IPFW vs Xen Project Hypervisor
IPFW
man.freebsd.org
Xen Project Hypervisor
xenproject.orgSide by side
| Figure | IPFW | Xen Project Hypervisor |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Server Virtualization Software | 7.8 (#8) | 7.6 (#10) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | ipfw is the user interface for controlling the FreeBSD firewall, dummynet traffic shaper and packet scheduler, and in-kernel NAT services. | Xen is a type-1 bare-metal hypervisor that runs multiple operating systems in parallel on one host. |
Plans
In their own words
Xen Project Hypervisor
Xen Project Hypervisor is a free, open-source type-1 hypervisor that runs multiple operating systems on one host. The project describes uses including server and desktop virtualization, IaaS, embedded systems, security applications, and hardware appliances. Linux is the most common control stack; NetBSD and FreeBSD are also named as host options. Xen’s microkernel design has a small memory footprint and restricts the interface exposed to guests. It can run a system’s main device driver inside a VM, allowing that VM to be restarted after a driver crash or compromise without affecting the rest of the system. On x86, fully paravirtualized guests can run without virtualization extensions. Listed capabilities include snapshots, nested virtualization, and GPU acceleration. The separate XAPI toolstack supports multi-host management, snapshots and migration, resource pools, storage migration, Open vSwitch, event tracking, upgrades, patching, and monitoring. Its built-in guest support and templates cover Windows and Linux. Downloads are source releases for building, packaging, and platform integration.