Last week Citrix announced that it will make Citrix XenServer Enterprise available at no charge to customers. How does its offering compare to that of VMware? To answer this question, it is essential to compare Citrix XenServer Enterprise to a VMware bundle that closely matches Citrix XenServer Enterprise features.
Which VMware bundle should Citrix XenServer Enterprise be compared to?
Since Citrix XenServer Enterprise does not have High Availability (HA) and Dynamic Resource Scheduler (DRS), the most accurate comparison would be versus
- VMware Infrastructure Foundation ($995) with VMotion add-on ($3,495) per 2 CPUs or
- VMware Infrastructure Foundation Acceleration Kit, which includes licenses for VMware Infrastructure Foundation and VMware vCenter Foundation ($2,995) for 6 CPUs, with VMotion add-on ($3,495) per 2 CPUs
Note: VMware Infrastructure Standard Edition includes HA and hence it would not be valid to compare it to Citrix XenServer Enterprise.
Multi-server Management
- Citrix is giving away XenCenter for free to allow enterprises to manage multiple hosts.
- The equivalent VMware vCenter Server offering is priced at $4,995 for an unlimited number servers or $1,495 for VMware vCenter Foundation limited to 3 servers
- Delta: $4,995 or $1,495 for 3 servers
Live Migration
- XenMotion is included with Citrix XenServer Enterprise
- VMware sells VMotion and Storage VMotion as an add-on starting at $3,495
- Delta: $3,495 per two-way server
Price Comparison
- 1 two-way server: $2,490
- VMware Infrastructure Foundation: $995
- VMware vCenter Foundation: $1,495
- No need for VMotion
- 2 two-way servers: $9,985
- VMware Infrastructure Foundation Acceleration Kit: $2,995
- VMware vCenter Foundation: included
- VMotion: $3,495 x 2 = $6,990
- 3 two-way servers: $13,480
- VMware Infrastructure Foundation Acceleration Kit: $2,995
- VMware vCenter Foundation: included
- VMotion: $3,495 x 3 = $10,485
- N two-way servers (N > 3): $4,995 + N x $4,490
- VMware Infrastructure Foundation: $995 x N
- VMware vCenter Server: $4,995
- VMotion: $3,495 x N
When 4 or more servers are required, a simple rule of thumb is to multiply $5,000 by N +1 servers. For example if 10 servers are required then the price difference would be $5,000 x (10 + 1) = $55,000.
Notes:
- Support and Subscription (SnS) entitlements for VMware MUST be purchased separately
- XenMotion does not include storage migration available in the VMware VMotion + Storage VMotion bundle.
