Nutanix AHV vs. Oracle VirtualBox

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Nutanix AHV
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Nutanix AHV is presented as a modern and secure virtualization platform that powers VMs and containers for applications and cloud-native workloads on-premises and in public clouds. Its tools and automated workflows simplify the day-to-day administration of VMs and containers.N/A
Oracle VirtualBox
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Oracle VirtualBox is an open source, cross-platform, virtualization software, enables developers to deliver code faster by running multiple operating systems on a single device.N/A
Pricing
Nutanix AHVOracle VirtualBox
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Nutanix AHVOracle VirtualBox
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Nutanix AHVOracle VirtualBox
Considered Both Products
Nutanix AHV
Chose Nutanix AHV
Easy to understand and friendly
Chose Nutanix AHV
Overall market share, reputation and innovation drove us to Nutanix AHV over the other options.
Chose Nutanix AHV
We left VMware due to the price alone, and we have no regrets. Nutanix has been a reliable and efficient platform.
Chose Nutanix AHV
Nutanix AOS makes the basic operations (adding recourses and performing updates) a lot easier.
Chose Nutanix AHV
50/50, not much in it, to be honest. Nutanix AOS wins on the support, training, and certification ease but Dell / EMC has the name and integration support with its other products (e.g., Nutanix not supporting Networkers hot add mode).
Chose Nutanix AHV
By far, in my opinion, Nutanix AOS is heads above VMware. From the creation of a VM to updating the nodes themselves, Nutanix AOS is so much easier, faster, and just an overall better product. I would choose Nutanix AOS over VMware any day.
Chose Nutanix AHV
VMware ESXi has been around much longer and because of this is much more fully featured. However, on the flip side, it then makes Nutanix AOS much less complicated to operate. Nutanix AOS online support (and knowledge base articles) are very well written and comprehensive. …
Chose Nutanix AHV
Nutanix [AOS] is a hyper-converged solution, and in the vSphere it was originally designed for the use of SAN, although they also have a hyper-converged solution. But the architecture and load testing showed the inconsistency of the hyper-converged solution from VMware.
Chose Nutanix AHV
Nutanix [AOS] is the preference as it has good management tools but may be a bit more costly.
Chose Nutanix AHV
The simplicity of the license means no need for a new storage array and hardware. Gartner report.
Chose Nutanix AHV
Nutanix is faster and easier, and more reliable than HPE SimpliVity.
Chose Nutanix AHV
As mentioned before I feel that Nutanix meets or exceeds the capabilities of the competition, where that is in ease of use, how well they support their platform, upgrading software, migrating VM's from another hypervisor to Nutanix or simply moving VM's between one Nutanix …
Chose Nutanix AHV
VMWare is too complex to run in compare to Nutanix
Chose Nutanix AHV
Ease of use and better support to the business.
Chose Nutanix AHV
Nutanix AOS is far superior to VMware. Both in cost and performance.
Chose Nutanix AHV
Citrix Hypervisor (formerly XenServer), VMware Horizon (formerly VMware View) and VMware ESXi
Chose Nutanix AHV
Our experience was good with VMware, but much more and on another level with Nutanix.

Chose Nutanix AHV
There are other clustering solutions, to be sure. And there are significantly less expensive solutions for preventing downtime, such as Hyper-V replication, which is what I was using before Nutanix. But Nutanix is in the upper-right of the Gartner magic quadrant for …
Chose Nutanix AHV
VxRail was more expensive and used a different storage algorithm that we didn't find to be most efficient .
Chose Nutanix AHV
We looked at both Simplivity and Cisco Hyperflex. Both are pretty good in their own right. Simplivity was very 'efficient' in the way they handled data, but we didn't like the idea of a propitiatory hardware card. Cisco's Hyperflex was our second choice, but we were so …
Oracle VirtualBox
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
Oracle VirtualBox is the better choice due to its cost-effectiveness, ease of use and feature set. However VMware Workstation is more suitable due to its superior performance, better features and better integration with enterprise tools. VMware Workstation also provides a …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
It always depends on the usecase which product is better suited. But generally, Oracle VM VirtualBox is very easy to set up on every operating system and is intuitive in the usage. Compared to VMware Workstation it offers less features but for a basic setup, I prefer Oracle VM …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
Oracle's solution is entirely free, although a bit clumsy and visually outdated. Hyper-V can and will be a better match due to having more resources, offering full Microsoft Support, and being focused mainly on corporative uses, but for a small environment, it can be like …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
VirutalBox is very similar to using Vmware with the slight difference in appearance and what might be considered a less polished look. However, what it lacks in polish and looks it makes up for in functionality, easy of use and the wide range of operating systems and features …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
While Parallels Desktop has always positioned itself better than VirtualBox, it will never be able to compete against free and open-source software. Yes, it is true that it has some extra seasonings that can make the scale move towards Parallels at the time of the election, …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
VMWare Workstation required VMWare Workstation Pro to create the system before we could use it. The license requirements for the latter was the issue as we needed this for dev/test environments as well as to show POC on virtualization without necessarily incurring a cost at the …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
Docker, and automated machine provisioning in DevOps often uses the metaphor "treat your machines like cattle, not pets." VirtualBox's intended use is definitely in the creation, management and use of "pet" machines, whereas many similar products are more in the "cattle" …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
The main benefits of Oracle VM VirtualBox are its licensing terms (it is free), its open-source nature, and its active community. However, its various competitors do a much better job when it comes to both ease of use and, most importantly, speed. For example, Parallels Desktop …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
We've used VMware, and continue to use it for some projects. But, in my experience, the latest updates to VMware run very slowly, particularly on macOS. Many blog posts offer tweaks to help speed up VMware, but none of these tweaks make a significant difference.
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
We primarily use Oracle VM VirtualBox because it's free, and it is the default provider for Vagrant, which we use for our development VMs. The user interface of VirtualBox looks a little clunky in macOS, but I actually almost never see the main VirtualBox interface because I …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
With regards to how some of the other virtualization software packages stack up again VirtualBox, I would say VirtualBox is ahead of the game especially when it comes to cost savings, as there is no ongoing cost for running the software. A big disadvantage to one of the other …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
As I mentioned earlier, Oracle VM VirtualBox and VMWare Workstation offer roughly the same type of features. One of the main differences is that VMWare Workstation is a commercial product while Oracle VM VirtualBox is open-source. Resource utilization and graphics support is …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
VirtualBox is just as robust and as functional as the VMware desktop product. It actually has more features and in some ways is easier to work with. I've also found that VirtualBox supports newer operating systems better than VMware Workstation. There's also the cost advantage …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
I have used Parallels as well as VMware Workstation and have always returned to VirtualBox. VirtualBox is free which makes it easy to try. Compared to the others, it does everything I need. In +7 years I have not been able to justify the cost of a Parallels Desktop or VMware …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
We feel like we made a good decision going with Oracle VM VirtualBox because it was more enterprise ready. They had great customer success team and proper API compatibility which allowed for great integration into our legacy tools. The support we got from the development …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
It's free, fast, and really well built. Obviously, VMware is the key competitor, but I consider that more of an enterprise app for building and managing entire networks of virtual systems, whereas VirtualBox is fantastic as a personal VM tool. What it lacks in enterprise-grade …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
It's much more useful than VMware workstation player because you can't edit anything at all with that free version of vmWare. This is just about as capable as VMware fusion and Workstation until you pay even more to use vSphere, and then you start having enterprise features.
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
In a Windows environment, Docker would not even be possible, to begin with. Also, on the way around, having a Linux based Machine, without Oracle VM VirtualBox, one would have to create a partitioned disk and enable it at boot time in order to be able to run Windows in such a …
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
I have used a couple of other hypervisors but those softwares are no longer operational and have became obsolete.
Chose Oracle VirtualBox
We chose Oracle because they have various amounts of products to integrate with.
Features
Nutanix AHVOracle VirtualBox
Server Virtualization
Comparison of Server Virtualization features of Product A and Product B
Nutanix AHV
8.9
Ratings
9% above category average
Oracle VirtualBox
8.2
Ratings
1% above category average
Virtual machine automated provisioning8.80 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Management console8.80 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Live virtual machine backup9.10 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Live virtual machine migration8.60 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Hypervisor-level security9.10 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Nutanix AHVOracle VirtualBox
Small Businesses
DigitalOcean Droplets
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Score 8.7 out of 10
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Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
VMware vSOM (discontinued)
VMware vSOM (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
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VMware vSOM (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
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VMware vSOM (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Nutanix AHVOracle VirtualBox
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.9
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Nutanix AHVOracle VirtualBox
Likelihood to Recommend
[Nutanix AOS] is good when you need easy scaling and high reliability. The good architecture of the solution allows to solve the tasks set for the platform. This solution allows to reduce the number of personnel serving the infrastructure due to the ease of management and a good knowledge base. As a disadvantage, I would attribute the complexity of customizing some types of loads to optimal work on DFS, for example, high-load databases.
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It is best suited when you want to have different operating systems on your laptop or desktop. You can easily switch between operating systems without the need to uninstall one. In another scenario, if you expect some application to damage your device, it would be best to run the application on the VM such that the damage can only be done to the virtual machine. It is less appropriate when time synchronization is very important. At times the VMs run their own times differently from the host time and this may cause some losses if what you doing is critical. Another important thing to take note of is the licensing of the application you want to run your VM. Some licenses do not allow the applications to be run on virtual servers so it is not appropriate to use the VM at this time.
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Pros
  • One component to support both compute and storage needs for virtualization.
  • Easy expandable as business needs arise both at the node level and larger with blocks.
  • Well outlined interface with good historical data.
  • API tools are available to obtain logging information from Nutanix that can be used with other monitoring tools such as Splunk.
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  • Can spin up multiple VMs on a host-only network that speak to each other and allow for interesting test environments spun up at will.
  • Cross-platform functionality allows me to run it on my Linux Desktop and know that tutorials I make with it could be approached by someone on a Windows or Mac OSX system. Hyper-V is limited to Windows, and VMware Workstation requires a license (VMware Player is free, but is not open-source and is more limited in comparison to VirtualBox).
  • If you are testing tools like Vagrant and Test-Kitchen, VirtualBox often seems to have the highest amount of support and documentation when it comes to compatibility (though, many people do use Hyper-V or VMware Workstation without issues).
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Cons
  • Management of VMs on AHV take some getting used to. It's just a list of VMs that are displayed, and you search through it. Not the normal folder structure that I'm used to in VMware.
  • Also can't disable a NIC card in a VM in AHV. Very handy feature present in VMware.
  • Larger workloads may have to be tweaked to get the performance you need/want.
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  • The memory footprint is high, and requires above 8 GB of memory to run an Ubuntu VM smoothly (considering developing inside ubuntu OS inside a MacBook Pro).
  • Some known issues with OVF/OVA images import/export. We had the issue of some sections in OVF being ignored (especially Startup and Install sections).
  • Some intermittent issues when mounting external hard drives and trying to access them from within the running VM.
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Likelihood to Renew
We made a huge financial investment with this platform (four clusters, all-flash storage array), so we're in it for the long haul. Luckily it's a beast. I've had to use support more than any other platform I've administered, but the help has been very good. Nutanix continues to add features and innovations which increase the ROI
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I give this rating because virtual box is inexpensive but there is another product such as vm ware that can also be used
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Usability
Nutanix Prism Element and Prism Central are easy-to-use HTML5-based web consoles. The layout makes sense; you're only a few clicks away from getting to where you need to be. The AHV hypervisor is integrated into the platform for a fast and seamless experience. Rich data on VM metrics is also available.
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I love using the Graphical User Interface. The VirtualBox Manager is very easy to understand and use. You can quickly create, configure and manage all your virtual machines in one window. It makes operating virtual machines easy and simple. When using VBoxManage it gives the user comprehensive control over VirtualBox so that you can use automation and scripting at the command-line interface
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Dependency on the Host OS means it is as reliable as it is possible to be. Application errors are beyond the purview of the application.
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Performance
The performance is very impressive. I am used to VMware and the snapshots were taking 10 minutes. The first time I had to restore from a snapshot on Nutanix it took 5 seconds and I couldn't believe it. Everything done on the server is fast. Powering on VM is done in seconds compared.to what we were using before.
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No issues, especially with the extensions addons.
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Support Rating
Our first support ticket to Nutanix was responded to within 10 minutes of submission. That was kind of impressive. They have worldwide support so that when a support request is created, support is acknowledged in a relative short amount of time.
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Oracle have a very fast response rate and a strong user community. One can geet help from many sources if they choose to research for themselves.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
We really enjoy using virtual box. We do not require to buy expensive hardware but instead we can minimize costs and maximize profits.
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Alternatives Considered
By far, in my opinion, Nutanix AOS is heads above VMware. From the creation of a VM to updating the nodes themselves, Nutanix AOS is so much easier, faster, and just an overall better product. I would choose Nutanix AOS over VMware any day.
Read full review
VirutalBox is very similar to using Vmware with the slight difference in appearance and what might be considered a less polished look. However, what it lacks in polish and looks it makes up for in functionality, easy of use and the wide range of operating systems and features it supports without the need of buying the full professional edition
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
The only problem I have found is that the deployment is dependent and intrinsically linked to the Host OS. This is different from bare metal solutions which remove that dependency on a Host OS. The latter is more reliable and removes a layer of potential failure.
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Return on Investment
  • It is a highly redundant solution
  • Nutanix [AOS] provides a simple easy to manage HCI platform with a reduced TCO and an increased ROI
  • Centralized management solution of consolidated sever and storage solution in a virtualized environment which minimizes wastage of valuable resourses
  • Offers businesses the agility and flexibility to run other virtualized platforms on the Nutanix environment
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  • Direct cost savings - it enables me to do the work I need to do without purchasing additional physical computers
  • Time savings - it allows me to perform testing and reversion that would take much longer on a physical computer
  • Increased productivity - it enables me to more easily integrate with customer environments
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ScreenShots