No Hardware Refresh RequiredMigration AssistanceFree Consultation
Broadcom's 2024 VMware licensing restructure raised per-CPU costs 5-10× for many enterprises. Migrating to Proxmox VE, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Nutanix AHV typically runs on your existing Dell/HPE/Lenovo hardware — you save the licensing cost without a hardware refresh. Pro Disk Network provides the platform consultation and any hardware additions (RAM, NVMe, NICs) needed for the migration.
Why Migrate from VMware
Broadcom restructured VMware to per-core licensing in 2024. VVF (vSphere Foundation): ~$135-190 per core per year. VCF (Cloud Foundation): $300-350 per core per year. For a typical 2-socket / 24-core server: $6,500-7,500/year just for VVF, $14-17K/year for VCF. Per cluster of 10 nodes: $65-170K/year. Multi-year contracts now required.
Migration Options
Proxmox VE (free): KVM-based, mature, large community. Run on any Dell/HPE/Lenovo. Optional Enterprise support €110-450/CPU/yr. Most popular migration target. Microsoft Hyper-V: free with Windows Server. Native AD/Domain integration. Strong for Windows-heavy shops. Nutanix AHV: integrated HCI platform. Hardware-agnostic. Bigger investment but consolidates compute+storage. Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization (KubeVirt): enterprise-supported KVM, integrates with Kubernetes.
Hardware Adjustments Often Needed
Existing VMware hardware usually works for the new hypervisor without changes. Common upgrades during migration: (1) more RAM (32-64GB additional per host for VM overhead headroom), (2) faster NVMe for hot data tier, (3) 25 GbE NICs if running cluster traffic over slow Ethernet, (4) backup target server if your existing backup approach was VMware-specific.
Migration Cost Comparison
Scenario
VMware (VCF)
Proxmox VE (free + opt support)
Annual Saving
10-node cluster (240 cores)
$72K-84K/yr
$0-4K/yr
$70K+
5-node cluster (120 cores)
$36K-42K/yr
$0-2K/yr
$35K+
20-node cluster (480 cores)
$144K-168K/yr
$0-8K/yr
$140K+
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my existing VMware hardware work on Proxmox?
Yes — Dell PowerEdge, HPE ProLiant, Lenovo ThinkSystem, Cisco UCS all run Proxmox VE without hardware changes. Same OS-level support as VMware. Most clusters migrate without buying any new hardware.
How long does migration take?
Per VM: 1-2 hours of downtime for the conversion. Per cluster: depends on parallelism. A 50-VM cluster typically migrates over 2-3 weekends. Many shops use a parallel-deployment approach to avoid downtime.
What about VMware-specific features (DRS, vMotion, NSX)?
Proxmox HA + live migration replace DRS + vMotion. Network: Proxmox SDN module covers most NSX use cases for L2/L3. For advanced NSX features (micro-segmentation, security policy), evaluate Nutanix AHV with Flow or Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
