Updated on: January 6, 2020
Citrix VS VMware are both used for cloud computing and other related functions. VMware creates cloud environments and is also used for testing software in different operating systems.
Citrix does a similar sort of function for mobile apps giving them a cloud environment. It also enables remote access from desktop to desktop with cloud support.
The tools are similar, and both are used extensively throughout the world. But there are key differences. Citrix Xenserver, developed by Citrix Technology, is used both by personal users and small to medium-sized businesses. VMware vSphere ESXi developed by VMware Inc., on the other hand, is only used by small and medium enterprises.
Citrix VS VMware Both the software technologies are quite reliable and give a satisfactory end-user experience. In management simplicity also, both the technologies fare almost similarly. You can get better value from either of them, depending on your needs and situation.
We will discuss the pros and cons of both the system in short, in the following discussions.
you can also learn about: vSphere VS ESXi and vCenter
Technical Specification
- Both support bare Metal (Type-1) hypervisor and x86 and x64 configuration.
- Both support various types of virtualizations, but only VMware support full virtualization.
- Both do not support operating system virtualization.
- Both have several storage facilities. VMware supports FCoE and SSD. It does not support many other storage options like USB, SATA, and NFS, etc. which are supported by Citrix.
- Both support storage by DAS, FC, and NAS.
- Neither supports eSATA and RDM.
- Both are extensively used in different spheres like government services, educational fields, financial services as well as healthcare.
Price Comparison
Citrix Xenserver is an open-source product and does not need a preserver license.
VMware needs a license to be used per processor.
Virtual Machine Limits
- Both have a virtual disk of 2000GB.
- VMware has got a RAM of 1024 GB per virtual machine. Citrix however, provides only 128GB per machine.
- VMware gives 32 CPUs per virtual machine. Citrix provides 16 virtual machine CPUs.
- VMware vSphere provides 10 virtual Network Interface Cards (NICs) per device and 62 disks. Citrix provides 7 NICs and 16 virtual disks per machine.
Host Server Limits
- VMware vSphere has 120 virtual machines and RAM of 2048 GB per host. It provides a total of 2048 virtual disks.
- Citrix provides 75 virtual machines and 1024GB RAM per host. The total no. of virtual disks per host is 512.
- Both systems offer 160 logical CPUs per host.
- VMware has 2048 virtual CPUs per host.
- Citrix does not provide any virtual CPU per host.
Virtualization Management
Citrix and VMware differ quite significantly in software’s intended usage management.
- Both software management supports Thin Provisioning.
- VMware does not support asset Management and configuration mapping. Citrix supports these two.
- VMware supports Dynamic Resource Allocation, failover, and Live Migration. Citrix does not support these features.
- Additional features are not available in these two but available in other VMware software like VMware vSphere Essentials.
Host Operating Systems
Citrix supports many more operating systems than VMware. This is the chief advantage of Citrix.
- VMware only supports MS_DOS and free BSD as host operating systems.
- Citrix supports a variety of Linux operating systems and Windows operating systems.
Guest Operating Systems
Both software supports many guest operating systems, including a variety of Linux and Windows OS.
However, Citrix does not support MS-DOS, Sun Java Desktop, and Solaris x86 as guests or hosts but are supported by VMware.
Technical Support
Comprehensive technical support is provided by both the companies but in different ways.
Citrix provides blogs, emails, brochures and user manuals as technical support.
VMware does not provide the above but has a very efficient help-desk, which can be used anytime and a remote training program.
Both have instructional forums, videos, online self-service, and system upgrades.
Security
Citrix uses the Netscalar Gateway application and granular access. VMware uses Windows server DMZ for user access, which is a bit inferior, but the utility varies from case to case.
Both software has some advantages and disadvantages, and in comparison, they are quite equal. In server utilization, VMware leads the way, but Citrix is ahead in application and desktop virtualization. VMware leads at present in market presence, but Citrix is catching up with new additions.
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So, one can choose any of the two as his career path because both have significant opportunities ahead. Cloud storage and computing are the next generation thing in computer application. Hence, Citrix VS VMware both the software is going to dominate the future market.
