How Much is Hyper-V?
Direct Answer:
The cost of Hyper-V, a virtualization platform developed by Microsoft, can vary depending on the edition and features you choose. Here’s a breakdown of the estimated costs:
- Standard Edition: $425 per physical processor or $25 per virtual machine (VM) (up to 2 processors)
- Datacenter Edition: $1,080 per physical processor or $65 per VM (up to 2 processors)
- Enterprise Edition: $3,500 per physical processor or $200 per VM (up to 2 processors)
- Hyper-V Server: Free (available for Windows Server 2012 and later versions)
Key Features and Pricing
Here’s a brief overview of the key features and pricing for each edition:
Standard Edition
- Virtualization technology for up to 2 processors
- Supports up to 64 logical processors and up to 1 TB RAM
- Limited to 32 VMs per host
- Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses or remote sites
Datacenter Edition
- Advanced features for large-scale virtualization deployments
- Supports up to 64 logical processors and up to 2 TB RAM
- Unlimited VMs per host
- Ideal for large enterprises or data centers
Enterprise Edition
- Advanced features for enterprise virtualization management and security
- Includes features like clustered VMs, live migration, and Storage Live Migration
- Supports up to 64 logical processors and up to 2 TB RAM
- Ideal for large enterprises or organizations with complex virtualization needs
Hyper-V Server
- Free virtualization server for test and development environments
- Limited to 64 GB RAM and 32 vCPUs
- Ideal for testing and development environments or proof-of-concepts
Additional Costs
- Windows Server license: You’ll need a Windows Server license to run Hyper-V on top of the base operating system.
- CALs (Client Access Licenses): Required for each user or device accessing the Hyper-V environment.
Comparison with Other Hypervisors
Here’s a comparison with other popular hypervisors:
| Hypervisor | Base Cost | Maximum Virtual CPUs | Maximum RAM | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Hyper-V | Free (Hyper-V Server) to $3,500 (Enterprise Edition) | 64 | 2 TB | Virtualization, clustering, live migration |
| VMware vSphere | $150 per CPU (Essentials Plus) to $3,495 per CPU (Enterprise Plus) | 128 | 4 TB | Virtualization, clustering, vMotion, vSAN |
| Citrix Hypervisor | $850 per CPU (Standard) to $2,500 per CPU (Enterprise) | 64 | 2 TB | Virtualization, clustering, storage integration |
Conclusion
In conclusion, the cost of Hyper-V depends on the edition and features you choose. While the free Hyper-V Server edition is suitable for testing and development, the Datacenter and Enterprise editions offer advanced features for large-scale virtualization deployments. Be sure to consider the additional costs of Windows Server licenses and CALs when planning your Hyper-V deployment.
References:
- Microsoft. (n.d.). Hyper-V. Retrieved from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-overview
- VMware. (n.d.). VMware vSphere Pricing. Retrieved from https://www.vmware.com/content/dam/en/products/landing/vsphere/vsphere-pricing.html
- Citrix. (n.d.). Citrix Hypervisor Pricing. Retrieved from https://www.citrix.com/en-us/products/hypervisor/pricing.html