KVM VPS vs OpenVZ VPS. What should I choose and what are the differences?

KVM and OpenVZ are both virtualization technologies and they are very common on the hosting market. They are different in many ways and usually, the people are confused about what type of virtualization they need. Let’s dive into the differences between these two and let us help you make the best decision for your needs.

What is KVM?

KVM or also known as Kernel-based Virtual Machine is open-source software for virtualization operating on Linux servers. This technology can provide you with full virtualization. This means that every virtual server (VM) has access to private virtualized hardware (Disk, CPU, RAM) and its own kernel. Each VPS is completely isolated between each other on the node and because they contain their own kernel operating systems like Linux, Windows, Solaris, etc. can be installed on KVM-based VPS. Considering all these facts, we can say that KVM can provide you with a virtual server that operates and acts like a dedicated server.

What is OpenVZ?

OpenVZ is a virtualization technology for Linux. The design of this technology is different from KVM. Here the virtual machine is called and acts as a container. All containers share the same kernel as the host server. This means that on OpenVZ-based VPS we can host only Linux. Each virtual machine acts as a separate server and has its IP address, resource limits, root access, processes, and the container can be rebooted independently.

Comparison table

We have revealed what is under the hood of these two virtualization technologies. Because of the difference in their design, there are some limitations in their usage. Let’s take a look at the table below.

More practical comparison between KVM and OpenVZ VPS/VDS

We hope that we helped you to choose between OpenVZ and KVM. If you have any questions regarding the virtualizations, do not hesitate to contact us!