Recent from debuting a model of its software program for open supply VMware various Proxmox, knowledge administration vendor Veeam has developed a prototype to backup one other virtualization platform: the Xen Server fork XCP-NG.
Information of the prototype emerged in Veeam’s boards, the place earlier this month Olivier Lambert – CEO and co-founder of Vates, the French outfit that is the driving pressure behind XCP-NG – inquired if Veeam was considering assist for the platform.
On October 7, Veeam senior veep for product administration Anton Gostev wrote that the developer wasn’t considering assist for XCP-NG, because it “merely has totally different enterprise priorities in the intervening time and R&D assets are wanted elsewhere.”
However on October 23, after a few posts expressing curiosity in XCP-NG backup, Gostev returned with information that “some weeks in the past” he requested his crew to develop a prototype, which landed on his desk final week.
“The crew has introduced me a completely purposeful XCP-NG backup and restore prototype based mostly on Veeam 12.2,” Gostev wrote, praising XCP-NG’s devs for doing a “implausible job” on APIs and stating that reward got here “from somebody who was instantly concerned in our Proxmox integration improvement.”
That is nonetheless a great distance in need of proof Veeam will assist XCP-NG, however there’s clearly an curiosity in doing so – doubtless because the platform garners extra consideration amid Broadcom’s licensing modifications which have seen some VMware customers complain of huge value rises.
These modifications additionally spurred analyst agency Gartner to provide a doc on October 14 titled “High 5 Alternate options to VMware” that opens as follows:
Gartner’s high 5 options are:
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure;
Public Cloud IaaS;
Microsoft Azure Stack HCI;
Microsoft Hyper-V;
Crimson Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
Nutanix topped the checklist as a result of, within the opinion of Paul Delory, a analysis vp within the Gartner for Technical Professionals crew, its merchandise match capabilities of VMware’s Cloud Basis (VCF) suite, and provide a stellar UI and “best-in-class migration instrument.” However would-be migrators are warned Nutanix is probably not cheaper than VCF.
The identical warning applies to shifting VMware infrastructure to public cloud IaaS, however Delory argued the thought “can not be dismissed with out evaluation” and calculating the price of on-prem to cloudy ops is a chore price enterprise.
“Don’t be shocked if public cloud lift-and-shift proves to be cheaper,” he wrote. “This can be an uncomfortable conclusion for VMware directors, however it’s attainable that public cloud IaaS just isn’t solely a viable possibility, however the best choice.”
Delory charges Azure Stack HCI extremely, describing it as “a brand new and disruptive mannequin for on-premises infrastructure, one which blurs the road between HCI and distributed cloud, and there’s a lot to suggest this strategy.”
However till lately “Microsoft was ambivalent about this product” as a result of its desire for Azure, and noticed AzureStack as “a fallback plan for workloads that might not transfer to Azure due to some constraint.”
Microsoft has modified its tune throughout 2024, however the product is unproven on the type of scale some VMware retailers will want – and has weak storage instruments.
Redmond’s Hyper-V earned its place on the checklist instead for VMware customers who need only a standalone hypervisor as an alternative of the VMware bundles Broadcom now sells.
“It’s tough to think about any enterprise IT group that does not already personal Home windows Server licenses, so Hyper-V is offered at no further value,” Delory wrote, earlier than including that the product “has by no means matched VMware in both technical capabilities or consumer expertise” and is subsequently tougher to handle.
VMware retailers are warned that Crimson Hat’s OpenShift Virtualization “will really feel overseas to a vSphere administrator, and the educational curve will likely be steep” as it’s constructed on OpenShift and Kubernetes – “neither of which the everyday VMware administrator is aware of how one can function.”
Delory additionally famous the necessity for many guide administration chores, the shortage of migration instruments, and “laborious” efficiency administration instruments.
The analyst rated the Crimson Hat product as appropriate for individuals who must preserve a couple of VMs ticking over alongside their fleet of containers. ®
