recommendations on virtualization software

[Dave Johnson]

Mark Ellison writes:
> Hi,
> 
> I am seeking recommendations and pros/cons of different virtualization 
> software.
> 
> The physical machine is a Intel T9400 quad core with 8GB ram, 2x500GB 
> sata disks and 1Gb nic.  My current plan is to run 64 bit Fedora Core 10 
> (or 11 as available) as the host OS.  The guest OSes will include a mix 
> vista, xp and other UNIX variants.
> 
> I am aware of the commercially available VMware workstation, VirtualBox 
> and Xen.  Any feedback and recommendations are appreciated.

I've been impressed with kvm and have it running several guests right
now.

Pros:
* supported by linux kernel proper
* active development
* emulates guest NICs that work with jumbo frames (Intel 82540EM, e1000)
* built-in kvm server for vga console, standards compliant, not some custom viewer
* serial console via telnet
* designed for headless hosts
* faster than needed

Cons:
* no support for multi-cpu/core guests
* virtio isn't fully baked yet, but looks promising
* had to write some custom start/stop scripts


-- 
Dave