Staying on VMware is a decision too
For many businesses, virtual servers have been running smoothly on VMware for years. But following Broadcom’s acquisition, perpetual licences came to an end and the products were bundled into subscription packages. When the renewal quote arrives, the question is no longer technical but financial: what does this package really give us?
VMware vSphere is a virtualisation platform made up of the ESXi hypervisor, which runs virtual machines on physical servers, and vCenter, which manages them centrally.
What does VMware vSphere do?
Moves virtual machines without shutting them down
With vMotion, a running virtual machine is moved from one physical server to another without service interruption. You do not need to stop the accounting server during business hours for hardware maintenance.
Restarts virtual machines after a failure
When a server in the cluster fails, vSphere HA automatically restarts its virtual machines on the other servers. The cluster knows how much capacity to reserve for the number of server failures you want to tolerate.
Balances the load on its own
DRS monitors resource usage in the cluster; it places virtual machines on the right server at power-on and, when necessary, redistributes them with vMotion or makes recommendations.
Comes within subscription packages
Broadcom’s two main packages are VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF). VCF is a full-stack private cloud platform that also includes vSphere, vSAN and NSX. VVF is a more focused package for classic vSphere environments. Subscriptions are priced by the number of CPU cores. As the scope and availability of editions offered for smaller deployments can change from time to time, we confirm the current position at the quotation stage.
VMware vSphere with Unna
Under per-core subscriptions, an oversized server is a cost you pay again every year. That is why we measure actual usage before licensing.
- We listen first. We review the CPU, memory and storage usage of your existing cluster, your licence status and your renewal date.
- We plan together. We work out which package you really need and how you can streamline your server and core count. If needed, we also put the cost of moving to another platform on the same table.
- We install and deploy. We install ESXi and vCenter, configure HA and DRS, set up network and storage connections, and test failure scenarios.
- We stay by your side. We keep track of updates, subscription renewals and capacity growth for you.
Part of the whole
- On our virtualisation page, we assess VMware side by side with the other platforms.
- If the renewal cost feels heavy, we compare the Proxmox VE and Hyper-V alternatives with figures.
- With Veeam, we back up your virtual machines and test recovery.
- With OpManager, we monitor the performance of ESXi servers and virtual machines.
- If you are going to allocate resources to several departments on a self-service basis, we assess the VMware Cloud Director option.
Frequently asked questions
Can we keep running on our perpetual licence?
The perpetual licence you own continues to run the software, but a new support and subscription contract can no longer be purchased. A hypervisor that cannot receive security updates is a risk in the long term. We plan the timing of the transition together.
VCF or VVF?
If you do not need software-defined networking and a full private cloud layer, the more focused package may be enough for most businesses. We make the decision based on your current usage and growth plans.
Do we have to leave VMware?
No. For some organisations, staying on VMware is the right choice. What matters is making the decision by calculation, not by habit.
