Server Virtualization Platform Diff erences

At the current time, there are two major vendors of IA-32 (or x86) server virtualization platforms, Microsoft and VMware. Th is chapter attempts to explain the diff erences between Microsoft Virtual Server 2005, VMware GSX Server, and VMware ESX Server. It continues with a discussion on why one platform would be used over another through the use of real-world use cases (see Figure 7.1). And fi nally, a high-level virtual machine specifi cation matrix is provided for a quick comparison of the three platforms.