VMware vs Hyper V

[Paul Kinyanjui]

Hi guys,
I have recently used the hyper V role to setup VMs at one of my servers and its working perfectly and was wondering if and how I can replicate this seamlessly on another server I have set up VMs using VMware. I would like to share my frustrations with using VMware (they are only two but still worth sharing)
1. I cannot seem to clearly use the VMs easily because the mouse is always getting stuck in another(host) window
2. The licensing of the VMware means you cannot operate it without a subscription.

The concern is that there are existing VMs on one server and I have a preference with Hyper V. Is there a way to quickly/easily migrate the VMS and manage using hyper V?
Anyone care to share their experiences with the two, please feel free.

 

[root]

To change from using VMware to using Hyper-V (assuming you mean VMware player/vmware workstation).
you will need to start by adding the Hyper-V role, then using a conversion tools to change the VMDK files into VHDX files. Or your can use V2V conversion tools... (Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter) (MVMC) is good, but you need to find it (as MS stopped supporting it! and now only have migrate to Azure tools)
if you have bare metal ESX, same conversion process, but you need a different server to put them on once converted, then you can rebuild youre ESX box as a windows server.


in terms of licensing, you know that you need to license windows VMs on Hyper-V too right?
Windows standard ships with 2 OSE licenses, that enables you to either use the server ONLY as a hyper-visor, and run 2 VMs, or to use the hyper-visor as a server and run 1 VM.
Windows Datacenter has unlimited OSE, (run as many VMs as you like.)
you can also use the free Hyper-V core version, but then you must license all your VMs separately (like you have to with VMWare.)

 

[PP Mguire]

in terms of licensing, you know that you need to license windows VMs on Hyper-V too right?
Windows standard ships with 2 OSE licenses, that enables you to either use the server ONLY as a hyper-visor, and run 2 VMs, or to use the hyper-visor as a server and run 1 VM.
Windows Datacenter has unlimited OSE, (run as many VMs as you like.)
you can also use the free Hyper-V core version, but then you must license all your VMs separately (like you have to with VMWare.)

As far as I was aware, licensing is per core only for SQL environments. Either that, or it's broken for me because I'm running the Server 2022 Standard license under desktop experience with 7 VMs without a hitch. CALs, environment license, etc I believe is based off your type of production environment whether it's RDS or SQL based (CALs for RDS, cores for SQL). I've never once been prompted for licensing per user, per core, or by OSE. Although be it Microsoft they probably assume the audit and legal team are going off the EULA rather than prompting. When I deployed my own Microsoft RDS environment the licensing server (RDS) was asking for my package ID etc, which would include their OSE and CALs but never for VMs specifically. I bypassed this by using Thincast RDS Webaccess which is only 200 bucks for 10 connections indefinitely. Honestly their gateway and webaccess setup is a lot better and easier than Microsoft's system and cheaper. No independent CAL for user and device, only user limit based off your license package.

 

[Paul Kinyanjui]

As far as I was aware, licensing is per core only for SQL environments. Either that, or it's broken for me because I'm running the Server 2022 Standard license under desktop experience with 7 VMs without a hitch. CALs, environment license, etc I believe is based off your type of production environment whether it's RDS or SQL based (CALs for RDS, cores for SQL). I've never once been prompted for licensing per user, per core, or by OSE. Although be it Microsoft they probably assume the audit and legal team are going off the EULA rather than prompting. When I deployed my own Microsoft RDS environment the licensing server (RDS) was asking for my package ID etc, which would include their OSE and CALs but never for VMs specifically. I bypassed this by using Thincast RDS Webaccess which is only 200 bucks for 10 connections indefinitely. Honestly their gateway and webaccess setup is a lot better and easier than Microsoft's system and cheaper. No independent CAL for user and device, only user limit based off your license package.

I would like to thank you for your contribution on the topic.
I did manage to make some progress albeit using a different route. From the V-Sphere client, I managed to export the VMs into an OVF format and save them on an external disk. Then on a separate server(test machine), I set up a licensed MS Server 2019 and set up the Hyper V role. I did open the OVF file from this setup and it worked out just fine. There were no concerns about requests for licensing on the VMs installed on the Hyper V. One of the VMs however requires an SQL DB to setup and I have risked installing the enterprise version. I will check n see how the implementation works and revert.

Now Back to the main server, Is it possible to just uninstall the VMware, set up Hyper-V and operate the VMs from here? The problem I anticipate is that the VM won't have the latest data as the one currently running on Vmware Vspere Client.

Lastly, Stupid question alert, How is it possible to get access to the admin portal of my VMWare and manage the hosts and clients if I was not the one who set up the VMware? I talked to the customer support about my licensing for the VMWare support and they mention that it expired about 5 years ago. Does this mean then that the licensing information was only required during the initial setup of the VMs?

I am happy to clarify the questions as I seek to put an end to this discussion.

 

[PP Mguire]

I would like to thank you for your contribution on the topic.
I did manage to make some progress albeit using a different route. From the V-Sphere client, I managed to export the VMs into an OVF format and save them on an external disk. Then on a separate server(test machine), I set up a licensed MS Server 2019 and set up the Hyper V role. I did open the OVF file from this setup and it worked out just fine. There were no concerns about requests for licensing on the VMs installed on the Hyper V. One of the VMs however requires an SQL DB to setup and I have risked installing the enterprise version. I will check n see how the implementation works and revert.

Since this post I have went full steam on my own hosting with physical Poweredge servers and lots of VMs. Want to clarify I'm running 2022 Datacenter on the host machines and still have not had to deal with VM licensing of any sort. My first host is running 18 VMs.

Now Back to the main server, Is it possible to just uninstall the VMware, set up Hyper-V and operate the VMs from here? The problem I anticipate is that the VM won't have the latest data as the one currently running on Vmware Vspere Client.

I haven't dealt with VMware in about 8 or 9 years now but I don't think it's as simple as switching clients over. I think you need to install the Hyper-V roles onto the host server/s in question and export them from VMware over to Hyper-V. How to do that specifically, I don't know specifically.

Lastly, Stupid question alert, How is it possible to get access to the admin portal of my VMWare and manage the hosts and clients if I was not the one who set up the VMware? I talked to the customer support about my licensing for the VMWare support and they mention that it expired about 5 years ago. Does this mean then that the licensing information was only required during the initial setup of the VMs?

You would need the user/s with admin priv to access that.

 

[Paul Kinyanjui]

You would need the user/s with admin priv to access that.

What would happen if I was to change the Public Ip? The services can only be accessed through the network via VPN for an external party, right?

 

[Paul Kinyanjui]

I haven't dealt with VMware in about 8 or 9 years now but I don't think it's as simple as switching clients over. I think you need to install the Hyper-V roles onto the host server/s in question and export them from VMware over to Hyper-V. How to do that specifically, I don't know specifically.

I have since learned how to do it. I will experiment on a new resource and share shortly

 

[itsecuritycourses]

I'd say most places use VMWare, although quite a few use Hyper-V as well these days

 

[zahra batool]

To migrate VMs from VMware to Hyper-V, you can use tools like Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC) or manually export/import the VMs. Regarding your frustrations with VMware, have you tried adjusting mouse settings or exploring alternative licensing options? Overall, migrating VMs to Hyper-V should be feasible and can offer a seamless transition for managing your virtual environment.