Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

CloudStack VS Azure Virtual Machines

Compare CloudStack VS Azure Virtual Machines and see what are their differences

CloudStack logo CloudStack

Apache's CloudStack is a Project backed by Citrix and designed to be a direct competitor to...

Azure Virtual Machines logo Azure Virtual Machines

Build Linux and Windows virtual machines (VMs) and save up to 80 percent with Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances and Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server.
  • CloudStack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-01
  • Azure Virtual Machines Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-19

CloudStack features and specs

  • Open Source
    CloudStack is an open-source cloud computing software for creating, managing, and deploying infrastructure cloud services. This reduces costs and allows for customization.
  • Hypervisor Agnostic
    CloudStack supports multiple hypervisors, including VMware, KVM, and XenServer, offering flexibility in deployment environments.
  • Comprehensive UI
    It features an intuitive and user-friendly graphical user interface, which eases the management of cloud infrastructure.
  • API Support
    CloudStack provides a robust API, facilitating automation and integration with other systems and tools.
  • Scalability
    Designed to scale efficiently, it can manage thousands of servers from a single point of control, making it suitable for both small and large-scale deployments.

Possible disadvantages of CloudStack

  • Complex Setup
    The initial setup and configuration can be complex and time-consuming, requiring a certain level of expertise.
  • Limited Vendor Support
    Compared to some commercial solutions, CloudStack has fewer vendor-backed support options, which might be a concern for enterprises seeking guaranteed assistance.
  • Smaller Community
    The CloudStack community is smaller compared to other open-source cloud management platforms like OpenStack, potentially leading to fewer available third-party integrations and plug-ins.
  • Update and Maintenance
    Keeping CloudStack up-to-date and maintained can be challenging, especially with its broad range of features and compatibility considerations.
  • Documentation
    While the documentation exists, it can sometimes be lacking in detail or clarity for complex scenarios, requiring users to rely on community support or external resources.

Azure Virtual Machines features and specs

  • Scalability
    Azure Virtual Machines allow you to easily scale up or down based on your needs, providing flexibility to handle varying workloads.
  • Global Reach
    Azure offers a vast network of data centers around the world, enabling low-latency access and compliance with local data regulations.
  • Wide Range of VM Sizes
    Azure provides a variety of VM sizes and configurations to suit different types of applications and workloads.
  • Integrated Ecosystem
    Azure VMs can seamlessly integrate with other Azure services like Azure SQL Database, Azure App Services, and Azure Active Directory.
  • High Availability
    Azure offers features such as Availability Zones and VM Scale Sets to ensure high availability and resilience of your applications.
  • Security
    Azure VMs come with built-in security features, including Azure Security Center, for monitoring and defending against threats.
  • Pay-As-You-Go Pricing
    Azure's pricing model allows you to pay only for what you use, which can be cost-effective for many businesses.

Possible disadvantages of Azure Virtual Machines

  • Complexity
    Managing Azure Virtual Machines can be complex, especially for companies without dedicated IT teams or cloud experts.
  • Cost Management
    While Azure provides a pay-as-you-go model, costs can quickly add up if not monitored and managed effectively.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a significant learning curve associated with understanding and utilizing all the features and services offered by Azure.
  • Dependence on Internet
    Performance and availability are highly dependent on internet connectivity, which may not be universally reliable or fast.
  • Resource Limitations
    There are certain quotas and limits on resources that can be allocated, which might require quota increase requests for larger deployments.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Using proprietary technologies and services from Azure can lead to being locked into the Microsoft ecosystem, making migration to other platforms challenging.
  • Downtime
    While Azure aims for high availability, there can still be occasional downtime due to maintenance or unforeseen issues.

CloudStack videos

Apache CloudStack - Storage - Snapshots - Code Review

More videos:

  • Demo - CloudStack 4.3 Demo in 12 Minutes
  • Tutorial - Apache Cloudstack Tutorial: What is Apache Cloudstack Part - 2

Azure Virtual Machines videos

No Azure Virtual Machines videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to CloudStack and Azure Virtual Machines)
Cloud Computing
33 33%
67% 67
Cloud Hosting
100 100%
0% 0
Virtual Machine Management
VPS
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare CloudStack and Azure Virtual Machines

CloudStack Reviews

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Azure Virtual Machines Reviews

10 Best VMware Alternatives and Similar Software
Azure Virtual Machines are one of the numerous forms of scalable, on-demand computing resources like VMware. VMs are typically used when you want greater control over any computer system than the other options provide.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Azure Virtual Machines should be more popular than CloudStack. It has been mentiond 9 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

CloudStack mentions (1)

  • Cloud like web interface for Homelab
    You could look at the Apache Cloudstack project Https://cloudstack.apache.org/index.html. Source: about 3 years ago

Azure Virtual Machines mentions (9)

  • Stealing everything you've ever typed on your Windows Recall PC is now possible
    More than 60% of Azure is run on Linux [1] and the writing was already on the wall when the Linux subsystem was conceived so I don't think it's a good example of EEE. [1] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/virtual-machines/linux. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Open source versus Microsoft: The new rebellion begins
    Https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/virtual-machines/linux#:~:text=Get%20up%20and%20running%20with,CentOS%2C%20Debian%2C%20and%20CoreOS. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Linux Crosses 4% Market Share Worldwide
    "More than 60 percent of customer cores in Azure run Linux workloads" https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/virtual-machines/linux So the Linux share would actually decrease if you exclude Azure ;). - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Azure has run out of compute. Anyone else affected?
    So does google, so does azure etc. etc. https://cloud.google.com/spot-vms, https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/virtual-machines/spot/ Spot instances exist just to try to turn over-provisions in to not a complete loss. You're at least making some money from your mistake. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Infrastructure as code (IaC) for Java-based apps on Azure
    You can use virtual machines or virtual machine scale sets to host your Java applications. Scale sets, in particular, allow you to scale your applications across hundreds to thousands of VMs very rapidly. As we all probably know, virtual machines require a high level of management and configuration versus some other options out there. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing CloudStack and Azure Virtual Machines, you can also consider the following products

OpenStack - OpenStack software controls large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources throughout a datacenter, managed through a dashboard or via the OpenStack API.

vSphere - Get started with VMware vSphere editions, the world’s leading server virtualization platform and the best foundation for your apps, your cloud, and your business.

OpenShift - OpenShift gives you all the tools you need to develop, host and scale your apps in the public or private cloud. Get started today.

Amazon EC2 - Amazon Web Services offers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services. Free to join, pay only for what you use.

Google Compute Engine - Google Compute Engine is not just fast. It’s Google fast.

Citrix Hypervisor - Optimized for server virtualization infrastructures, Citrix Hypervisor is a leading virtualization management platform that enables server consolidation and provides industry-leading scalability and performance under load.