KVM vs Hyper-V: What’s the Difference & How to Choose

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and Microsoft Hyper-V are both virtualization platforms. Both provide powerful virtualization features, but they cater to different use cases and ecosystems. In this article, the main differences between KVM and Hyper-V will be explored in detail.

Overview of KVM and Hyper-V

What is KVM

KVM is an open-source virtualization technology built into the Linux kernel that turns Linux into a Type-1 (bare-metal) hypervisor while maintaining the flexibility of a Type-2 hypervisor. Because KVM is integrated into Linux, it benefits from Linux's security features, extensive hardware support, and compatibility with a wide range of tools such as QEMU.

✨Key Features of KVM

• Integration into the Linux kernel.
• Supports multiple client operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and BSD.
• Emulation and hardware virtualization acceleration with QEMU.
• Support for advanced features such as live migration, NUMA, and SR-IOV.

What is Hyper-V

Microsoft Hyper-V is a proprietary hypervisor bundled with Windows Server and select Windows desktop editions (Windows 10/11 Pro and Enterprise). It runs Windows workloads efficiently and also supports Linux virtual machines. It is commonly used by organizations that rely on Microsoft infrastructure and can be deeply integrated with Windows Server, Active Directory, and Azure.

✨Key Features of Hyper-V

• Integration with the Windows ecosystem.
• Support Windows and Linux clients.
• Management with Hyper-V Manger and PowerShell.
• Dynamic memory, masked VMs, and disaster recovery replication.

Architecture Differences

1. Types of Hypervisors

▶ KVM: Type 1 hypervisor (built into the Linux kernel), but with some Type 2 features, as it runs as a Linux process.

▶ Hyper-V: Pure Type a hypervisor, running directly on the hardware, with Windows itself as the parent partition.

2. Host Operating System

▶ KVM: Runs on Linux distributions, such as RHEL, Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS.

▶ Hyper-V: Runs on Windows Server and Windows Pro/Enterprise editions.

3. Virtual Machine Management

▶ KVM: It’s managed through cloud platforms such as virsh, virt-manager, libvirt API and OpenStack.

▶ Hyper-V: It’s managed through Hyper-V Manager, PowerShell, Windows Management Center, and SCVMM (System Center Virtual Machine Manager) for Enterprise.

KVM vs Hyper-V Performance

You can browse the following table to have a performance comparison between KVM and Hyper-V.

Use Cases: When to Choose KVM or Hyper-V

Easy and Powerful Backup Tool for Hyper-V VMs

AOMEI Cyber Backup is a comprehensive Hyper-V backup and recovery solution designed to protect the integrity of data and systems. It supports a variety of backup scenarios, including file backups, system backups, disk/partition backups, and specific support for Hyper-V virtual machines.

You can also enjoy the following benefits:

📝Centralized Management: You can create and manage Hyper-V VM backups from the central console, simplifying the VM backup and restore process.
📝Multiple Storage Destinations: You can back up data to local, network share, or cloud destinations.
📝Auto Backup: You can schedule multiple VM backups at once and run the backup task automatically without having to stop VMs.
📝Agentless Backup: You can create complete and independent image-level backup for VMware ESXi and Hyper-V VMs.
📝Easy to use: It provides you with a user-friendly interface to complete the backup and restore process with several clicks.

Simple steps to backup and restore Hyper-V VMs

Step 1. In the AOMEI Cyber Backup, navigate to Source Device > Hyper-V > + Add Hyper-V to add a Hyper-V host. And then click … > Bind Device.

Step 2. Navigate to Backup Task > + Create New Task, and then set Task Name, Backup Type, Device, Target, Archive, and Schedule.

• Device: Cover multiple VMs on the host in one backup task.
• Target: Select to back up to a local path or a network path.

• Archive: Store backups to AWS by selecting the added S3 bucket.
• Schedule: Choose to perform full or incremental backup and automate execution according to the frequency you specified.

Step 3. Click Start Backup and select Add the schedule and start backup now or Add the schedule only.

Step 4. Click … > Restore on the backup task to open a wizard, and click Select Content to specify a restore point. Select Restore to original location, and click Start Restore.

Conclusion

KVM and Hyper-V are both powerful hypervisors, but their choice depends on the environment and workload. KVM excels in open-source flexibility, performance, and Linux-based cloud infrastructures, while Hyper-V is ideal for Microsoft-centric enterprises because of its deep integration with Windows. You can choose between KVM or Hyper-V based on the content provided in this article.