libguestfs vs Paragon Image Mounter
libguestfs
libguestfs.orgParagon Image Mounter
paragon-software.comSide by side
| Figure | libguestfs | Paragon Image Mounter |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Virtual Drive Software | 8.7 (#3) | 7.4 (#15) |
| Founded | 2009 | 1994 |
| Purpose | libguestfs is a library and set of tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images. | Image Mounter is a multi-format disk image mounter for advanced data analysis. |
| Security reporting | The security guide directs private reports to Red Hat's security procedure and allows less serious issues to be filed as bugs or sent to the mailing list. | Paragon provides a channel for reporting actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents, with encrypted email communication available on request. |
| Support | Users can ask questions on the libguestfs mailing list or IRC channel #guestfs on Libera Chat; Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers are directed to Red Hat Support. | The product page directs users who need help to Paragon Support. |
Plans
In their own words
libguestfs
libguestfs is a free library and toolset for working with virtual machine disk images. It can inspect and edit guest files, script changes, create or resize images, make backups, clone virtual machines and build them. The project says it can access almost any disk image, including those from VMware and Hyper-V, and images created by VMware, KVM, qemu, VirtualBox, Xen and other hypervisors; libvirt is not required. Its command-line tools include guestfish, a scriptable shell, and virt-rescue, an interactive rescue shell. The C library has bindings for many languages, with examples for C/C++, Erlang, Go, Java, Lua, OCaml, Perl, Python and Ruby. Guest filesystems are accessed through a Linux kernel in a qemu virtual machine, usually as a non-root user; sVirt with libvirt and SELinux can also be used. It runs on many Linux distributions and Mac OS X, while some virt tools have been ported to Windows. Non-Linux systems may require compiling from source and porting.
Paragon Image Mounter
Paragon Image Mounter is a Windows utility for mounting disk images during advanced data analysis. It supports RAW, VMDK, VDI, VHD, pVHD, and VHDX image types. Disks can be mounted at the physical level with all partitions, and partitions in known operating-system formats can mount automatically. Users choose read-only or read-write mode. Paragon File System Link drivers let Windows mount and operate Linux, HFS+, and APFS-formatted drives. The minimum listed requirement is Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 or above. The maker describes the tool for IT professionals and forensic experts. A free preview version can be requested from sales. A planned advanced version is described as adding E01 and Ex01 forensic formats, APFS read-write support, and automatic mounting at system startup. The paid product has pricing on request; the preview plan is listed at free. Paragon provides support contacts and regional business sales contacts.