Top Xen Orchestra Alternatives for Virtual Machine Management
Xen Orchestra (XO) is a powerful web-based UI designed to simplify the management of XCP-ng and Citrix Hypervisor (formerly XenServer) infrastructures. It offers a comprehensive suite of features, including VM management, server and pool administration, and robust backup solutions. While XO is a fantastic open-source tool, available freely from sources or as a preconfigured virtual appliance (XOA), users often seek out a Xen Orchestra alternative due to specific needs, existing infrastructure, budget constraints, or a preference for different feature sets. This article explores some of the best alternatives to Xen Orchestra, helping you find the perfect solution for your virtualization environment.
Best Xen Orchestra Alternatives
If you're looking to manage your virtual machines with different tools or need specific capabilities not found in Xen Orchestra, these alternatives offer diverse approaches to virtualization management, catering to various user requirements from individual users to large enterprises.
virt-manager
Virt-manager is a desktop user interface for managing virtual machines primarily through libvirt. It's an excellent Xen Orchestra alternative for those on Linux and BSD platforms, offering a free and open-source solution for KVM, Xen, and LXC VMs. Key features include FOSS, SSH, VNC Viewer, Live migration, and general virtual machine management.
VMmanager
VMmanager is a Linux-based VPS management web control panel, making it a strong commercial Xen Orchestra alternative for those providing VPS hosting services. It's a self-hosted solution focused on creating virtual machines and building cloud infrastructure. Its features include multi-location control, high availability, hypervisor support, and integration with WHMCS.
Virtualizor
Virtualizor stands out as a powerful web-based VPS Control Panel. This commercial, self-hosted Linux solution supports OpenVZ, Xen PV, Xen HVM, XenServer, and Linux KVM virtualization, making it a comprehensive Xen Orchestra alternative for VPS management. It offers features like container management, domain forwarding, live migration, and general VPS virtualization.
VMware vSphere
VMware vSphere is a widely recognized commercial solution in the virtualization space, offering a robust Xen Orchestra alternative for enterprise-level deployments. The vSphere Web Client allows for connecting to a vCenter Server system to manage ESXi hosts through a browser, primarily on Windows and self-hosted environments.
SolusVM
Solus Virtual Manager (SolusVM) is a powerful GUI-based VPS management system. As a commercial Xen Orchestra alternative, it provides full OpenVZ, Linux KVM, Xen Paravirtualization, and Xen HVM support across Mac, Windows, Linux, and Web platforms. It is ideal for managing virtual machines and VPS solutions.
Archipel
Archipel is a free and open-source solution for managing and supervising virtual machines. This Xen Orchestra alternative supports Mac, Linux, and Web platforms, making it suitable for managing a few local VMs or thousands across data centers. It focuses on general virtual machine and VPS management.
Virtkick
Virtkick operates as a Software as a Service (SaaS) VPS control panel, serving as a commercial Xen Orchestra alternative with an integrated storefront. It’s a Linux and web-based solution that enables customers to buy, create, and run virtual machines (VPS), focusing on both VPS and general virtualization.
VirtEngine
VirtEngine is an open-source cloud management platform that integrates with OpenNebula, Docker, Bitnami, and Ceph. This free, self-hosted Linux Xen Orchestra alternative provides features like application virtualization, cloud computing, container virtualization, Docker containers, high availability, VPS management, and VPS hosting.
Fleio
Fleio is a billing solution and self-service control panel specifically designed for OpenStack environments. While not a direct VM manager like Xen Orchestra, it serves as a commercial, self-hosted Linux alternative for businesses using OpenStack, providing robust billing and self-service capabilities for their virtualization infrastructure.
Choosing the best Xen Orchestra alternative depends heavily on your specific requirements, existing IT infrastructure, and budget. Whether you prioritize open-source flexibility, comprehensive commercial support, or specialized features like billing integration, this list provides a solid starting point for exploring solutions that can effectively manage your virtual environments. We encourage you to delve deeper into each option to find the perfect fit for your needs.