VMware Alternatives

[joeschmuck]

The poll is specifically asking "Current VMware Users" what they might be considering.

Crap, I can't read. Thanks.

 

[TXAG26]

I’ve been trying to find out how long the free version of ESXI hypervisor will continue to receive updates/security fixes. Any details? Or did VMWare just completely shutter it yesterday? There haven’t been any v8 ESXI updates since Oct. 2023, so maybe that’s the answer…?

 

[TXAG26]

My mistake, ESXI v8 hasn’t been updated since September 21, 2023 (build 22380479).

 

[KX4MQ]

@danb35 None of my Unix like VMs even have a VNC/VGA console. Serial throughout. For Windows, yes, I am aware of that deficiency, but I am also never using VNC after initial installation. Why would one use anything but RDP for Windows?

using ESXi 6.7 since about 3 or 4 years. very stable.
so at the moment I have no idea what will be next but for sure not ESXi.

my install is EOL and a change is unfortunately due.

Can ix set up the truenas networking gui similar to ESXi?
That would be a big plus over proxmox

+1 agree! This would be an AWESOME addition! +1 iX, Please add some GUI features for networking.

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Can ix set up the truenas networking gui similar to ESXi?

If they fix the bridged networking first

 

[blanchet]

It is not obvious to leave VMware:

• VMware runs very well whatever the guest operating system is
• VMware is easy to use even for newbies.
• VMware has an excellent documentation that can be queried from Google
• VMware has a very large ecosystem of excellent tools, like Veeam B&R
• All storage vendors supports VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)
• Most Independent Software Vendors supports only VMware

 

[TXAG26]

Patrick at STH nailed the situation.
In my opinion, if you’re not already making plans to transition away from VMWare, you’re likely already behind the 8-ball OR very flush with cash.

https://www.servethehome.com/broadcom-vmware-ends-free-vmware-vsphere-hypervisor-closing-an-era/

 

[tess]

If the management GUI for the virtualization in Scale improves I would seriously consider moving everything over to Scale. Right now I run Scale inside of ESXI 8.

 

[danb35]

It is not obvious to leave VMware:

Sure, VMware remains the standard--at least for the time being. But its free version just went away, so anyone who doesn't already have a copy needs to pay for it (and how long existing instances of the free version will continue to work is anyone's guess). And that's going to have downstream effects--students and hobbyists aren't going to be nearly as likely to use it as they once were, which in due course will reduce the pool of admins with experience on it. Over time--and that time might be surprisingly short--it seems likely that something else will supplement, if not completely supplant, VMware as the standard.

Broadcom are betting that won't happen. I don't think that's a wise bet. But time will tell.

 

[joeschmuck]

But its free version just went away

You are going to make me cry.

 

[Arwen]

This same learning for free verses on the job applies to AIX & Solaris, (as well as a ton of other software).

For AIX, you NEED Power CPU hardware, and I think Power 8 is the minimum now for AIX 7.1 / 7.2. Probably a bit rare or pricey in the used market. That's even if you could get AIX software, (or the HMC & VIO support software...).

As for Solaris, Sun used to allow free downloads, and the x64 version is very usable. Plus, used SPARCv9 gear was easily available. So their was no real limit like their was with IBM's AIX. However, with Oracle owning Sun, there are no more free downloads. Plus, with Solaris 11 only working on latest generation of hardware, it's now the same as IBM's AIX or VMWare.


Over the last 15 years I have seen Unix SysAdmins hired without AIX or Solaris experience, (but the company has all three, including Linux). I am stuck at times being the "expert" because I remember working on SunOS 4.1.3. And know how to spell "smitty" .

It is weird that some companies require a skill, but the only way to get the skill is with a job that uses the skill. With the free version of VMWare gone, little incentive to learn a new skill just in case a new job requires it.

 

[CountBuggula]

What the absolute f*ck?

Sorry, folks. This is the TrueNAS forum. And here we have a survey about what we are planning to replace VMware with? Doesn't anyone but me notice what is missing from the choices? Seriously?

I replaced all VMware infrastructure in our company with FreeNAS/TrueNAS CORE in 2019! Not looking back. TrueNAS CORE provides all our virtualised workloads 24x7. Linux, Windows, Windows Server, ...

TrueNAS can handle all your virtualised workloads. Now. Period.

TrueNAS has zero clustering/HA/failover for VMs and apps. That's a big selling point for VMware.

Personally, I'm looking at migrating to Harvester. The company I work for just finished migrating off of VMware to AWS.

Harvester - Open-source hyperconverged infrastructure

The open-source hyperconverged infrastructure solution for a cloud-native world

harvesterhci.io

 

[probain]

We're just about to spin up labs and start evaluate XCP-NG. To see if it would be a contender for non critical production workloads.

If there were in future be tighter integrations between TN and XCP. Then that would make me a happy camper.

 

[nabsltd]

Sure, VMware remains the standard--at least for the time being. But its free version just went away, so anyone who doesn't already have a copy needs to pay for it (and how long existing instances of the free version will continue to work is anyone's guess).

The existing licensing system for VMware products (at least ESXi and vSphere) does not require any online access, so they won't stop working unless the current license that is applied is time-limited in some way.

If the license is time-limited, the user will know exactly when it will stop working, as it will say so right on the license information page.

 

[truecharts]

KubeVirt is painfully missing here!

 

[Glowtape]

Didn't Microsoft announce an EOL date for hyper-V?

Wait, what?

 

[HoneyBadger]

Wait, what?

Hyper-V Server, the free/standalone product, didn't get a 2022 release; however, the Hyper-V role still exists in Server 2022.

Hyper-V Server 2019 is EOL as of January 2029.

 

[joeschmuck]

Hyper-V role is also available on Windows 10/11 Pro. I'm sure it is not the same as Hyper-V Server, but it is usable as far as I can tell. I've used it a few times, I prefer ESXi. I do like the Sandbox.

 

[FrankWard]

If I had to choose a VM solution other than Scale, which has been great for servers and dev, I'd probably look at ProxMox. VMWare has been a great solution, but Free is always preferred if it is up to the task.

 

[TXAG26]

I’m currently looking at XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra since both are open source and have fully functional free versions.