARC
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Windows XP, 2003 Server (x86-64 only), Linux, Solaris
License
GPL version 3
SVISTA 2004
SVISTA 2004
Name
SVISTA 2004
Creator
Serenity Systems International
Host CPU
x86
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Windows, OS/2, Linux
Guest OS
Windows, Linux, OS/2, BSD
License
Proprietary
TRANGO
TRANGO
Name
TRANGO
Creator
TRANGO Virtual Processors, Grenoble, France
Host CPU
ARM, XScale, MIPS, PowerPC
Guest CPU
Paravirtualized ARM, MIPS, PowerPC
Host OS
No host OS, Linux or Windows as dev. hosts
Guest OS
Linux, eCos, μC/OS-II, WindowsCE, Nucleus, VxWorks
License
Proprietary
User Mode Linux
User Mode Linux
Name
User Mode Linux
Creator
Jeff Dike, other developers
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, PowerPC
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Linux
Guest OS
Linux
License
GPL version 2
VirtualBox
VirtualBox
Name
VirtualBox
Creator
Innotek, acquired by Oracle Corporation
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, ARMv8
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64 (with Intel VT-x or AMD-V, and VirtualBox 2 or later), ARMv8 (from 7.1 on macOS, 7.2 on Windows)
Host OS
Windows, Linux, macOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, eComStation
Guest OS
DOS, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Haiku, OS/2, Solaris, Syllable, Windows, and OpenBSD (with Intel VT-x or AMD-V, due to otherwise tolerated incompatibilities in the emulated memory management).
License
GPL version 2; full version with extra enterprise features is proprietary
Virtual Iron 3.1
Virtual Iron 3.1
Name
Virtual Iron 3.1
Creator
Virtual Iron Software, Inc., acquired by Oracle
Host CPU
x86 VT-x, x86-64 AMD-V
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Windows, Linux
License
Proprietary, some components GPLv2
Virtual Machine Manager
Virtual Machine Manager
Name
Virtual Machine Manager
Creator
Red Hat
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
Linux
Guest OS
Linux, Windows
License
GPL version 2
Virtual PC 2007 (discontinued)
Virtual PC 2007 (discontinued)
Name
Virtual PC 2007 (discontinued)
Creator
Connectix and Microsoft
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Windows Vista (Business, Enterprise, Ultimate), XP Pro, XP Tablet PC Edition
Guest OS
DOS, Windows, OS/2, Linux (SUSE, Xubuntu), OpenSolaris (Belenix)
License
Proprietary
Windows Virtual PC (discontinued)
Windows Virtual PC (discontinued)
Name
Windows Virtual PC (discontinued)
Creator
Connectix and Microsoft
Host CPU
x86, x86-64 with Intel VT-x or AMD-V
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Windows 7
Guest OS
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008
License
Proprietary
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Name
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Creator
Connectix and Microsoft
Host CPU
PowerPC
Guest CPU
x86
Host OS
Mac OS X
Guest OS
Windows, OS/2, Linux
License
Proprietary
VirtualLogix VLX
VirtualLogix VLX
Name
VirtualLogix VLX
Creator
VirtualLogix
Host CPU
ARM, TI DSP C6000, x86, PowerPC
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Linux, Windows XP, C5, VxWorks, Nucleus, DSP/BIOS, proprietary
License
Proprietary
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Name
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Creator
Connectix and Microsoft
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
Windows Server 2003, 2008, XP (Requires IIS)
Guest OS
Windows NT, 2000, 2003, 2008, Linux (Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu)
License
Proprietary
Synopsys (CoWare) Virtual Platform
Synopsys (CoWare) Virtual Platform
Name
Synopsys (CoWare) Virtual Platform
Creator
CoWare
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, SPARC v9
Guest CPU
Devices including (multi) cores from ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, Toshiba MeP, Renesas SH, Texas Instruments, Tensilica, ZSP
Host OS
Windows, Linux, Solaris
Guest OS
Depends on guest CPU; includes: Linux (various flavors), μITRON (various flavors), Windows CE, Symbian, more
License
Proprietary
Virtuozzo
Virtuozzo
Name
Virtuozzo
Creator
SWsoft, now Virtuozzo Inc
Host CPU
x86, IA-64, x86-64
Guest CPU
same as host
Host OS
Linux
Guest OS
same as host (shared Linux kernel)
License
Proprietary
vkernel
vkernel
Name
vkernel
Creator
Matthew Dillon / DragonFly BSD
Host CPU
x86-64
Guest CPU
same as host
Host OS
DragonFly BSD
Guest OS
any compatible vkernel binary of DragonFly
License
BSD
VMM
VMM
Name
VMM
Creator
OpenBSD
Host CPU
x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
OpenBSD
Guest OS
OpenBSD and Linux guests
License
BSD
VMware ESX Server
VMware ESX Server
Name
VMware ESX Server
Creator
VMware
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Windows, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OSx86 (as FreeBSD), virtual appliances, Netware, OS/2, SCO, BeOS, Haiku, Darwin, others: runs arbitrary OS
License
Proprietary
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi
Name
VMware ESXi
Creator
VMware
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Same as VMware ESX Server
License
Proprietary
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Name
VMware Fusion
Creator
VMware
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
macOS
Guest OS
Same as VMware ESX Server
License
Proprietary
VMware Server
VMware Server
Name
VMware Server
Creator
VMware
Host CPU
x86, x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
Windows, Linux
Guest OS
Same as VMware ESX Server
License
Proprietary
VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation
Name
VMware Workstation
Creator
VMware
Host CPU
x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
Windows, Linux
Guest OS
Same as VMware ESX Server
License
Proprietary
VMware Player, later VMware Workstation Player
VMware Player, later VMware Workstation Player
Name
VMware Player, later VMware Workstation Player
Creator
VMware
Host CPU
x86-64
Guest CPU
x86, x86-64
Host OS
Windows, Linux
Guest OS
Same as VMware ESX Server
License
Proprietary, free for personal non-commercial use
Wind River Hypervisor
Wind River Hypervisor
Name
Wind River Hypervisor
Creator
Wind River
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, PowerPC, ARM
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Linux, VxWorks, unmodified guests (including MS Windows and RTOSes such ach OSE, QNX and others), bare metal virtual board
License
Proprietary
Xen
Xen
Name
Xen
Creator
Xensource, Now Citrix Systems
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, ARM, IA-64 (inactive), PowerPC (inactive)
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
Linux, Unix-like
Guest OS
Linux, FreeBSD, MiniOS, NetBSD, Solaris, Windows 7/XP/Vista/Server 2008 (requires Intel VT-x (Vanderpool) or AMD-V (Pacifica)-capable CPU), Plan 9
License
GNU GPLv2 +
XCP-ng
XCP-ng
Name
XCP-ng
Creator
By Vates SAS
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, ARM, IA-64 (inactive), PowerPC (inactive)
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Linux, FreeBSD, MiniOS, NetBSD, Solaris, Windows, Windows Server 2008 (with Intel VT-x or AMD-V), Plan 9
License
GNU GPLv2 +
XenServer
XenServer
Name
XenServer
Creator
By Citrix Systems
Host CPU
x86, x86-64, ARM, IA-64 (inactive), PowerPC (inactive)
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
Linux, FreeBSD, MiniOS, NetBSD, Solaris, Windows 7/XP/Vista/Server 2008 (with Intel VT-x or AMD-V), Plan 9
License
GNU GPLv2 +
XtratuM
XtratuM
Name
XtratuM
Creator
fentISS
Host CPU
SPARC v8 LEON2/3/4, ARM v7
Guest CPU
Same as host
Host OS
No host OS
Guest OS
GPOS: Linux, RTOS: LithOS, RTEMS
License
Proprietary, GPL version 2 depending on versions
z/VM
z/VM
Name
z/VM
Creator
IBM
Host CPU
z/Architecture
Guest CPU
z/Architecture, z/VM does not run on predecessor mainframes
Host OS
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.)
Guest OS
Linux on IBM Z, z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, z/VM, VM/CMS, MUSIC/SP, OpenSolaris for System z, predecessors
License
Proprietary
z LPARs
z LPARs
Name
z LPARs
Creator
IBM
Host CPU
z/Architecture
Guest CPU
z/Architecture
Host OS
Integrated in firmware of System z mainframes
Guest OS
Linux on IBM Z, z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, z/VM, MUSIC/SP, and predecessors
License
Proprietary
Name
Name
Name
Name
Creator
Creator
Host CPU
Host CPU
Guest CPU
Guest CPU
Host OS
Host OS(s)
Guest OS
Guest OS(s)
License
License
| Name | Creator | Host CPU | Guest CPU | Host OS | Guest OS | License |
| 86Box | Miran Grča | x86, x86-64, ARMv7, AArch64 | x86 (Intel 8086 to Pentium II and compatible) | Windows, Linux, macOS | Windows, Linux, DOS, BSD, OS/2, Haiku | GPL version 3 |
| bhyve | FreeBSD | x86-64 | x86, x86-64 | FreeBSD, Illumos | FreeBSD, FreeNAS, pfSense, OpenBSD, Linux, Windows, Illumos | BSD |
| Bochs | Kevin J. Lawton | Any | x86, x86-64 | Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Unix/X11, Mac OS 9, macOS, BeOS, MorphOS, OS/2 | Windows, Linux, DOS, BSD, OS/2, Haiku | LGPL |
| Containers, or Zones | Sun Microsystems | x86, x86-64, SPARC (portable: not tied to hardware) | Same as host | Solaris 10, Solaris 11, OpenSolaris 2009.06, illumos distributions | Solaris (8, 9, 10, 11), illumos, Linux (BrandZ) | CDDL |
| Cooperative Linux (coLinux) | Dan Aloni, other developers | x86 | Same as host | Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista | Linux | GPL version 2 |
| CHARON | Stromasys | x86, x86-64 | PDP-11, VAX, Alpha, HP3000, Sparc | Windows, Linux | VMS, OpenVMS, Tru64 UNIX, MPE/iX, RSX-11, RT11, RSTS, Solaris, SunOS | Proprietary |
| Denali | University of Washington | x86 | x86 | Denali | Ilwaco, NetBSD | Not distributed |
| DOSBox | Peter Veenstra, Sjoerd with community | Any | x86 | Linux, Windows, classic Mac OS, macOS, BeOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, QNX, IRIX, MorphOS, AmigaOS, Maemo, Symbian | Internally emulated MS-DOS shell; self-booting disks, unofficially Windows 1.0 to 98 | GPL |
| DOSEMU | Community project | x86, x86-64 | x86 | Linux | DOS | GPL version 2 |
| FreeBSD Jail | Poul-Henning Kamp / FreeBSD | Any running FreeBSD or DragonFly BSD | Same as host | FreeBSD, DragonFly BSD | same as host (shared *BSD kernel), plus Linux ABI through compat layer | BSD |
| GXemul | Anders Gavare | Any | ARM, MIPS, Motorola 88000, PowerPC, SuperH | Unix-like | NetBSD, OpenBSD, Linux, Ultrix, Sprite | BSD |
| Hercules | Roger Bowler | Any | z/Architecture | Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux, macOS | Linux on IBM Z, z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, OS/360, DOS/360, DOS/VS, MVS, VM/370, TSS/370 | QPL |
| Hyper-V (2008) | Microsoft | x86-64 with Intel VT-x or AMD-V | x86-64, x86 (up to 8 physical CPUs) | Windows Server 2008 (R2) w/Hyper-V role, Microsoft Hyper-V Server | Supported drivers for Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows 2008, Windows XP, Windows Vista, FreeBSD, Linux (SUSE 10 released, more announced) | Proprietary |
| Hyper-V (2012+) | Microsoft | x86-64 with Intel VT-x or AMD-V, ARMv8 | x86-64, (up to 64 physical CPUs), ARMv8 | Windows 8, 8.1, 10, and Windows Server 2012 (R2) w/Hyper-V role, Microsoft Hyper-V Server | Supported drivers for Windows NT, FreeBSD, Linux (SUSE 10, RHEL 6, CentOS 6) | Proprietary. Component of various Windows editions. |
| INTEGRITY | Green Hills Software | ARM, x86, PowerPC | Same as host | Linux, Windows | INTEGRITY native, Linux, Android, AUTOSAR, Windows (on some platforms) | Proprietary |
| Integrity Virtual Machines | Hewlett-Packard | IA-64 | IA-64 | HP-UX | HP-UX, Windows, Linux (OpenVMS announced) | Proprietary |
| JPC (Virtual Machine) | University of Oxford | Any running the Java Virtual Machine | x86 | Java Virtual Machine | DOS, Linux, Windows up to 3.0 | GPL version 2 |
| KVM | Qumranet, now Red Hat | x86, x86-64, IA-64, with x86 virtualization, s390, PowerPC, ARM | 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 | x86 | No host OS | LynxOS, Linux, Windows | Proprietary |
| LXC | Community project, Canonical Ltd. | x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC 64, SPARC64, Itanium, ARM | Same as host | Linux | Linux variants | GPL version 2 |
| OKL4 Microvisor | Open Kernel Labs, acquired by General Dynamics Corporation | ARM, x86, MIPS | ARM (v5, v6, v7, v8; paravirtualization), ARMv7VE (hardware virtualization) | No Host OS | Various OSes and RTOSes including Linux, Android, QNX | Proprietary |
| OpenVZ | Community project, supported by SWsoft, now Parallels, Inc. | x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC 64, SPARC64 | Same as host | Linux | same as host (shared Linux kernel), choice of userland distribution | GPL |
| Oracle VM Server for x86 | Oracle Corporation | x86, x86-64 | x86, x86-64 | No host OS | Microsoft Windows, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Solaris | GPLv2, Oracle VM Server; Manager is proprietary |
| OVPsim | OVP | 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 | x86, x86-64, aarch64 | macOS | DOS, Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, Solaris, Haiku | Proprietary |
| Parallels Workstation (discontinued 2013) | Parallels, Inc. | x86 | x86 | Windows, Linux | Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, DOS, Solaris, Haiku | Proprietary |
| PearPC | Sebastian Biallas | x86, x86-64, PowerPC | PowerPC | Windows, Linux, OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD | Mac OS X, Darwin, Linux | GPL |
| PikeOS | SYSGO | PowerPC, x86, ARM, MIPS, SPARC, RISC-V | Same as host | No host OS, Linux or Windows as dev. hosts | PikeOS native, Linux, ELinOS, Windows, POSIX, AUTOSAR, Android, RTEMS, OSEK, ARINC 653 APEX, ITRON | Proprietary |
| Proxmox VE | Proxmox | x86-64 | x86, x86-64 | Debian Based | Windows, Linux, Linux variants, Solaris, FreeBSD, OSx86 (as FreeBSD), virtual appliances, Netware, OS/2, SCO, BeOS, Haiku, Darwin | AGPLv3 |
| Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms) | Oracle Corporation | UltraSPARC T1, UltraSPARC T2, UltraSPARC T2+, SPARC T3, SPARC T4 | Compatible | Solaris 10, Solaris 11 | Oracle support: Solaris; unsupported: Linux, FreeBSD | Proprietary |
| PowerVM | IBM | POWER4, POWER5, POWER6, POWER7, POWER8, POWER9, Power10 | POWER4/5/6/7/8/9/Power10, x86 (PowerVM-Lx86) | PowerVM Firmware | Linux PowerPC, x86; AIX, IBM i | Proprietary |
| QEMU | Fabrice Bellard, other developers | x86, x86-64, IA-64, PowerPC, SPARC 32/64, ARM, S/390, MIPS | x86, x86-64, Alpha, ARM, CRIS, LM32, M68k, MicroBlaze, MIPS, OpenRisc32, PowerPC, S/390, SH4, SPARC 32/64, Unicore32, Xtensa | Windows ("experimental"), Linux, macOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, BeOS | Changes regularly | GPL/LGPL |
| QEMU w/ kqemu module | Fabrice Bellard | x86, x86-64 | Same as host | Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, Windows | Changes regularly | 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, OS X, Solaris | Linux, OS X, Irix, Solaris | Proprietary |
| RTS Hypervisor | Real-Time Systems GmbH | x86, x86-64 | x86, x86-64 | No host OS | Windows, Linux, Windows Embedded, QNX, RTOS-32, VxWorks, OS-9, T-Kernel | Proprietary |
| 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, acquired by Intel | x86, x86-64 | 8051, 68000, ARM (v4, v5, v6, v7), MIPS32, MIPS64, Cavium cnMIPS, Broadcom XLR MIPS, Freescale (e300, e500, e600, e5500, e6500), IBM (POWER, PPC44x, PPC46x, 47x), SPARC v8 (LEON), SPARC v9 (UltraSparc), x86 (from 80286 to Sandy Bridge), x86-64 (from Pentium4 to Sandy Bridge), TI TMS320C64xx, Renesas H8, Renesas SH | Windows 32-bit and 64-bit, Linux 32-bit and 64-bit | Depends on target machine, typically runs unmodified software stacks from the corresponding real target, including VxWorks, VxWorks 653, OSE, QNX, Linux, Solaris, Windows, FreeBSD, RTEMS, TinyOS, Wind River Hypervisor, VMware ESX, and 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, ARMv8 | x86, x86-64 (with Intel VT-x or AMD-V, and VirtualBox 2 or later), ARMv8 (from 7.1 on macOS, 7.2 on Windows) | Windows, Linux, macOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, eComStation | DOS, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Haiku, OS/2, Solaris, Syllable, Windows, and OpenBSD (with Intel VT-x or AMD-V, due to otherwise tolerated incompatibilities in the emulated memory management). | 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 | Proprietary, some components GPLv2 |
| Virtual Machine Manager | Red Hat | x86, x86-64 | x86, x86-64 | Linux | Linux, Windows | GPL version 2 |
| Virtual PC 2007 (discontinued) | Connectix and Microsoft | 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 (discontinued) | Connectix and Microsoft | 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 and Microsoft | PowerPC | x86 | Mac OS X | Windows, OS/2, Linux | Proprietary |
· Features
Containers, or Zones
Containers, or Zones
Name
Containers, or Zones
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, over 500-way on current systems
Runs arbitrary OS
No
Supported guest OS drivers
Uses native device drivers
Method of operation
Operating system-level virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation with workload isolation, single workload containment, hosting, dev/test/prod
Speed relative to host OS
Near native
Commercial support available
Yes
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Name
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, up to 4 VCPUs per VM
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test, desktop virtualization, cloud computing
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
OpenVZ
OpenVZ
Name
OpenVZ
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
No
Supported guest OS drivers
Compatible
Method of operation
Operating system-level virtualization
Typical use
Virtualized server isolation
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
KVM
KVM
Name
KVM
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
AMD-V and Intel-VT-x
Typical use
Virtualized server isolation, server/desktop consolidation, software development, cloud computing, other purposes
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
Linux-VServer
Linux-VServer
Name
Linux-VServer
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
No
Supported guest OS drivers
Compatible
Method of operation
Operating system-level virtualization
Typical use
Virtualized server isolation and security, server consolidation, cloud computing
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
Oracle VM Server for x86
Oracle VM Server for x86
Name
Oracle VM Server for x86
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization and hardware virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation and security, enterprise and business deployment
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Name
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes, but needs porting
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization and hardware virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation and security, enterprise and business deployment
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
OVPsim
OVPsim
Name
OVPsim
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
?
Method of operation
Full system simulation with optional component virtualization
Typical use
Software development (early, embedded), advanced debug for single and multicore software, compiler and other tool development, computer architecture research, hobbyist
Speed relative to host OS
Depends on target architecture (full and slow hardware emulation for guests incompatible with host)[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes, with commercial license from Imperas
PikeOS
PikeOS
Name
PikeOS
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes, but modifications required as paravirtualization is used
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization
Typical use
Safety and security critical embedded systems.
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
Simics
Simics
Name
Simics
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Full system simulation of processors, MMUs, devices, disks, memories, networks, etc.
Typical use
Software development, advanced debug for single and multicore software, compiler and other tool development, computer architecture research, bug transportation, automated testing, system architecture, long-term support of safety-critical systems, early hardware availability, virtual prototyping
Speed relative to host OS
Depends on host machine and target architecture. Runs at near-native speeds for x86-on-x86 using VT-x, cross-simulation of other architectures can be faster or slower than real-time depending on how fast the target is and how big the target is (number of processors, number of target machines, and how much the simulation can be parallelized)
Commercial support available
Yes
Sun xVM Server
Sun xVM Server
Name
Sun xVM Server
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization
Typical use
Servers, Development
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
SVISTA 2004
SVISTA 2004
Name
SVISTA 2004
Guest OS SMP available
No
Runs arbitrary OS
?
Supported guest OS drivers
?
Method of operation
?
Typical use
Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation
Speed relative to host OS
?
Commercial support available
?
TRANGO
TRANGO
Name
TRANGO
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization
Typical use
Mob. phone, STB, routers, etc.
Speed relative to host OS
Near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
?
User Mode Linux
User Mode Linux
Name
User Mode Linux
Guest OS SMP available
?
Runs arbitrary OS
No
Supported guest OS drivers
special guest kernel+modules required
Method of operation
Porting
Typical use
Developer (as a separate machine for a server or with X11 networking)
Speed relative to host OS
Non-significantly slower than native (all calls to kernel are proxied)[citation needed]
Commercial support available
?
OKL4 Microvisor
OKL4 Microvisor
Name
OKL4 Microvisor
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes, (either with para-virtualization or HW virtualization)
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization, Hardware assisted virtualization
Typical use
Mobile, embedded, security, safety critical, networking, legacy OS, etc.
Speed relative to host OS
Near native
Commercial support available
Yes
Oracle VirtualBox
Oracle VirtualBox
Name
Oracle VirtualBox
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Business workstation, server consolidation, service continuity, developer, hobbyist
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes (with commercial license)
Virtual Iron 3.1
Virtual Iron 3.1
Name
Virtual Iron 3.1
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, up to 8 way
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Native virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test
Speed relative to host OS
?
Commercial support available
Yes
Virtual PC 2007
Virtual PC 2007
Name
Virtual PC 2007
Guest OS SMP available
No
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization, guest calls trapping where supported
Typical use
Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed] with virtual machine additions
Commercial support available
?
Windows Virtual PC
Windows Virtual PC
Name
Windows Virtual PC
Guest OS SMP available
Yes[citation needed]
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Hardware virtualization
Typical use
Developer, Business workstation, support for Compatibility with Windows XP applications
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed] with virtual machine additions
Commercial support available
No
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Name
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Guest OS SMP available
No
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
dynamic recompilation (guest calls trapping where supported)
Typical use
Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation
Speed relative to host OS
Slow [citation needed]
Commercial support available
?
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Name
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Guest OS SMP available
No
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization (guest calls trapping where supported)
Typical use
Server, server farm
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native with virtual machine additions but slower than with hypervisor due to proxied calls[citation needed]
Commercial support available
?
CoWare Virtual Platform
CoWare Virtual Platform
Name
CoWare Virtual Platform
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes ( Same compiled Software image as for the real device)
Method of operation
Full-system virtualization (Processor Core ISA + Hardware + External connections)
Typical use
Early embedded software development and integration (from driver to application), Multi-core software debugging and optimization
Speed relative to host OS
Depending on the system characteristics and the software itself, ranges from faster than real time to slow[citation needed].
Commercial support available
Yes
Virtuozzo
Virtuozzo
Name
Virtuozzo
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
No
Supported guest OS drivers
Compatible
Method of operation
Operating system-level virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation, service continuity, disaster recovery, service providers
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware ESXi Server 5.5 (vSphere)
VMware ESXi Server 5.5 (vSphere)
Name
VMware ESXi Server 5.5 (vSphere)
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, add-on, up to 64 way
Runs arbitrary OS
No
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test, cloud computing, business critical applications, Infrastructure as a Service IaaS
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware ESX Server 4.0 (vSphere)
VMware ESX Server 4.0 (vSphere)
Name
VMware ESX Server 4.0 (vSphere)
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, add-on, up to 8 way
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test, cloud computing
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware ESX Server 3.0
VMware ESX Server 3.0
Name
VMware ESX Server 3.0
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, add-on, up to 4 way
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3
Name
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, add-on, 2 way
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Name
VMware Fusion
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Hobbyist, Developer, Tester, Business workstation
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware Server
VMware Server
Name
VMware Server
Guest OS SMP available
Yes (2-way)
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Server/desktop consolidation, dev/test
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation
Name
VMware Workstation
Guest OS SMP available
Yes (2-way)
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization (VMI) and virtualization
Typical use
Technical professional, advanced dev/test, trainer
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
VMware Player
VMware Player
Name
VMware Player
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Virtualization
Typical use
Technical professional, advanced dev/test, trainer, end user on prebuilt machines
Speed relative to host OS
Up to near native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
No
Xen
Xen
Name
Xen
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, v4.0.0: up to 128 VCPUs per VM
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization
Typical use
Virtualized server isolation, server/desktop consolidation, software development, cloud computing, other purposes. Xen powers most public cloud services and many hosting services, such as Amazon Web Services, Rackspace Hosting and Linode.
Speed relative to host OS
Up to native
Commercial support available
Yes
XenServer
XenServer
Name
XenServer
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization
Typical use
Virtualized server isolation, server/desktop consolidation, software development, cloud computing, other purposes. Xen powers most public cloud services and many hosting services, such as Amazon Web Services, Rackspace Hosting and Linode.
Speed relative to host OS
Up to native
Commercial support available
Yes
XtratuM
XtratuM
Name
XtratuM
Guest OS SMP available
Yes
Runs arbitrary OS
No
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes
Method of operation
Paravirtualization
Typical use
Embedded, safety critical, secure
Speed relative to host OS
Near to native[citation needed]
Commercial support available
Yes
z/VM
z/VM
Name
z/VM
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, both real and virtual (guest perceives more CPUs than installed), incl. dynamic CPU provisioning and reassignment
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes, but not required
Method of operation
Virtualization (among first systems to provide hardware assists)
Typical use
Servers
Speed relative to host OS
Near native
Commercial support available
Yes
z LPARs
z LPARs
Name
z LPARs
Guest OS SMP available
Yes, both real and virtual (guest perceives more CPUs than installed), incl. dynamic CPU provisioning and reassignment; up to 64 real cores
Runs arbitrary OS
Yes
Supported guest OS drivers
Yes, but not required
Method of operation
Microcode and hardware hypervisor
Typical use
Servers
Speed relative to host OS
Native: System z machines always run with at least one LPAR
Commercial support available
Yes
Name
Name
Name
Name
Guest OS SMP available
Guest OS SMP available
Runs arbitrary OS
Runs arbitrary OS
Supported guest OS drivers
Supported guest OS drivers
Method of operation
Method of operation
Typical use
Typical use
Speed relative to host OS
Speed relative to host OS
Commercial support available
Commercial support available
| 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 | Near 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, cloud computing | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| OpenVZ | Yes | No | Compatible | Operating system-level virtualization | Virtualized server isolation | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| KVM | Yes | Yes | Yes | AMD-V and Intel-VT-x | Virtualized server isolation, server/desktop consolidation, software development, cloud computing, other purposes | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| Linux-VServer | Yes | No | Compatible | Operating system-level virtualization | Virtualized server isolation and security, server consolidation, cloud computing | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| Oracle VM Server for x86 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and hardware virtualization | Server consolidation and security, enterprise and business deployment | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms) | Yes | Yes, but needs porting | Yes | Paravirtualization and hardware virtualization | Server consolidation and security, enterprise and business deployment | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| OVPsim | Yes | Yes | ? | 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 architecture (full and slow hardware emulation for guests incompatible with host)[citation needed] | Yes, with commercial license from Imperas |
| PikeOS | Yes | Yes, but modifications required as paravirtualization is used | Yes | Paravirtualization | Safety and security critical embedded systems. | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| Simics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Full system simulation of processors, MMUs, devices, disks, memories, networks, etc. | Software development, advanced debug for single and multicore software, compiler and other tool development, computer architecture research, bug transportation, automated testing, system architecture, long-term support of safety-critical systems, early hardware availability, virtual prototyping | Depends on host machine and target architecture. Runs at near-native speeds for x86-on-x86 using VT-x, cross-simulation of other architectures can be faster or slower than real-time depending on how fast the target is and how big the target is (number of processors, number of target machines, and how much the simulation can be parallelized) | Yes |
| Sun xVM Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization | Servers, Development | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| SVISTA 2004 | No | ? | ? | ? | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation | ? | ? |
| TRANGO | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization | Mob. phone, STB, routers, etc. | Near native[citation needed] | ? |
| User Mode Linux | ? | No | special guest kernel+modules required | Porting | Developer (as a separate machine for a server or with X11 networking) | Non-significantly slower than native (all calls to kernel are proxied)[citation needed] | ? |
| OKL4 Microvisor | Yes | Yes, (either with para-virtualization or HW virtualization) | Yes | Paravirtualization, Hardware assisted virtualization | Mobile, embedded, security, safety critical, networking, legacy OS, etc. | Near native | Yes |
| Oracle VirtualBox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Business workstation, server consolidation, service continuity, developer, hobbyist | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes (with commercial license) |
| Virtual Iron 3.1 | Yes, up to 8 way | Yes | Yes | Native virtualization | Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test | ? | Yes |
| Virtual PC 2007 | No | Yes | Yes | Virtualization, guest calls trapping where supported | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation | Up to near native[citation needed] with virtual machine additions | ? |
| Windows Virtual PC | Yes[citation needed] | Yes | Yes | Hardware virtualization | Developer, Business workstation, support for Compatibility with Windows XP applications | Up to near native[citation needed] 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 [citation needed] | ? |
| Virtual Server 2005 R2 | No | Yes | Yes | Virtualization (guest calls trapping where supported) | Server, server farm | Up to near native with virtual machine additions but slower than with hypervisor due to proxied calls[citation needed] | ? |
| 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[citation needed]. | Yes |
| Virtuozzo | Yes | No | Compatible | Operating system-level virtualization | Server consolidation, service continuity, disaster recovery, service providers | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| VMware ESXi Server 5.5 (vSphere) | Yes, add-on, up to 64 way | No | Yes | Virtualization | Server consolidation, service continuity, dev/test, cloud computing, business critical applications, Infrastructure as a Service IaaS | Up to near native[citation needed] | 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[citation needed] | 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[citation needed] | 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[citation needed] | Yes |
| VMware Fusion | Yes | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Hobbyist, Developer, Tester, Business workstation | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| VMware Server | Yes (2-way) | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Server/desktop consolidation, dev/test | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| VMware Workstation | Yes (2-way) | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization (VMI) and virtualization | Technical professional, advanced dev/test, trainer | Up to near native[citation needed] | Yes |
| VMware Player | Yes | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Technical professional, advanced dev/test, trainer, end user on prebuilt machines | Up to near native[citation needed] | No |
| Xen | Yes, v4.0.0: up to 128 VCPUs per VM | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization | Virtualized server isolation, server/desktop consolidation, software development, cloud computing, other purposes. Xen powers most public cloud services and many hosting services, such as Amazon Web Services, Rackspace Hosting and Linode. | Up to native | Yes |
| XenServer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and porting or hardware virtualization | Virtualized server isolation, server/desktop consolidation, software development, cloud computing, other purposes. Xen powers most public cloud services and many hosting services, such as Amazon Web Services, Rackspace Hosting and Linode. | Up to native | Yes |
| XtratuM | Yes | No | Yes | Paravirtualization | Embedded, safety critical, secure | Near to native[citation needed] | 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 | 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 |
· Image type compatibility
86Box
86Box
Name
86Box
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
CD-ROM drive only
physical disk /device
No
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
No
Bochs
Bochs
Name
Bochs
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
Yes
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
Yes
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
Yes
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
v3, v4
Containers, or Zones
Containers, or Zones
Name
Containers, or Zones
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Cooperative Linux (coLinux)
Cooperative Linux (coLinux)
Name
Cooperative Linux (coLinux)
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
CHARON
CHARON
Name
CHARON
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Denali
Denali
Name
Denali
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
DOSBox
DOSBox
Name
DOSBox
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
Yes
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
DOSBox-X fork
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
No
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
No
DOSEMU
DOSEMU
Name
DOSEMU
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
Yes
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
FreeBSD Jail
FreeBSD Jail
Name
FreeBSD Jail
floppy
No
ISO
No
folders on host
Yes
physical disk /device
No
raw / flat(whole disk)
No
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
No
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
No
GXemul
GXemul
Name
GXemul
floppy
?
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Hercules
Hercules
Name
Hercules
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Hyper-V (2008 R2)
Hyper-V (2008 R2)
Name
Hyper-V (2008 R2)
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
No
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
No
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
No
Hyper-V (2012)
Hyper-V (2012)
Name
Hyper-V (2012)
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
No
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
No
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
Yes
VMDK(VMware)
No
Hyper-V (2012 R2)
Hyper-V (2012 R2)
Name
Hyper-V (2012 R2)
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
No
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
No
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
Yes
VMDK(VMware)
No
Integrity Virtual Machines
Integrity Virtual Machines
Name
Integrity Virtual Machines
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
JPC (Virtual Machine)
JPC (Virtual Machine)
Name
JPC (Virtual Machine)
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
Yes
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Linux-VServer
Linux-VServer
Name
Linux-VServer
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
LynxSecure
LynxSecure
Name
LynxSecure
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
LXC
LXC
Name
LXC
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
OpenVZ
OpenVZ
Name
OpenVZ
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Oracle VM Server for x86
Oracle VM Server for x86
Name
Oracle VM Server for x86
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Name
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
OVPsim
OVPsim
Name
OVPsim
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Name
Parallels Desktop for Mac
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
Yes
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Parallels Workstation
Parallels Workstation
Name
Parallels Workstation
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
Yes
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
PearPC
PearPC
Name
PearPC
floppy
No
ISO
Yes
folders on host
No
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
No
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
No
PikeOS
PikeOS
Name
PikeOS
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
PowerVM
PowerVM
Name
PowerVM
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
QEMU
QEMU
Name
QEMU
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
Yes
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
Yes
hdd(Parallels)
read-only
QCOW(QEMU)
Yes
QCOW2(QEMU)
Yes
QED(QEMU)
Yes
VDI(VirtualBox)
Yes
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
except difference type
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
QEMU w/ kqemu module
QEMU w/ kqemu module
Name
QEMU w/ kqemu module
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
Yes
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
QEMU w/ qvm86 module
QEMU w/ qvm86 module
Name
QEMU w/ qvm86 module
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
Yes
QCOW2(QEMU)
Yes
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
QuickTransit
QuickTransit
Name
QuickTransit
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
SIMH
SIMH
Name
SIMH
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Simics
Simics
Name
Simics
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Sun xVM Server
Sun xVM Server
Name
Sun xVM Server
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
SVISTA 2004
SVISTA 2004
Name
SVISTA 2004
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
TRANGO
TRANGO
Name
TRANGO
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
User Mode Linux
User Mode Linux
Name
User Mode Linux
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
VirtualBox
VirtualBox
Name
VirtualBox
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
With guest integration installed on guest os.
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
Yes
hdd(Parallels)
up to v2
QCOW(QEMU)
Yes
QCOW2(QEMU)
read-only
QED(QEMU)
Yes
VDI(VirtualBox)
Yes
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
Can read existing disks, but not create new disks.
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
Virtual Iron 3.1
Virtual Iron 3.1
Name
Virtual Iron 3.1
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Virtual PC 2007
Virtual PC 2007
Name
Virtual PC 2007
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
No
Windows Virtual PC
Windows Virtual PC
Name
Windows Virtual PC
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
Yes
VMDK(VMware)
No
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
Name
Virtual PC 7 for Mac
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
No
physical disk /device
No
raw / flat(whole disk)
No
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
No
VirtualLogix VLX
VirtualLogix VLX
Name
VirtualLogix VLX
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Virtual Server 2005 R2
Name
Virtual Server 2005 R2
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Synopsys (CoWare) Virtual Platform
Synopsys (CoWare) Virtual Platform
Name
Synopsys (CoWare) Virtual Platform
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Virtuozzo
Virtuozzo
Name
Virtuozzo
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
VMware ESX Server
VMware ESX Server
Name
VMware ESX Server
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi
Name
VMware ESXi
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
No
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
No
raw / flat(partition)
No
hdd(Parallels)
No
QCOW(QEMU)
No
QCOW2(QEMU)
No
QED(QEMU)
No
VDI(VirtualBox)
No
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
No
VHDX(Hyper-V)
No
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Name
VMware Fusion
floppy
?
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
VMware Server
VMware Server
Name
VMware Server
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation
Name
VMware Workstation
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
VMware Player
VMware Player
Name
VMware Player
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
Partial
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
Yes
Wind River Hypervisor
Wind River Hypervisor
Name
Wind River Hypervisor
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform
Name
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Xen
Xen
Name
Xen
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
Yes
QCOW2(QEMU)
Yes
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
XenServer
XenServer
Name
XenServer
floppy
Yes
ISO
Yes
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
Yes
raw / flat(whole disk)
Yes
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
Yes
QCOW2(QEMU)
Yes
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
Yes
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
XtratuM
XtratuM
Name
XtratuM
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
z/VM
z/VM
Name
z/VM
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
z LPARs
z LPARs
Name
z LPARs
floppy
?
ISO
?
folders on host
?
physical disk /device
?
raw / flat(whole disk)
?
raw / flat(partition)
?
hdd(Parallels)
?
QCOW(QEMU)
?
QCOW2(QEMU)
?
QED(QEMU)
?
VDI(VirtualBox)
?
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
?
VHDX(Hyper-V)
?
VMDK(VMware)
?
Name
Name
Name
Name
floppy
floppy
ISO
ISO
folders on host
folders on host
physical disk /device
physical disk /device
raw / flat(whole disk)
raw / flat(whole disk)
raw / flat(partition)
raw / flat(partition)
hdd(Parallels)
hdd(Parallels)
QCOW(QEMU)
QCOW(QEMU)
QCOW2(QEMU)
QCOW2(QEMU)
QED(QEMU)
QED(QEMU)
VDI(VirtualBox)
VDI(VirtualBox)
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
VHD(Connectix Virtual PC)
VHDX(Hyper-V)
VHDX(Hyper-V)
VMDK(VMware)
VMDK(VMware)
| Name | floppy | ISO | folders on host | physical disk /device | raw / flat(whole disk) | raw / flat(partition) | hdd(Parallels) | QCOW(QEMU) | QCOW2(QEMU) | QED(QEMU) | VDI(VirtualBox) | VHD(Connectix Virtual PC) | VHDX(Hyper-V) | VMDK(VMware) |
| 86Box | Yes | Yes | CD-ROM drive only | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Bochs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | v3, v4 |
| Containers, or Zones | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Cooperative Linux (coLinux) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| CHARON | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Denali | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| DOSBox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | DOSBox-X fork | No | No | No | No | No |
| DOSEMU | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| FreeBSD Jail | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| GXemul | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Hercules | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Hyper-V (2008 R2) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Hyper-V (2012) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Hyper-V (2012 R2) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Integrity Virtual Machines | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| JPC (Virtual Machine) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Linux-VServer | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| LynxSecure | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| LXC | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| OpenVZ | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Oracle VM Server for x86 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| OVPsim | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Parallels Desktop for Mac | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Parallels Workstation | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| PearPC | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| PikeOS | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| PowerVM | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| QEMU | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | read-only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | except difference type | Yes |
| QEMU w/ kqemu module | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| QEMU w/ qvm86 module | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes |
| QuickTransit | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| SIMH | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Simics | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Sun xVM Server | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| SVISTA 2004 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| TRANGO | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| User Mode Linux | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| VirtualBox | Yes | Yes | With guest integration installed on guest os. | Yes | Yes | Yes | up to v2 | Yes | read-only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Can read existing disks, but not create new disks. | Yes |
| Virtual Iron 3.1 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Virtual PC 2007 | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Windows Virtual PC | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Virtual PC 7 for Mac | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| VirtualLogix VLX | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Virtual Server 2005 R2 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Synopsys (CoWare) Virtual Platform | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Virtuozzo | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| VMware ESX Server | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
| VMware ESXi | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
· Other features
KVM
KVM
Name
KVM
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Yes (via AIGLX)
Snapshots per VM
Yes
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
PCI passthrough
Yes
User Mode Linux
User Mode Linux
Name
User Mode Linux
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
No
GUI
No
Live memory allocation
No
3D acceleration
No
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
N/A
Containers, or Zones
Containers, or Zones
Name
Containers, or Zones
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Not needed
Snapshots per VM
Yes
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Not needed
PCI passthrough
Not needed
DosBox
DosBox
Name
DosBox
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
No
USB support
No
GUI
SVN builds only
Live memory allocation
No
3D acceleration
Glide (SVN builds only)
Snapshots per VM
No
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
No
Shared folders
No
Shared clipboard
No
PCI passthrough
No
Oracle VirtualBox (formerly OSE, GPLv2), with Guest Additions (GPLv2)
Oracle VirtualBox (formerly OSE, GPLv2), with Guest Additions (GPLv2)
Name
Oracle VirtualBox (formerly OSE, GPLv2), with Guest Additions (GPLv2)
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Yes
Snapshots per VM
Yes branched
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
Shared folders
with Guest Additions
Shared clipboard
with Guest Additions
PCI passthrough
No
Oracle VirtualBox with Extension Pack (PUEL) and Guest Additions (GPLv2)
Oracle VirtualBox with Extension Pack (PUEL) and Guest Additions (GPLv2)
Name
Oracle VirtualBox with Extension Pack (PUEL) and Guest Additions (GPLv2)
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
OpenGL 2.0 and Direct3D 8/9
Snapshots per VM
Yes branched
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
PCI passthrough
Retired (Until 6.0; Linux only)
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Name
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms)
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
USB 2.0
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
No
Snapshots per VM
Yes
Snapshot of running system
No
Live migration
Yes
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
No
PCI passthrough
Yes
OKL4 Microvisor
OKL4 Microvisor
Name
OKL4 Microvisor
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
VMs only
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Yes
Live migration
No
PCI passthrough
Static assignment
Virtual Iron 4.2
Virtual Iron 4.2
Name
Virtual Iron 4.2
Live migration
Yes
Virtual PC 2007
Virtual PC 2007
Name
Virtual PC 2007
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
No
USB support
No
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
No
3D acceleration
No
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
Windows Virtual PC
Windows Virtual PC
Name
Windows Virtual PC
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
No
USB support
partially
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
No
3D acceleration
No
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
VirtualPC 7 for Mac
VirtualPC 7 for Mac
Name
VirtualPC 7 for Mac
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
No
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
No
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2
Name
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2
USB support
No
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
No
3D acceleration
No
Snapshots per VM
?
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
No
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Name
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Partial support over remote desktop connections
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
DirectX 9.0c (via RemoteFX)
Snapshots per VM
Yes branched
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
PCI passthrough
No
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2
Name
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
DirectX 9.0c (via RemoteFX)
Snapshots per VM
Yes branched
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
PCI passthrough
No
Virtuozzo
Virtuozzo
Name
Virtuozzo
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
No
Live migration
Yes
VMware ESX Server 3.0 atp
VMware ESX Server 3.0 atp
Name
VMware ESX Server 3.0 atp
GUI
Yes
3D acceleration
No
Snapshots per VM
?
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
PCI passthrough
No
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3
Name
VMware ESX Server 2.5.3
GUI
Yes
3D acceleration
No
PCI passthrough
No
VMware ESX Server 4.0 – 6.x (vSphere)
VMware ESX Server 4.0 – 6.x (vSphere)
Name
VMware ESX Server 4.0 – 6.x (vSphere)
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Yes
Snapshots per VM
Yes
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
Shared folders
No
Shared clipboard
No
PCI passthrough
Yes
VMware Fusion 2.0
VMware Fusion 2.0
Name
VMware Fusion 2.0
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
No
3D acceleration
DirectX 9 Shader model 2
Live migration
No
PCI passthrough
No
VMware Server
VMware Server
Name
VMware Server
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
No
Snapshots per VM
1
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
VMware Workstation 5.5
VMware Workstation 5.5
Name
VMware Workstation 5.5
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Experimental support for DirectX 8; also supported with VMGL
Snapshots per VM
Yes branched
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
PCI passthrough
No
VMware Workstation 6.0
VMware Workstation 6.0
Name
VMware Workstation 6.0
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Experimental support for DirectX 8; Also supported with VMGL
Snapshots per VM
Yes branched
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
PCI passthrough
No
VMware Workstation 7.0 and 8.0
VMware Workstation 7.0 and 8.0
Name
VMware Workstation 7.0 and 8.0
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Support for DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.13D.
Snapshots per VM
Yes branched
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
Shared clipboard
Yes
PCI passthrough
No
VMware Player
VMware Player
Name
VMware Player
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
supported with VMGL
Snapshots per VM
No
Snapshot of running system
No
Live migration
No
Shared folders
Yes
PCI passthrough
No
Wind River hypervisor
Wind River hypervisor
Name
Wind River hypervisor
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Yes
Live migration
No
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform
Name
Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
Xen
Xen
Name
Xen
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Supported with VMGL
Snapshots per VM
?
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
PCI passthrough
Yes
XenServer
XenServer
Name
XenServer
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
GUI
Yes
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Supported with VMGL
Snapshots per VM
Yes
Snapshot of running system
Yes
Live migration
Yes
PCI passthrough
Yes
z/VM
z/VM
Name
z/VM
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Not applicable
GUI
Yes (zURM/HMC)
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Not applicable
Live migration
Yes (2011)
Shared clipboard
Not applicable
PCI passthrough
Not applicable
z LPARs
z LPARs
Name
z LPARs
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Yes
USB support
Not applicable
GUI
Yes (HMC)
Live memory allocation
Yes
3D acceleration
Not applicable
Live migration
Yes (2007)
Shared clipboard
Not applicable
PCI passthrough
Not applicable
Name
Name
Name
Name
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
Can boot an OS on another disk partition as guest
USB support
USB
GUI
GUI
Live memory allocation
Live memory allocation
3D acceleration
3D acceleration
Snapshots per VM
Snapshots per VM
Snapshot of running system
Snapshot of running system
Live migration
Live migration
Shared folders
Shared folders
Shared clipboard
Shared clipboard
PCI passthrough
PCI passthrough
| 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 | PCI passthrough |
| KVM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (via AIGLX) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| User Mode Linux | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | N/A | |||
| Containers, or Zones | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not needed | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Not needed | Not needed |
| DosBox | No | No | SVN builds only | No | Glide (SVN builds only) | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Oracle VirtualBox (formerly OSE, GPLv2), with Guest Additions (GPLv2) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes branched | Yes | Yes | with Guest Additions | with Guest Additions | No |
| Oracle VirtualBox with Extension Pack (PUEL) and Guest Additions (GPLv2) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | OpenGL 2.0 and Direct3D 8/9 | Yes branched | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Retired (Until 6.0; Linux only) |
| Oracle VM Server for SPARC (LDoms) | Yes | USB 2.0 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| OKL4 Microvisor | Yes | Yes | VMs only | Yes | Yes | No | Static assignment | ||||
| Virtual Iron 4.2 | Yes | ||||||||||
| Virtual PC 2007 | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |||
| Windows Virtual PC | No | partially | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |||
| VirtualPC 7 for Mac | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | |||
| Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 | No | Yes | No | No | ? | Yes | No | ||||
| Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 | Yes | Partial support over remote desktop connections | Yes | Yes | DirectX 9.0c (via RemoteFX) | Yes branched | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | DirectX 9.0c (via RemoteFX) | Yes branched | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| Virtuozzo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
| VMware ESX Server 3.0 atp | Yes | No | ? | Yes | Yes | No | |||||
| VMware ESX Server 2.5.3 | Yes | No | No | ||||||||
| VMware ESX Server 4.0 – 6.x (vSphere) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| VMware Fusion 2.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | DirectX 9 Shader model 2 | No | 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 | Yes branched | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| VMware Workstation 6.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Experimental support for DirectX 8; Also supported with VMGL | Yes branched | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| VMware Workstation 7.0 and 8.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Support for DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.13D. | Yes branched | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| VMware Player | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | supported with VMGL | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Wind River hypervisor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |||||
| Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform | Yes | ||||||||||
| Xen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supported with VMGL | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| XenServer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supported with VMGL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| z/VM | Yes | Not applicable | Yes (zURM/HMC) | Yes | Not applicable | Yes (2011) | Not applicable | Not applicable | |||
| z LPARs | Yes | Not applicable | Yes (HMC) | Yes | Not applicable | Yes (2007) | Not applicable | Not applicable | |||
| 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 | PCI passthrough |
· Restrictions
Containers, or Zones
Containers, or Zones
Name
Containers, or Zones
Maximum host cores / CPUs
No theoretical limit (largest SPARC has 384 physical cores)
Maximum host memory
32 TB (largest SPARC)
Maximum host disk volume size
No limit
Maximum number of guest VM running
8191
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
No limit
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
No limit
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
No limit
Maximum disk size per VM guest
No limit
VMware Player 15.0
VMware Player 15.0
Name
VMware Player 15.0
Maximum host cores / CPUs
No limit
Maximum host memory
No limit
Maximum host disk volume size
No limit
Maximum number of guest VM running
No limit
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
16
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
4 GB (32-bit); 64 GB (64-bit)
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
?
Maximum disk size per VM guest
8 TB
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 4.1)
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 4.1)
Name
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 4.1)
Maximum host cores / CPUs
160 logical cores
Maximum host memory
1 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
2 TB minus 512 bytes
Maximum number of guest VM running
320
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
8
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
255 GB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 60 SCSI
Maximum disk size per VM guest
2 TB minus 512 bytes
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.0)
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.0)
Name
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.0)
Maximum host cores / CPUs
160 logical cores
Maximum host memory
2 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
64 TB
Maximum number of guest VM running
512
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
32
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
1 TB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 60 SCSI
Maximum disk size per VM guest
2 TB minus 512 bytes
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5) (free)
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5) (free)
Name
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5) (free)
Maximum host cores / CPUs
16 NUMA Nodes / 320 logical CPUs
Maximum host memory
4 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
Depending on filesystem
Maximum number of guest VM running
512
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
8
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
1 TB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 60 SCSI; 120 SATA
Maximum disk size per VM guest
62 TB
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5)
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5)
Name
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5)
Maximum host cores / CPUs
16 NUMA Nodes / 320 logical CPUs
Maximum host memory
4 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
Depending on filesystem
Maximum number of guest VM running
512
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
64
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
1 TB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 60 SCSI; 120 SATA
Maximum disk size per VM guest
62 TB
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 6.7)
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 6.7)
Name
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 6.7)
Maximum host cores / CPUs
16 NUMA Nodes / 768 logical CPUs
Maximum host memory
16 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
Depending on filesystem
Maximum number of guest VM running
1024
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
256
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
6128 GB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 256 SCSI; 120 SATA; 60 NVMe
Maximum disk size per VM guest
62 TB
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.0)
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.0)
Name
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.0)
Maximum host cores / CPUs
16 NUMA Nodes / 896 logical CPUs
Maximum host memory
24 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
Depending on filesystem
Maximum number of guest VM running
1024
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
768
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
24 TB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 256 SCSI; 120 SATA; 60 NVMe
Maximum disk size per VM guest
62 TB
VirtualBox
VirtualBox
Name
VirtualBox
Maximum host cores / CPUs
No limit
Maximum host memory
No limit
Maximum host disk volume size
No limit
Maximum number of guest VM running
No limit
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
32
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
No limit
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; no limit for SATA, SCSI, SAS
Maximum disk size per VM guest
GUI: 2 TBCommand line: no limit
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Name
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Maximum host cores / CPUs
64 cores / 8 CPUs
Maximum host memory
1 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
No limit
Maximum number of guest VM running
384
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
4
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
64 GB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 256 SCSI
Maximum disk size per VM guest
2 TB
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012
Name
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012
Maximum host cores / CPUs
320 cores / 64 CPUs
Maximum host memory
4 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
No limit
Maximum number of guest VM running
1024
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
64
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
1 TB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 256 SCSI
Maximum disk size per VM guest
64 TB
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016
Name
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016
Maximum host cores / CPUs
512 cores / 320 CPUs
Maximum host memory
24 TB
Maximum host disk volume size
No limit
Maximum number of guest VM running
1024
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
240
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
12 TB
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
4 IDE; 256 SCSI
Maximum disk size per VM guest
64 TB
Name
Name
Name
Name
Maximum host cores / CPUs
Maximum host cores / CPUs
Maximum host memory
Maximum host memory
Maximum host disk volume size
Maximum host disk volume size
Maximum number of guest VM running
Maximum number of guest VM running
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
Maximum number of logical CPU per VM guest
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
Maximum amount of memory per VM guest
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest
Maximum disk size per VM guest
Maximum disk size per VM guest
| Name | Maximum host cores / CPUs | 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 | Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest | Maximum disk size per VM guest |
| Containers, or Zones | No theoretical limit (largest SPARC has 384 physical cores) | 32 TB (largest SPARC) | No limit | 8191 | No limit | No limit | No limit | No limit |
| VMware Player 15.0 | No limit | No limit | No limit | No limit | 16 | 4 GB (32-bit); 64 GB (64-bit) | ? | 8 TB |
| VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 4.1) | 160 logical cores | 1 TB | 2 TB minus 512 bytes | 320 | 8 | 255 GB | 4 IDE; 60 SCSI | 2 TB minus 512 bytes |
| VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.0) | 160 logical cores | 2 TB | 64 TB | 512 | 32 | 1 TB | 4 IDE; 60 SCSI | 2 TB minus 512 bytes |
| VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5) (free) | 16 NUMA Nodes / 320 logical CPUs | 4 TB | Depending on filesystem | 512 | 8 | 1 TB | 4 IDE; 60 SCSI; 120 SATA | 62 TB |
| VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5) | 16 NUMA Nodes / 320 logical CPUs | 4 TB | Depending on filesystem | 512 | 64 | 1 TB | 4 IDE; 60 SCSI; 120 SATA | 62 TB |
| VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 6.7) | 16 NUMA Nodes / 768 logical CPUs | 16 TB | Depending on filesystem | 1024 | 256 | 6128 GB | 4 IDE; 256 SCSI; 120 SATA; 60 NVMe | 62 TB |
| VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.0) | 16 NUMA Nodes / 896 logical CPUs | 24 TB | Depending on filesystem | 1024 | 768 | 24 TB | 4 IDE; 256 SCSI; 120 SATA; 60 NVMe | 62 TB |
| VirtualBox | No limit | No limit | No limit | No limit | 32 | No limit | 4 IDE; no limit for SATA, SCSI, SAS | GUI: 2 TBCommand line: no limit |
| Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 | 64 cores / 8 CPUs | 1 TB | No limit | 384 | 4 | 64 GB | 4 IDE; 256 SCSI | 2 TB |
| Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 | 320 cores / 64 CPUs | 4 TB | No limit | 1024 | 64 | 1 TB | 4 IDE; 256 SCSI | 64 TB |
| Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016 | 512 cores / 320 CPUs | 24 TB | No limit | 1024 | 240 | 12 TB | 4 IDE; 256 SCSI | 64 TB |
| Name | Maximum host cores / CPUs | 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 | Maximum number of SCSI + IDE disks per VM guest | Maximum disk size per VM guest |
References
- Can run a guest OS without modifying it, and hence is generally able to run any OS that could run on a physical machine
- Older versions of VMware Workstation support x86.
- Older versions of VMware Player/VMware Workstation Player support x86.
- "Bhyve supports Windows"https://wiki.freebsd.org/bhyve/Windows
- Bochs.sourceforge.nethttps://bochs.sourceforge.net/doc/docbook/user/supported-platforms.html
- Bochs.sourceforge.nethttps://bochs.sourceforge.net/doc/docbook/user/compiling.html
- blogs.windows.comhttps://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/02/05/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-19559/
- Linux-kvm.orghttp://www.linux-kvm.org/page/PowerPC
- redhat.comhttps://access.redhat.com/articles/2690601&context=etd
- qemu.weilnetz.dehttps://qemu.weilnetz.de/w64/
- Claunia.comhttps://web.archive.org/web/20110815195153/http://www.claunia.com/qemu/old/index.php?case=1
- Oracle VM VirtualBox User Manual, Chapter 3: Configuring virtual machines | Mac OS X guestshttp://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch03.html#intro-macosxguests
- forums.virtualbox.orghttps://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?p=17930
- Oracle.comhttp://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/Acquisitions/virtualiron/
- Vmware.comhttp://www.vmware.com/products/player/faqs.html
- [1] Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machinehttp://www.vmware.com/download/eula/player31.html
- GitHubhttps://github.com/xcp-ng/xcp/wiki/Licenses
- Linux-kvm.orghttp://www.linux-kvm.org/
- Look at RedHat or Novell for detailshttp://www.redhat.com/virtualization/rhev/desktop/rhevm/
- Logical Domains#Supported guest operating systems
- "Welcome to"http://www.imperas.com
- [2] Archived 2008-08-10 at the Wayback Machinehttp://www.vmware.com/products/player/features.html#c6062
- Digitalcommons.unf.eduhttp://digitalcommons.unf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1275&context=etd
- EuroSyshttps://web.archive.org/web/20140720215305/http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~soltesz/dl-eurosys07/eurosys07.pdf
- "8.19. Disk Image Modes"https://bochs.sourceforge.net/doc/docbook/user/harddisk-modes.html
- Virtualbox.orghttp://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#rawdisk
- "Xen blktap2 driver"http://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Blktap2
- "Virtual Machine Manager"https://web.archive.org/web/20070610012015/http://virt-manager.et.redhat.com/
- "Sheepdog is a distributed storage system for KVM"https://archive.today/20130222073348/http://www.osrg.net/sheepdog/
- "KVM Migration"http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Migration
- oracle.comhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E36784_01/html/E36803/zonelimit.html
- "What are "VirtualBox Guest Additions"?"https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Licensing_FAQ
- "VirtualBox Changelog 3.1"https://web.archive.org/web/20100928210932/http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-3.1
- "Introduction to Guest Additions"https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html#guestadd-intro
- "VirtualBox Changelog 3.0"https://web.archive.org/web/20091203194915/http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-3.0
- "Changelog for VirtualBox 6.1"https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-6.1#v0
- "VirtualBox manual: PCI passthrough"http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#pcipassthrough
- "VMware VMDirectPath I/O"http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-11089
- "VMGL (formerly Xen-GL)"https://web.archive.org/web/20071104122707/http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~andreslc/xen-gl/
- Vmware.comhttp://www.vmware.com/products/workstation/new.html
- "Xen USB Passthrough"https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_USB_Passthrough
- Technet.microsoft.comhttps://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817581(WS.10).aspx
- Technet.microsoft.comhttps://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817578(WS.10).aspx
- Technet.microsoft.comhttps://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817602(WS.10).aspx
- "Using VMware Workstation Player for Windows"https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Player-for-Windows/15.0/workstation-player-15-windows-user-guide.pdf
- Vmware.comhttp://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_config_max.pdf
- Vmware.comhttp://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere5/r50/vsphere-50-configuration-maximums.pdf
- "Free Virtualization with VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi)"http://www.vmware.com/uk/products/vsphere-hypervisor/gettingstarted.html
- "Configuration Maximums VMware vSphere 5.5"https://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere5/r55/vsphere-55-configuration-maximums.pdf
- "VMware Configuration Maximum tool"https://configmax.vmware.com/guest?vmwareproduct=vSphere&release=vSphere%206.7&categories=1-0,2-0
- "VMware Configuration Maximum tool"https://configmax.esp.vmware.com/guest?vmwareproduct=vSphere&release=vSphere%207.0&categories=1-0,2-0
- Virtualbox.orghttp://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html
- "Requirements and Limits for Virtual Machines and Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2"https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee405267(WS.10).aspx
- "Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 arrives for free"https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2009/08/microsoft-hyper-v-server-2008-r2-arrives-for-free
- Technet.microsoft.comhttps://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj680093.aspx
- "Hyper-V Limits the Maximum Number of Processors in the Hyper-V Host OS to 64"https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2812283/hyper-v-limits-the-maximum-number-of-processors-in-the-hyper-v-host-os
- "Plan for Hyper-V scalability in Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/plan/plan-hyper-v-scalability-in-windows-server