IBM PowerVM vs RHEV comparison

IBM and Red Hat are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. IBM is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5, while Red Hat is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.6. IBM holds a 1.3% mindshare in SVS, compared to Red Hat’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 78% of Red Hat users who would recommend it.

IBM PowerVM

Read 36 IBM PowerVM reviews

1,834 Views
1,548 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

RHEV

Read 35 RHEV reviews

5,335 Views
3,875 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

IBM PowerVM

RHEV

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

IBM PowerVM and RHEV are competitors in the virtualization solutions market. IBM PowerVM holds the advantage due to its stability and performance in high-demand environments.

Features: IBM PowerVM offers robust security and stability with high availability through LPAR, shared processor pools, and active memory sharing. It efficiently manages hardware resources and integrates seamlessly with Oracle databases. RHEV provides open-source flexibility with ease of use, cloud management, and integration capabilities. It supports a wide range of environments and offers cost-effective virtualization features.

Room for Improvement: IBM PowerVM could improve with lower pricing, better OS compatibility, and enhanced cloud service integration. A more user-friendly GUI for VIOS and transparent pricing are suggested. RHEV needs an improved interface, detailed documentation, and faster updates. Enhancing third-party integration and management features would also benefit users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM PowerVM is primarily deployed on-premises, with users praising its reliable and prompt customer service, which is crucial for critical applications. RHEV offers deployment flexibility across various cloud environments but has average service in some areas compared to IBM.

Pricing and ROI: IBM PowerVM is more expensive but justifies the cost with comprehensive features, offering substantial ROI for Oracle deployments due to targeted core licensing. RHEV, as an open-source option, presents a more affordable alternative with subscription-based pricing, though it requires traditional enterprise feature enhancements to better compete with pricier solutions like VMware.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM PowerVM vs. RHEV Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM PowerVM vs. RHEV

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

IBM PowerVM

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

RHEV

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of IBM PowerVM is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RHEV is 3.6%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Virtualization Software

Featured Reviews

Atif Najam

Chief Information Officer and Program Lead at Gatron Industries Ltd

A stable system for high-end data processing with a great support structure

The only problem with the IBM system is improving its hardware licensing model. For example, when you procure a server with 40 physical codes, you must also procure licenses to activate the codes. In Dell or any system, you procure the hardware and have the full right to use the hardware. For IBM, it's different because when you procure a 40-code processor and have 40 physical codes, you only have a license to use 20. As a result, the 20 alert codes will always be in activated mode. Hence, the hardware licensing model could be improved because the licensing model is a bit different from the standard hardware procured.

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Sujeet-Kumar

Project Manager Cloud Infrastructure at Path Infotech ltd

The solution is scalable and affordable, but it lacks features, and it is not easy to manage

Management of RHEV is not as easy as VMware. Some features do not work. The product does not provide features similar to VMware’s VMotion. After creating the cluster, the VM is moved to another node if we move down. However, the VM does not move the parent node automatically. It has to be moved manually. VMware moves it automatically. RHEV moves it to the parent node only if we restart. Everything can be handled in VMware through the GUI. However, in RHEV, some things can be managed through UI, and others cannot. We have to troubleshoot and use CLI. A few features of the product do not work as well as those in VMware.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The practicality of IBM PowerVM is a crucial feature, especially with the help of HMC (Hardware Management Console). The Live Partition Mobility help us handle virtual adapters effectively when we need to upgrade firmware or the system, and LPM helps us transfer workloads with minimal downtime. This feature ensures that our systems remain online during maintenance, significantly minimizing potential disruptions."

"The most valuable feature is the flexibility in terms of managing the hardware resources such as RAM, CPU, and the network."

"The case fileserver on the web server is the most valuable feature."

"I rate IBM PowerVM a ten out of ten for its capabilities in the cloud environment."

"The most valuable feature of IBM PowerVM is the performance of the database workload."

"The product never fails to work and is very stable in general. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"A valuable feature of PowerVM is a feature that is used for higher availability plus stream for posting, which is very useful. There's a flash copy feature which we are using. PowerVM itself, I know, helps us to control and manage our Oracle licensing compliance, since it is our hardware partitioning. This is very important. If you use VMware, there will be a licensing issue. This PowerVM is a hardware partitioner, which is very important for license compliance. We are happy with this solution."

"IBM PowerVM has the highest clock speed."

More IBM PowerVM pros

"The solution is stable."

"Red Hat is the most stable system."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the support portal."

"Customers are moving to open source and Red Hat is the leader in this particular space. I think customers feel more confident running Red Hat Virtualization than VMware."

"We find the ease of use of this solution to be invaluable. It is user-friendly and integrates well with other software."

"What they provide is way beyond the essential requirements of customers."

"When you purchase RHEV, you are essentially buying a subscription license. This license can be integrated with various client types, including these integrations with the subscription."

"The solution has a good licensing module."

More RHEV pros

Cons

"The solution should be advanced to fit with the container constantly."

"The hardware licensing model could be improved because the licensing model is a bit different from the standard hardware procured."

"The pricing is expensive, which poses a financial challenge, especially in Argentina."

"The performance should be improved."

"PowerVM should integrate some capabilities of VMware vCenter to improve its management features."

"IBM should review the price of this solution in my opinion; it is too high."

"As understand it, IBM sells all its hardware to Lenovo, and only PCs servers are managed by IBM. It's uncertain how much longer IBM will continue in this way, especially with the current trend of transitioning from on-premises to cloud and hybrid models. The market is evolving. Given this market shift, it's essential to identify areas for improvement. IBM has introduced the PowerVM Series, including Linux, which is a positive step. However, customers are already moving towards x86 servers due to cost considerations. The cost of PowerVM compared to x86 servers appears to be a significant factor."

"The biggest challenge is the limited flexibility in operating system compatibility. PowerVM, for instance, supports only a select few operating systems, which can restrict the types of workloads deployed."

More IBM PowerVM cons

"In comparison to VMware, this solution isn't as stable. We're testing it right now, and we're not trusting the stability of the product."

"It lags behind in that you need to go to something like Fedora to get all the extra bells and whistles."

"We hope that Red Hat can produce a paradigm edition. We are looking for paradigm computing and paradigm storage. Its scalability can be improved. It is not easy to scale, and we hope that Red Hat can provide a more scalable system. They should also provide local service and support. Our customers are looking for a good software vendor to provide professional services."

"The support is tricky in a few places. We're facing some challenges within Malaysia where we don't really have the system integrators available who can provide extended support. When we need personnel on-site, we can't get them."

"I heard that there are big differences between Red Hat eight and seven, but it's still quite difficult for me to judge it. I found it a bit more difficult to manage than version seven, which was much easier. In term of features, though, it is still not yet clear which is better. I have no clear idea of which features need to be changed at the moment."

"Red Hat by itself is not scalable. But you can have third party add-ons like Ceph to make it massively scalable."

"We would like the dashboard feature of this solution to be improved, as it is not very detailed at present."

"It would be better to have more patches, especially kernel-level updates, live and online so that we can keep the business up and running during this period."

More RHEV cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Even if the product is expensive, it works well in the long term. The tool is more or less expensive, and I would presently describe it as an optimally priced product."

"The price varies from case to case and you have to negotiate it for every project."

"The cost is on the higher side. Typically, we invest in the machine and support for two, three, or five years."

"IBM PowerVM's pricing is cheap."

"The solution is expensive."

"IBM PowerVM costs more than other products but the customer does not need to pay additional money for the licenses. In VMware, you need to license everything. With IBM PowerVM it is unlimited and all-inclusive in the price you pay."

"The tool is competitively priced, especially right now."

"The price of the solution could improve, it is expensive."

More IBM PowerVM pricing and cost advice

"This is an open-source solution."

"Its price depends on the use cases."

"RHEV offers pricing based on a per-physical-machine licensing model."

"It's a budget product as far as I'm concerned. It's way cheaper than any of its competitors. The only thing cheaper than Red Hat is that the people who take the Red Hat code clone it and then self-support it."

"This product has a variety of licensing options available. However, the level of licensing, and therefore the cost of licensing, is dependent on the number of servers being utilized."

"Price-wise, RHEV is okay, in my opinion."

"We are using the free version of Red Hat."

"The solution does not require licencing but a subscription is necessary, which is very affordable."

More RHEV pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

Thang Le Toan (Victory Lee)

CIO at Robusta Technology & Training

Jan 13, 2015

vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer

We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

44%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM PowerVM?

Managing other operating systems is also straightforward with IBM PowerVM.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM PowerVM?

While initially costly, the ROI over five years proves IBM PowerVM is cost-effective, resulting in a 30 to 40% reduction in costs compared to a physical setup.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM PowerVM?

I have not encountered any issues or dissatisfaction with IBM PowerVM so far. Clients using it have been satisfied, and there have been no glitches since its introduction.

See all answers

What do you like most about RHEV?

The initial setup is fairly straightforward and well-documented. The process is very similar to its competitors. The success of your setup depends on how well you plan.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RHEV?

It's the open source. There's not much cost. It's very minimal comparably. Compared to what I am paying for VMware, it's negligible.

See all answers

What needs improvement with RHEV?

My teammates and I often complain that VMware is well-documented and has a large community since it is the de facto standard. I would love to see better documentation and ease of use. For newcomers...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware vSphere vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 63% of the time

KVM vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 11% of the time

Hyper-V vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 9% of the time

Proxmox VE vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 9% of the time

Nutanix AHV Virtualization vs IBM PowerVM

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM PowerVM Competitors

VMware vSphere vs RHEV

Compared 53% of the time

Proxmox VE vs RHEV

Compared 18% of the time

Hyper-V vs RHEV

Compared 10% of the time

KVM vs RHEV

Compared 9% of the time

Nutanix AHV Virtualization vs RHEV

Compared 6% of the time

More RHEV Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM PowerVM

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

RHEV

April 2025

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Also Known As

PowerVM

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

Overview

Power is server virtualization without limits. Businesses are turning to PowerVM server virtualization to consolidate multiple workloads onto fewer systems, increasing server utilization and reducing cost. PowerVM provides a secure and scalable server virtualization environment for AIX, IBM i and Linux applications built upon the advanced RAS features and leading performance of the Power Systems platform.

IBM

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, or RHEV, is a leading open standard enterprise virtualization management solution. This solution supports virtualization of servers and desktops using the same infrastructure and a single easy-to-use interface.

Because RHEV is based on open standards, it is vendor-independent and a lot more cost effective and flexible than proprietary solutions.

Red Hat

Sample Customers

Sto, Soitec, SNO, Bundesrechenzentrum GmbH, Al Mansour Holding, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Huhtamaki, ELK Group, IT-Informatik, Arkansas Tech University, Pneuhage

Qualcomm and Bonham's Auction House.

Buyer's Guide

IBM PowerVM vs. RHEV

April 2025

Free Report: IBM PowerVM vs. RHEV

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM PowerVM vs. RHEV and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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