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virt-manager VS Boxes

Compare virt-manager VS Boxes and see what are their differences

virt-manager logo virt-manager

The virt-manager application is a desktop user interface for managing virtual machines through...

Boxes logo Boxes

GNOME Boxes is an application of the GNOME Desktop Environment, used to access remote or virtual systems.
  • virt-manager Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-05
  • Boxes Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-22

virt-manager features and specs

  • User-friendly Interface
    Virt-manager provides a graphical user interface that makes it easier for users to manage virtual machines, especially for those who are less comfortable with command-line tools.
  • Integration with libvirt
    Virt-manager seamlessly integrates with libvirt, allowing users to manage different types of hypervisors such as KVM, Xen, and QEMU, among others.
  • Snapshot Management
    The tool supports snapshot management, allowing users to take and manage snapshots of their virtual machines easily.
  • Resource Allocation
    It provides an intuitive way to allocate resources such as CPU, memory, and storage to different virtual machines, making it easier to optimize performance.
  • Remote Management
    Virt-manager allows users to manage virtual machines on remote hosts via SSH, giving flexibility in managing VMs across different physical machines.

Possible disadvantages of virt-manager

  • Linux-centric
    Primarily designed for Linux users, meaning Windows and macOS users may face challenges or limited functionality when using virt-manager.
  • Performance Overhead
    Graphical tools like virt-manager may introduce a slight performance overhead compared to managing VMs via direct command-line tools.
  • Complexity for Large Environments
    While virt-manager is great for small to medium setups, managing a large number of virtual machines can become cumbersome due to the limitations of the GUI.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    Some advanced features available in command-line tools or other sophisticated management solutions may not be fully supported in virt-manager.
  • Dependency on libvirt
    Its functionality heavily depends on libvirt, making it less versatile if you need to manage hypervisors not supported by libvirt.

Boxes features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Boxes offers a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to create and manage virtual machines without a steep learning curve.
  • Integration with GNOME
    As a part of the GNOME project, Boxes integrates well with the GNOME desktop environment, ensuring a seamless experience for users of this desktop.
  • Effortless Setup
    Setting up new virtual machines or connecting to remote desktops is streamlined, requiring minimal user input to get started.
  • Automatic Resource Allocation
    Boxes automatically allocates resources like CPU and memory based on the host system capabilities, simplifying management for users.
  • Remote Desktop Support
    In addition to managing local virtual machines, Boxes can connect to remote machines, providing flexibility in accessing different environments.

Possible disadvantages of Boxes

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Boxes lacks some of the advanced features found in other virtualization tools, making it less suitable for power users who need extensive configuration options.
  • Performance Overhead
    As with many virtualization solutions, there is some performance overhead when running virtual machines, which might affect the host systemโ€™s performance.
  • Dependency on GNOME
    Since Boxes is designed for GNOME, its integration with other desktop environments might not be as smooth, potentially causing usability issues.
  • Limited Guest OS Compatibility
    Some users report that Boxes can have compatibility issues with certain guest operating systems, limiting its effectiveness in some scenarios.
  • No Snapshot Support
    Boxes currently does not support taking snapshots of virtual machines, which is a drawback for users who require rollback capabilities for testing configurations.

Analysis of virt-manager

Overall verdict

  • Virt-manager is generally considered a good choice for managing virtual machines on Linux, particularly for users who prefer a graphical interface over command-line alternatives. It is well-supported and frequently updated, making it a robust solution for many virtualization needs.

Why this product is good

  • Virt-manager is a popular tool for managing virtual machines because it provides an intuitive graphical user interface for creating, configuring, and controlling virtual machines on Linux. It supports a range of hypervisors, including KVM, QEMU, and Xen, and offers features such as snapshot management, performance monitoring, and live migration support. This makes it a valuable tool for both beginners and experienced users who need a reliable way to manage virtualization tasks.

Recommended for

    Virt-manager is recommended for Linux users who need to manage virtual machines and prefer using a graphical user interface. It is suitable for IT professionals, developers, and hobbyists who require a reliable and versatile virtualization management tool compatible with multiple hypervisors.

virt-manager videos

Creating Virtual Machines in QEMU | Virt-manager | KVM

More videos:

  • Review - Virt-Manager Is The Better Way To Manage VMs
  • Review - Virt-Manager, QEMU and KVM (2020) | Practical IT

Boxes videos

21 NEVER BEFORE OPENED SUBSCRIPTION BOXES - 2020 Subscription Box Unboxing and Review

More videos:

  • Review - Comparing & Reviewing 11 Popular Subscription Boxes | 2020 Subscription Box Unboxing with Michel
  • Review - Comparing & Reviewing 4 Popular Meal Kit Boxes!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to virt-manager and Boxes)
Cloud Computing
80 80%
20% 20
Virtual Machine Management
Virtualization
63 63%
37% 37
Virtualization Platform
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 virt-manager and Boxes

virt-manager Reviews

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Boxes Reviews

10 Apps Used to Sell Anything for Cash
Boxes is interesting because itโ€™s categorized under social media in the app store. This app has a broader focus by allowing users to organize and catalog a collection, connect with people who have similar interests, and then list those collections for sale.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, virt-manager seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 65 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.

virt-manager mentions (65)

  • Locked in: the inextricable dependency on VMWare
    Libvirt is a C library developped by RedHat under the terms of the GNU LGPL license, that provides a generic API that abstracts the bits and bytes of the underlying hypervisor, networking and storage technologies. Using libvirt generic API permits to benefit from a large ecosystem of open source software and tools. As an example, it is possible to use the virt-manager client to create and manage virtual... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Reproducing the printer hack of Windows 95
    It's still being updated. I don't see anything on the virt-manager homepage or GitHub that would suggest it is deprecated. https://virt-manager.org/ https://github.com/virt-manager/virt-manager It can't do literally everything Qemu/libvirt can do using only the UI, but given that it has escape hatches to directly edit libvirt configurations, and... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Proxmox VE: Import Wizard for Migrating VMware ESXi VMs
    I would love to see a serious comparison (features & performance) between VMWare ESXi, Proxmox VE and let's say a more stock RHEL or Ubuntu. And maybe even include FreeBSD/bhyve. Because yes, in terms of core functionality it should be in the same ballpark. And in terms of UI, Virtual Machine Manager [0] was not that bad. [0] https://virt-manager.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Quickemu: Quickly run optimised Windows, macOS and Linux virtual machines
    Shout out to https://virt-manager.org/ - works much better for me, supports running qemu on remote systems via ssh. I used to use this all the time for managing bunches of disparate vm hosts and local vms. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Oracle data base
    If not, I would just run a CentOS Stream 8 virtual machine using either GNOME Boxes or virt-manager, and set up networking and ssh so you can access the database from the host. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Boxes mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Boxes yet. Tracking of Boxes recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing virt-manager and Boxes, you can also consider the following products

VirtualBox - VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as...

VMmanager - VMmanager is a QEMU/KVM server virtualization management software, which presents perfect tools for creating virtual machines, providing VPS services, and building cloud infrastructure.

VMware Workstation - VMware Workstation is a multiple operating system handler to easily evaluate the any other type of new operating systems.

QEMU - QEMU (short for "Quick EMUlator") is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that...

UTM - Run virtual machines on iOS

oVirt - oVirt is a virtualization management application.