KVM vs OpenVZ: to understand what visualization system best meets your needs, we offer you to find out more about basic features and benefits of each of these software solutions.
KVM (or Kernel-based Virtual Machine) — is a program solution that provides visualization on Linux core. Its distribution based on open and free licenses plus it’s actively supported and developed thanks to open source community and industry leaders — HP, Intel, Red Hat, IBM.
KVM VPS is very close to physical, dedicated server.
KVM advantages:
1. Independent resources: every server has its own RAM and hardware space, which increases server stability, preventing neighboring servers from using same memory areas and disk space.
2. Every KVM server is a fully isolated server, having its own OS kernel, and its work is not dependent from other virtual machines. Common kernel halt is excluded.
3. Your file system does not depend on your kernel neighbors.
4. Your file system does not depend on your kernel neighbors.
Virtual KVM server suits for hosting high-resource projects such as installing own proxy and VPN-servers, hosting sites that need special software settings.
Virtual KVM server suits for hosting high-resource projects such as installing own proxy and VPN-servers, hosting sites that need special software settings.
Reasons to choose KVM:
- Increased requirements of server availability during peak hours
- Load changes sharply, can not be predicted.
- Your server has high traffic and high disk load.
OpenVZ is an OS-based technology, which is based on Linux core. OpenVZ allows to run multiply isolated OS copies, called Virtual Private Servers (VPS) or Virtual Environmants (VE).
There is only one linux core in the system with special patches, which are needed for VE functionality. In this respect OpenVZ VPS is alike with virtual hosting, where stability and performance also depends on hosting neighbors behavior. .
OpenVZ advantages:
- Low cost.
- Much higher performance than on common hosting.
- It is possible to change tariff without rebooting VPS.
OpenVZ suits for hosting sites with medium and high attendance and other tasks where root-access is needed.
Reasons to choose OpenVZ:
- You do not have sharp load peaks.
- Client amount is relatively smooth, without attendance jumps.
Comparison of KVM vs OpenVZ visualization technologies
| Possibilities | KVM | OpenVZ |
| Own file system | + | – |
| Dedicated RAM area with full access and debug ability | + | – |
| Full isolation from neighbors | + | + |
| VNC-connection on early boot stages | + | – |
| PPTP VPN | + | + |
| OpenVPN | + | + |
| IPSec VPN | + | + |
| Firewall | + | + |
| Kernel mode NFS server | + | – |
| Independent core | + | – |
| Independent core modules | + | – |
| Full control of sockets and processes | + | – |
| Full support of guest OS (Windows) | + | – |
| Full support of guest OS (Linux) | + | + |
| PCI / PCIe cards emulation with full access to them | + | – |
| Official integration with Linux core | + | – |