Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

XCP-ng VS virt-manager

Compare XCP-ng VS virt-manager and see what are their differences

XCP-ng logo XCP-ng

A fully open source and community backed alternative, with all current commercial features enabled...

virt-manager logo virt-manager

The virt-manager application is a desktop user interface for managing virtual machines through...
  • XCP-ng Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-04
  • virt-manager Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-05

XCP-ng features and specs

  • Open Source
    XCP-ng is an open-source virtualization platform, allowing for transparent access to its source code, fostering community collaboration and reducing vendor lock-in.
  • Enterprise Features
    It offers advanced virtualization features such as live migration, resource pooling, and snapshots, which are comparable to proprietary solutions.
  • Active Community
    XCP-ng has a vibrant community and effective peer support, providing regular updates, rapid troubleshooting, and a wealth of shared knowledge.
  • Xen Hypervisor
    Built on the Xen hypervisor, XCP-ng benefits from the robust security and stability that Xen is known for, making it suitable for both small and large-scale deployments.
  • Cost-Effective
    Being open source with enterprise-grade features, XCP-ng provides a cost-effective alternative to other virtualization platforms, eliminating the need for expensive licensing fees.
  • Compatibility
    XCP-ng supports multiple operating systems and is compatible with a variety of hardware configurations, offering flexibility for diverse infrastructure setups.

Possible disadvantages of XCP-ng

  • Learning Curve
    For users not familiar with Xen-based virtualization, XCP-ng can present a steep learning curve, potentially requiring time and effort to become proficient.
  • Limited Official Support
    While there is a strong community, official support options from XCP-ng developers can be limited compared to some enterprise virtualization solutions.
  • Third-Party Tool Dependence
    Certain advanced functionalities may require third-party tools or additional configuration, adding complexity to the setup and management process.
  • Hardware Compatibility
    Although generally compatible, XCP-ng may face issues with certain niche or very new hardware, potentially requiring workarounds or driver updates.
  • GUI Limitations
    Some users may find the graphical user interface less intuitive or lacking in features compared to more mature proprietary solutions, leading to a preference for command-line management.

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.

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.

XCP-ng videos

Homelab / Office Lab Open Source Virtualization XCP-NG & Proxmox Compared

More videos:

  • Review - XCP-NG / Xen Orchestra VS Vmware and Why We Choose It For Our Clients

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to XCP-ng and virt-manager)
Cloud Computing
45 45%
55% 55
Virtual Machine Management
Virtualization Platform
43 43%
57% 57
Virtualization
51 51%
49% 49

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, virt-manager should be more popular than XCP-ng. 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.

XCP-ng mentions (37)

  • Seeking Community Feedback: Help Shape Vates' Partner Program
    Our developments include a Hypervisor (XCP-ng) and a Cloud Automation solution (XenOrchestra). Combined, these, alongside excellent first-party support and various tooling, form the Vates Virtualization Management Stack (or VMS). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Moved a VM between nodes - I'm buzzing!
    Check out xcp-ng, a free and open source version of xenserver. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Found this group and I have a home lab :-)
    You might be interested in XCP-NG. You can easily spin up Windows and Linux VMs. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What are your self hosted apps you're using for your business?
    OPNsense - Firewall XCP-ng - Host System for VMs Rport - Remote Management/Access Wahzu - Security Platform Xen Orchestra - Webinterface for XCP. I use the open source variant. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Revamping HomeLab - Can you Help?
    Whatever you're most comfortable with. There's proxmox (Debian Linux), xcp-ng (Xenserver), vmware esxi, Hyper-V (Windows), harvester (SUSE Linux), or even just plain ol linux with cockpit (Linux) installed for easy management. If you're asking what I'm using, I'm actually trying to use them all, so I currently don't have a preference myself. But I would use these hypervisors to manage the VM. I would run Docker in... Source: over 2 years ago
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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 / about 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 / about 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 / about 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: over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing XCP-ng and virt-manager, 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...

OpenNebula - OpenNebula is an Open Source Cloud & Edge Computing Platform to build & manage Enterprise Clouds. OpenNebula provides unified management of IT infrastructure, avoiding vendor lock-in & reducing complexity, resource consumption, & operational costs 🚀

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.

c12n.cloud - 100% Open Source based cloud solution for your own private IaaS based on OpenStack, Kubernetes and Ceph

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