Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

vSphere VS Portable Virtualbox

Compare vSphere VS Portable Virtualbox and see what are their differences

vSphere logo 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.

Portable Virtualbox logo Portable Virtualbox

Portable-VirtualBox is a free and open source software tool that lets you run any operating system from a usb stick without separate installation. Installation instructions. Download and run Portable-VirtualBox_v5.
  • vSphere Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-25
  • Portable Virtualbox Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-18

vSphere features and specs

  • High Availability
    vSphere offers built-in high availability (HA) features that ensure continuous availability of applications by minimizing downtime and providing quick failure recovery.
  • Scalability
    vSphere can scale both horizontally and vertically, meaning it can handle increasing workloads by adding more servers or by enhancing the capabilities of existing servers.
  • Advanced Resource Management
    Provides sophisticated resource management capabilities including Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) and Network I/O Control, enabling efficient distribution and utilization of resources.
  • Security
    Incorporates numerous security features such as encryption, secure boot, and role-based access control (RBAC) to safeguard sensitive data and ensure compliance.
  • Ease of Management
    Comprehensive management tools like vCenter Server facilitate streamlined administration, monitoring, and automation of virtual environments.
  • Backup and Recovery
    Supports robust backup and recovery solutions, including integration with various third-party backup software for disaster recovery planning.
  • Performance Optimization
    Optimizes performance through features like VMotion and Storage VMotion, enabling live migration of virtual machines without downtime.

Possible disadvantages of vSphere

  • Cost
    vSphere is often considered expensive, with high initial licensing fees and ongoing maintenance costs, which may not be affordable for smaller organizations.
  • Complexity
    The platform can be complex to deploy and manage, necessitating skilled personnel for setup, configuration, and ongoing administration.
  • Hardware Compatibility
    Requires specific hardware for optimal performance and compatibility, which may necessitate additional investments in new hardware or upgrades.
  • Resource Intensive
    Resource-hungry environment that can impact performance if not properly managed, particularly in terms of CPU, memory, and storage requirements.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Heavily relies on VMware's ecosystem, creating potential vendor lock-in issues, making it difficult to switch to other solutions without significant effort.
  • Learning Curve
    Steep learning curve for new users, requiring extensive training and experience to utilize all the features and capabilities effectively.
  • License Compliance
    Complex licensing model can result in compliance challenges, necessitating rigorous tracking and management of licenses to avoid penalties.

Portable Virtualbox features and specs

  • Portability
    Portable VirtualBox allows you to run virtual machines from a USB stick or other removable media, making it easy to carry your virtual working environment with you.
  • No Installation Required
    The portable version doesn't require installation on the host machine, which is useful for users who don’t have administrative privileges or do not want to modify the host system.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Portable VirtualBox can be used on multiple operating systems, allowing for greater flexibility in where and how you use it.
  • Isolation
    Running virtual machines in a portable format ensures isolation from the host system, increasing security by reducing the risk of malware affecting the host.
  • Consistency
    Using the same virtual machine across different environments ensures a consistent working and development environment.

Possible disadvantages of Portable Virtualbox

  • Performance Overhead
    Running virtual machines from a USB stick can result in slower performance compared to running them directly from an installed version on the host system.
  • Limited USB Write Speed
    The read/write speeds of USB drives can significantly bottleneck performance, especially for I/O-intensive tasks within the virtualized environment.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    The portable version may lack some advanced features and integrations available in the fully installed version of VirtualBox.
  • Driver Issues
    Depending on the host system, there may be driver compatibility issues that can affect the functionality and stability of the portable virtual machine.
  • Data Loss Risk
    Since the virtual machine is run off removable media, there is a higher risk of data loss or corruption if the media gets damaged or disconnected improperly.

Analysis of vSphere

Overall verdict

  • Overall, vSphere is a strong product for managing virtual environments, offering excellent performance and interoperability. It is widely regarded as a good solution for businesses seeking to optimize their IT infrastructure efficiently.

Why this product is good

  • vSphere by VMware is considered a robust and reliable virtualization platform due to its comprehensive set of features, scalability, performance, and strong support for hybrid cloud environments. It provides powerful tools for automation, resource management, and disaster recovery, making it a top choice for many enterprises.

Recommended for

  • Large enterprises managing extensive data centers
  • Organizations looking to implement hybrid or private cloud solutions
  • IT departments requiring advanced resource management and automation capabilities
  • Businesses needing a reliable platform for virtualization and disaster recovery

Analysis of Portable Virtualbox

Overall verdict

  • While it offers the convenience of portability, Portable VirtualBox can sometimes be less stable and have performance drawbacks compared to a fully installed version of VirtualBox. It is suitable for light to moderate virtual machine usage but may not be ideal for resource-intensive applications.

Why this product is good

  • Portable VirtualBox (vbox.me) allows users to run a complete operating system installation from a USB drive without the need for installation on the host machine. This is beneficial for those who need consistent environments across different computers or want to test different OS configurations without affecting the host system.

Recommended for

    Portable VirtualBox is recommended for developers, IT professionals, and tech enthusiasts who need a portable and flexible solution for running virtual machines on different hardware without installation. It's also suitable for students and learners who want to experiment with different operating systems in a non-permanent environment.

vSphere videos

What is VMware vSphere ESXi and vCenter?

More videos:

  • Review - VMware vSphere Review (Real User: Stewart Hardy III)
  • Review - VMware vSphere Review (Real User: Marcelo Garcia)

Portable Virtualbox videos

No Portable Virtualbox videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to vSphere and Portable Virtualbox)
Cloud Computing
70 70%
30% 30
Virtualization
63 63%
37% 37
Virtual Machine Management
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 vSphere and Portable Virtualbox

vSphere Reviews

Best Server Virtualization Software for 2021
VMware is the vendor to beat in server virtualization with VMware vSphere. It is likely to be on all shortlists as it has dominated the market for so long. It top all competitors on overall user ratings.
10 Open Source/Commercial Control Panels For Virtual Machines (VM’s) Management
VMware vSphere is the world’s leading server virtualization platform for building cloud infrastructure. With tons of its different powerful features, vSphere is a truely state-of-the-art software virtual machines management software. It is an ideal solution for large VPS providers with appropriate budgets and professional staff.
Source: www.tecmint.com
Best Server Virtualization Software
The wide range of capabilities vSphere offers has made it popular for a long time. For instance, the signature tool in VMware is compatible with the hybrid cloud, enables big data virtualization across multiple hosts, and makes it easy to migrate legacy Unix infrastructures to virtual Linux machines. The many tools within vSphere provide support for load balancing and live...
2020's Ultimate Guide to Virtual Machine Management Software for Web Hosts: SolusVM vs. VMware vSphere vs. VMmanager vs. Others
A leading platform for server virtualization and building cloud infrastructure, VMware vSphere is an ideal, state-of-the-art solution for enterprises and large VPS providers. You’ll pay a premium — a basic, 1-year subscription with support costs $273 each year — but vSphere serves up streamlined automation, comprehensive security, a universal app platform, along with...

Portable Virtualbox Reviews

15 Lutris Alternatives
With Portable-VirtualBox, a free and open-source program, you can start any operating system straight from a USB stick. It gives you a lot of freedom in how you use the hard drive and keeps you from filling up the disc, which is especially helpful if you are using someone else's computer. Defaults are now made automatically. It makes VirtualBox portable by extracting the...
7 VirtualBox Alternatives You Can Consider
Due to its limitation, it will not support bridged networking i.e connecting a guest OS to a network on the host system through its network adapter is not possible. Therefore, you need a virtual network adaptor in order to do that. Portable-VirtualBox is highly configurable and supports following virtual guest operating systems: Windows NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista....
7 Best VirtualBox Alternatives You Can Use
I’m sure you can appreciate the irony in the name of this program, but this is also a very apt description of what Portable-VirtualBox is. In essence, this free and open source program is VirtualBox that you don’t need to essentially install, thereby making it useful even if it’s contained in a USB drive. Portable-VirtualBox works by downloading and virtually installing...
Source: beebom.com

What are some alternatives?

When comparing vSphere and Portable Virtualbox, you can also consider the following products

Proxmox VE - Proxmox is an open-source server virtualization management solution that offers the ability to manage virtual server technology with the Linux OpenVZ and KVM technology.

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

Hyper-V - Install Hyper-V on Windows 10

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...

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.