Open and Closed Source Alternatives to VMware vSphere after Broadcom
The acquisition of VMware by Broadcom has significantly impacted the enterprise virtualisation ecosystem. This change has led to a shift in the market, with many customers re-evaluating their virtualisation strategies.
VMware's new pricing and licensing scheme for vSphere ESXi has left many existing customers feeling frustrated and disillusioned. The changes have resulted in increased costs for customers, leading to a sense of betrayal and disappointment. The sale of VMware EUC (Horizon) to Omnissa has further added to the uncertainty and discontent among customers.
Due to the high prices resulting from the revised licensing scheme, customers are actively seeking solutions that can meet their requirements within their previous budget for VMware. This has led to an increased interest in alternative virtualisation solutions that offer similar features and performance at a lower cost.
Closed Source Alternative - Hyper-V
There are several paid alternatives to VMware vSphere, including Hyper-V by Microsoft. While widely adopted, Hyper-V has some limitations compared to vSphere. Notably, it:
Lacks advanced features like VMware's Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) and Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler (SDRS)
Has limited support for non-Windows workloads
Requires additional licenses for features like disaster recovery and high availability
Has a more complex management interface
Lacks seamless integration with other VMware tools like NSX and vSAN
Despite these limitations, Hyper-V remains a popular choice for many organizations, particularly those deeply invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Other Closed Source Alternatives
Nutanix Acropolis
Citrix Hypervisor
Red Hat Virtualization / Red Hat OpenShift
Huawei FusionCompute
Open Source Virtualisation - Proxmox
One popular open-source virtualisation solution gaining traction is Proxmox. While there are some tradeoffs, the benefits of using Proxmox include:
- Zero cost (if no support is purchased)
- Relatively low cost compared to VMware
- Customisable and flexible
- Active community support
However, some challenges associated with using Proxmox include:
- Limited commercial support options
- Steeper learning curve compared to VMware
- Integration with existing infrastructure may require additional configuration
- Limited scalability compared to enterprise-level virtualisation solutions
Other Open Source Options
In addition to Proxmox, other open-source virtualisation options include:
- Linux KVM: Available on all Linux distributions, easy to install, and provides a simple UI for resource management. Stable and easy to use, but with reduced networking features compared to Proxmox.
- XCP-ng: An open-source virtualisation platform based on the Xen hypervisor, offering features like live migration and high availability. However, user feedback suggests it may lag behind Proxmox in terms of usability and feature set.
- Xen: A mature and widely-used open-source hypervisor offering advanced features like live migration and resource pooling. However, user feedback suggests it may be less user-friendly and have a steeper learning curve compared to Proxmox.
The acquisition of VMware by Broadcom has led to a significant shift in the enterprise virtualisation ecosystem. Customers are now exploring alternative solutions to meet their virtualisation needs within their budget. Open-source virtualisation solutions like Proxmox, Linux KVM, XCP-ng, and Xen offer cost-effective alternatives, but it's essential to carefully evaluate the tradeoffs and challenges associated with their adoption.