VMware vs Hyper-V certification

Now that Hyper-V is making steps to level the plainfield with VMware vSphere in terms of features, what do you guys feel that will be more demanding, certification in Hyper-V or VMware? Both perhaps? This topic is not meant for a discussion which of the two is better, I think that both products have their strong points (Hyper-V's price, if a Microsoft infrastructure is already in place is attractive).

Do you work with, and certify in both?

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Essendon

You cant go wrong with either these days. With Hyper-v gaining traction among mid-large companies, it only makes sense to have some experience in the product. It's all about ROI for me really, I'll only study for something if I can expect experience and more money as a result of the cert.

I work with both, though much more on vSphere. We have 1 client on Hyper-v and 13 on vSphere. Still overwhelmingly in favour of vSphere, but there are projects in the pipeline where clients want to have their VM's on Hyper-v hosts. I'm certified in both, but I certified in Hyper-v because it was a requirement to be able to work on the Hyper-v client's infrastructure.

Personally though, I like vSphere's feel-and-look more than Hyper-v/SCVMM's - but that's probably because I eat and drink vSphere in my meals. If someone were starting out on virtualization certifications, I might venture them towards Hyper-v. Why? Because there are fewer people with decent Hyper-v skills whereas vSphere folks are a dime-a-dozen.

Dakinggamer87

I have worked with both Hyper-V and vSphere and I definitely prefer VMware!!

netsysllc

Having virtualization certifications is the most important part these days. Some places specialize and would then care which one you have.

cyberguypr

I've done my share of both and also prefer VMware. If you end up specializing in either, doors will definitely open. Can't go wrong by choosing one or the other.

netsysllc

kj0 I am not sure what you were trying to say but Hyper-V has most if not all features of VMware and some that VMware does not have yet. Plus Microsoft has some great free training and resources to help learn the product.

SimonD.

@netsysllc what features does VMware having missing that Microsoft has? I would tend to go the other way and say that VMware has things that Microsoft has missing (an equivalent to vCAC because SCorch isn't vCAC it's much more vCO). How about a vFAD (vCAD) equivalent?

How about a decent standalone P2V? I don't class Disk2VHD in the same league as Converter.

How about a decent VDI (without using Xen) solution?

As far as free training and resources I can honestly tell you that VMware also has some excellent resources to hand (HOL anyone?).

Yes Microsoft does have some good technologies but SCVMM certainly wasn't an easy or intuitive product the last time I used it (admittedly not used the SC2012 products at all so can't comment on 2012).

I went from being an MS Tech to VMware tech (with all the certifications and experience to show for it) because the VMware tech was just that much more superior.

tomtom1

SimonD. wrote: »

I went from being an MS Tech to VMware tech (with all the certifications and experience to show for it) because the VMware tech was just that much more superior.

I'm missing some VCAP certifications though

All kidding aside, I myself work mostly with VMware (including certifications like the VCAP) but I think the price level of Hyper-V will make it an interesting offer for small to medium sized businesses. In your work, do your guys mostly work as a systems administrator for these products, or do you do consultancy?

I'd love to hear a consultants take on Hyper-V vs VMware.

netsysllc

I am not trying to say Hyper-V is better, they both have their strong points. Hyper-V has come a long way and is a very viable solution. When used with SCVMM it is even more powerful. SCVMM like Hyper-V has grown tremendously with the 2012 and 2012R2 editions.

Reasons I use Hyper-V:
Mostly used in smaller environments
Standalone is free and includes replication
More familiar environment for my team
SMB3 support
2012 AD aware

I did not see any good 2012R2 vs 5.5 resources
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V compared to VMware vSphere 5.1 | UP2V
http://www.aidanfinn.com/?p=13483

santaowns

3 years ago someone recommended I get VMware certified, they told me that it was rare and needed. Same guy just told me that hyper-v is upcoming because its free virtualization. I wish I had the 3k to take the VMware course 3 years ago, I just took it and now they want you to be a VMware designer implementer and a system admin at the same time. My advice is to know both VMware is much easier, but companies see that saving money using hyper-v can benefit them as well.

Asif Dasl

santaowns wrote: »

3 years ago someone recommended I get VMware certified, they told me that it was rare and needed. Same guy just told me that hyper-v is upcoming because its free virtualization. I wish I had the 3k to take the VMware course 3 years ago, I just took it and now they want you to be a VMware designer implementer and a system admin at the same time. My advice is to know both VMware is much easier, but companies see that saving money using hyper-v can benefit them as well.

Most of the hyper-v jobs I see over here require being a system admin at the same time too. But there is a shortage of VMware admins because the salary is much higher for VMware than for Hyper-V jobs. I don't know if it's like that everywhere but like everybody is suggesting knowing both is the way to go.

jthunderbird

Yea why wouldnt you learn both? Admittedly I am no expert at all, but from what I understand... the theory is mostly the same, just the application is a little different. The theory is the hard part to learn... once you learn virtualization and the different technologies and features supported, learning VMWare's point and click then Microsofts point and click would be the easier part I think.

I am learning the theory with VMWare simply because there is more information available all over the place. Once I feel comfortable with VMWare, I will blow my lab up and start over with Hyper-V... Im not expecting too big of a learning curve for the latter.

cava83

Essendon wrote: »

You cant go wrong with either these days. With Hyper-v gaining traction among mid-large companies, it only makes sense to have some experience in the product. It's all about ROI for me really, I'll only study for something if I can expect experience and more money as a result of the cert.

I work with both, though much more on vSphere. We have 1 client on Hyper-v and 13 on vSphere. Still overwhelmingly in favour of vSphere, but there are projects in the pipeline where clients want to have their VM's on Hyper-v hosts. I'm certified in both, but I certified in Hyper-v because it was a requirement to be able to work on the Hyper-v client's infrastructure.

Personally though, I like vSphere's feel-and-look more than Hyper-v/SCVMM's - but that's probably because I eat and drink vSphere in my meals. If someone were starting out on virtualization certifications, I might venture them towards Hyper-v. Why? Because there are fewer people with decent Hyper-v skills whereas vSphere folks are a dime-a-dozen.

Prior to moving to Australia from London I was an IT manager and to be honest, most people's CV's that where pushed to me did all contain VMware, either VCP-XXX or VCAP-XXX, none had MS Hyper V, but many had MCITP/MCSE and so on.

Personally I would look for a mixture of both. But I would base it more on how the employee was and how they would fit in, some skills can be acquired and I actually enjoyed my team taking time off to study and and or build labs on site, to mess around.

Now, since moving to Australia (Jan 2014) I have decided for me, I want to start at the bottom to learn how things are done here, so I will be going down the VMware route, getting the VCP then VCAP (hopefully) and then looking where to go from there, hopefully get a job

The other thing that interested me on this thread was the 60 day challenge - 60 day challenge - From Zilch to VCAP5-DTA in 60 days (testing on July 2) What's this about?

Thanks,

G.

Essendon

Oh that's just a challenge I've set for myself. It's a very unlikely challenge, almost unattainable, but then that's the challenge! What good's a challenge if it isnt difficult, is what I go by. I have been spending a few hours before work every day pounding away at home lab to get myself upto speed. The first week was a very steep learning curve, but it has eased off a little because I have been able to get a handle on View. I have zero prior experience with it, hence the difficulty.

Do you work with View? Are you on the East Coast, curious?

cava83

santaowns wrote: »

3 years ago someone recommended I get VMware certified, they told me that it was rare and needed. Same guy just told me that hyper-v is upcoming because its free virtualization. I wish I had the 3k to take the VMware course 3 years ago, I just took it and now they want you to be a VMware designer implementer and a system admin at the same time. My advice is to know both VMware is much easier, but companies see that saving money using hyper-v can benefit them as well.

Yap, with you there.

The courses are a pain and a killer. What a lot of people are doing at the moment (which is frowned upon by some) is to do the self study, use material such as Trainsignal/Pluralsight/CBT Nuggets, read through some of the documentation which Simon Long has online, go through the blueprint, test exam questions, take the exam (without the course).

This will show you know the stuff* and that you can pass it, but you will not be seen as qualified until you take the course. This might be enough to get your foot through the door where your employee will say ok, we will fund the course (as we know you have passed) can't take the course in the first 3/6 months of employment but we will pay for it, as long as you stay with us for another 12-16 months (if you quit/sacked you pay). I would have employed people time and time again if they had some up to me like this, if they were suited for the role and got a good vibe from them.

I've gone the VCP4 Install Manage and Configure course and the V5 Design course through my last employment, but was unable to take the exam. I've now missed the VCP4 exam deadline, so have to take another course to top up, but I do not have the funds for it myself as moving over here has cost a bit of money

cava83

Essendon wrote: »

Oh that's just a challenge I've set for myself. It's a very unlikely challenge, almost unattainable, but then that's the challenge! What good's a challenge if it isnt difficult, is what I go by. I have been spending a few hours before work every day pounding away at home lab to get myself upto speed. The first week was a very steep learning curve, but it has eased off a little because I have been able to get a handle on View. I have zero prior experience with it, hence the difficulty.

Do you work with View? Are you on the East Coast, curious?

You referring to myself?

If so, I have done some view stuff in the past but it has moved on too quickly, I preferred RDS and that sort of structure, as I helped a lot of SMB's out and the VDI license plus everything else was too much, compared to RDS

I'm in a place called Geelong, interesting location

No jobs down here really, all in Melbourne.

Need to get my VMware qualifications pronto

Essendon

Geelong's only 30 mins from where I am, I love Torquay and Lorne, great spots for a weekend getaway.

Yeah I dont think there'd be much happening in Geelong, especially with Ford and the refinery closing down shop. Quite gloomy I'd imagine. What made you choose Geelong? Family/friends etc?

cava83

Essendon wrote: »

Geelong's only 30 mins from where I am, I love Torquay and Lorne, great spots for a weekend getaway.

Yeah I dont think there'd be much happening in Geelong, especially with Ford and the refinery closing down shop. Quite gloomy I'd imagine. What made you choose Geelong? Family/friends etc?

Yap, it's nice. I like it. We looked at Port Melbourne but didn't do it in the end. Happy here for now.

Wife got "head hunted" for a company called Target, so they brought us over. We both worked in London but the 1.5-2 hour commute's each way was becoming frustrating, we got offered this opportunity and we jumped

Just looking at your site, impressive lab. I need to make some VMware friends here, to speed up knowledge, no groups in Geelong sadly.

I'm jealous of your certifications.!!

Essendon

I bet Victoria's better than London any day! Well at least the weather is!

My certs are listed here to make you jealous, that's the whole intention

j/k Good Luck with your certs mate!

cava83

Essendon wrote: »

I bet Victoria's better than London any day! Well at least the weather is!

My certs are listed here to make you jealous, that's the whole intention j/k Good Luck with your certs mate!

Thanks, have a lovely day.

G.

lsud00d

One of my previous projects was to move from an ESX virtual infrastructure to Hyper-V 2012. Again, we're not arguing technology pro's/con's but they are both essentially doing the same thing, albeit a little different.

I just started the VCP course through Stanly CC and my previous VMware experience is more related to admin'ing systems in VMware, and not the technology itself. But, from going through the VCA-DCV and gearing up for the VCP course, it's more like granny smith to fuji apples rather than apples to oranges.

As stated I think the main pull to Hyper-V is having a Microsoft server infrastructure in-place already and the associated licensing cost-breaks. In addition, it's pretty simple to implement.

JeanM

Dakinggamer87 wrote: »

I have worked with both Hyper-V and vSphere and I definitely prefer VMware!!

Same here, I tried both and stuck with ESXi . It was just more intuitive and made more sense ...but I can see how it can be beneficial to know both

MacGuffin

From what I've seen in job interviews and job postings is that there is a much higher demand for VMWare certification than Hyper-V. If a company is doing virtualization they are doing either VMWare alone or both VMWare and Hyper-V. I have yet to see anyone do only Hyper-V for virtual servers.

My theory is that there are certain technologies that make sense depending on the size of the organization. Up to a certain size "X" physical servers make sense. Up to a larger size "Y" it makes sense to have some servers running something other than Microsoft, the file servers might be Microsoft but the web servers are not. Beyond size "Y" only VMWare can really offer virtual servers where non-Microsoft operating systems are supported. Hyper-V only makes sense between size "X" and "Y" where the difference between the two is not very large. Again that's just my theory.

I can come up with other theories why VMWare is more popular than Hyper-V, one is that VMWare just got there first. Regardless on why I've seen VMWare come up more often than Hyper-V. I believe a VMWare certification will result in more work than a Hyper-V certification.

ghd

Coming from a Microsoft background (MVP in System Center), I'd suggest that learning Hyper-V is only a small part of the Microsoft solution.

The best jobs that I see (in the UK) that involve Hyper-V all focus on System Center as a whole. So while learning about windows server 2012 r2 and hyper-v, I'd also look to the bigger picture and VMM along with SCOM, SCSM and SCO = The Microsoft Private Cloud Solution.

The underlying skills for either virtualisation platform are very similar. A solid understanding of networks, storage and virtualisation concepts and you can make a success of a career with either path.