XenServer Review - why 5 stars?

Shlomi Lavi / updated: Aug 16, 2019

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What is XenServer?

XenServer is a server virtualization software that can help users to manage server, cloud and desktop virtual infrastructures. It can make your datacenter more efficient by automating management processes and increasing IT flexibility. Moreover, the software is open-source which means you get to do all these things for free.

Citrix, the company behind XenServer, has been providing productivity and collaboration tools for the last 25 years. The company is known as one of the leading mobile workspace solution providers and more than 330,000 organizations around the world are using their solutions.

Who is it best for?

XenServer is perfect for companies of all shapes and sizes. Healthcare, manufacturing, media and content, technology, retail, education, government, non-profit and telecommunications industries can use this software. HDFC Life, Pizza hut and SAP AG are some of the clients of XenServer.

Main features and functionalities

XenServer comes with CloudPlatform integration, resilient architecture, network isolation and protection XenCenter management, XenMotion and XenServer Conversion Manager features. The software offers scalability enhancements for cloud and offers direct integration with OpenStack, CloudPlatform and Apache CloudStack. The software can also allow cloud builders to give isolation between users and virtual machines in a multi-tenant cloud environment.

The software offers general administration, management and VM monitoring features in a single server virtualization solution. It’s easy to go up and running in just a few minutes and start virtualizing your demanding workloads using this software. Purchasing a license of this software can give users 24x7 technical support, automated patches and access to technical articles, knowledgebase, optimization tips and how-to guides. Other notable features of XenServer are: unlimited virtualization, bare-metal performance, live migration and NIC teaming support.

What is the actual cost?

The cost of license starts at $1,000 per license. ITQlick pricing score is 5.8 out of 10 (10 is most expensive). Access ITQlick pricing guide for XenServer.

Pros

• XenServer comes with unlimited virtualization feature and can be used on unlimited number of hosts
• XenServeris based on open-source Project Xen Hypervisor to offer cost-effective server consolidation
• The customer support of XenServer offers 24x7 hours technical support for users
• The server virtualization software support managing multiple XenServer from a single place
• The server virtualization solution allocates management data across servers unlike other similar tools

Cons

• XenServer is Windows-based and doesn’t offer compatibility with Linux or Mac OS X
• XenServer doesn’t offer any web-based administration interface which can be a problem for some users
• The 24x7 technical support of XenServer is not available is only available at an additional cost
• The server virtualization software doesn’t support dual boot with another OS which can be a problem for some users
• The server virtualization solution doesn’t offer any mobile dedicated app like VMware vSphere

How it stacks up?

Access a head to head analysis of XenServer vs alternative software solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)