Windows 10: VMWARE vs HYPER-V - difficult choice

HI there

By using the bcedit trick I can run both HYPER-V VM's and VMWARE (not simultaneously though - you have to re-boot).

VMWARE has the advantage of not relying on RDP for all communications - RDP could be real slow on a laggy network. You can get better response by using the HYPER-V console on the HOST but this could be fiddly too and it still uses the Virtual Switch adapter for communication between HOST and VM.

HYPER-V seems to have Virtual Disk access better and the dynamic memory is a brilliant feature - BUT if you want to test specific hardware that is USB connected then VMWARE is the way to go -- HYPER-V allows you to access say external USB's but you have to attach them to THE HOST and then access them via connect network drive.

If you want to use something like a USB webcam then VMWARE again. VMWARE is superior when it comes to attaching and detaching all sorts of devices to the VM.

It would seem to me that using the HYPER-V model is the way to go if you were virtualising essentially a bog standard machine running things like CORPORATE applications, web access and office apps.

If you are a HOME user where you plug in things like mobile phones and other hardware and you tinker around a bit then VMWARE is probably the choice you should use. Note also VMWARE supports 3d acceleration and graphics so your games will run. HYPER-V will use whatever your RDP supports - so even 2-D rendering is likely to be better with VMWARE. For normal "office" type work probably not a big issue.

Of course HYPER-V is free while WORKSTATION costs around 180 EUR for a non upgrade version. VMWARE PLAYER is FREE though and uinless you do a lot of snapshotting / checkpointing of VM's or use some other rarely used (by home users) features then VMPLAYER is good enough.

(VMWARE networking though is BROKEN on a W10 HOST but version 11 together with the latest VMPLAYER is being release next month so I'd assume that would be fixed by then -- upgrade from version 10 of Workstation is free for purchasers of Workstation 10 if they buy in October).

Running W10 in VMWARE on a W8.1 HOST seems just fine as does HYPER-V. I get the impression that after installing VMWARE TOOLS the workstation VM is just a bit snappier than the HYPER-V version - probably due to HYPER V using a network for communication - especially if you are using RDP on a remote machine.

If you run SEVERAL VM's then the dynamic memory idea of HYPER-V might be a winner as when the VM's are "quiesced" the memory will drop towards the minimum allocated which could be s low as 750 MB.

Thanks to KARI who with his excellent tutorial got me started on HYPER-V.

I think it's not an easy choice to make - but if you are prepared for re-boots of the HOST you can by using the bcedit trick simply enable / disable the HYPERVISOR so you can run VMWARE without having to uninstall HYPER-V.

For the bcedit trick here's the link - I believe it has been mentioned before but here's the link again.

http://www.ivobeerens.nl/2013/12/16/...n-windows-8-x/


Hope this helps some in deciding what virtualisation platform to use.

Cheers
jimbo

:)

 

Hyper V

Please Mississippi State IT student do not respond. The last of you that replied didn't know what the hell he was talking about. I will repeat my question. I opened Hyper-v and ran Fedora for about three days. I got a free copy of VMware. VMware and
Hyper-v are not compatible. I have VMware for 30 days, I have Hyper-v forever. How do I disable Hyper-v so that VMware does not see it?

 

Enabling Hyper-V on Windows 10 desktop and laptop

Personally, I would choose VMWare Workstation, even though it's quite expensive. Microsoft hasn't put a lot of effort into Hyper-V - maybe in future they will - but for now Hyper-V doesn't match VMWare.

 

Hyper-V connect has what's called "Enhanced Session" support, which supports supports, among other things, USB redirection for webcams, phones, etc...

Virtual Machine Connection - Enhanced Session Mode Overview

Also, Hyper-V does support 3D, but through RemoteFX, which means you Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 Enterprise or Windows Server guests.

 

Hi there

How do you use this then to attach say a USB stick to the GUEST and not access it as a shared device from the HOST.

Cheers
jimbo

 

USB redirection does not work for disks. Hyper-V has built-in support for physical disk passthrough (including USB drives). You mark the disk as Offline in the host, then you can add it in your guest OS as a new hard disk. This prevents the drive from being mounted by more than OS simultaneously and corrupting the drive.

 

Hi there

This could be a killer for some uses of VM's --I sometimes like to connect a USB device without the HOST being aware of it - also you can't always get access to the host if you are using your VM remotely.

The only thing you need to ensure when say using VMWARE is that the USB functionality works on the HOST -- I have some things like a MINIDISC recorder which works beautifully on a VM XP - even though there is absolutely no chance whatsoever for the 32 bit minidisc driver to work or even install on the host system - especially if the HOST is a 64 bit system. So long as the HOST can handle the USB interface then that's fine.

Now HYPER-V is great for say creating a VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) at work or running essentially "Officy" type machines where a few HDD network shares and the odd printer (although those are often wirlessly connected now) - but home users probably want to add a whole slew of their own hardware to VM's.

I do agree that where possible HYPER-V brings a lot to the table - especially if you need a load of VM's to all work CONCURRENTLY.

Cheers
jimbo