Following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, many VMware users are investigating exit plans. However, when it comes to replacing the core component – virtualization platform, some users are still in hesitation, primarily due to concerns like:
- Does the new virtualization platform have comparable capabilities to VMware virtualization?
- To replace the VMware virtualization platform, virtual machines (VMs) need to be migrated. Will the cross-platform VM migration affect the normal operation of business services? How to ensure that VMs can operate normally after the migration?
- How to ensure the reliability and stability of the replacement process? Is there any successful case to refer to?
With SMTX OS (SmartX hyperconverged infrastructure software), replacing VMware virtualization can be a breeze! Leveraging SmartX’s native hypervisor – ELF, and user-friendly migration tool – SMTX Migration Tool, enterprise users can flexibly achieve production-grade VMware virtualization replacement and IT infrastructure upgrades.
So far, nearly 600 enterprises in financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and other industries have been adopting ELF as the virtualization platform for SMTX OS clusters, with a total of nearly 7,000 nodes deployed. Among them, more than 10% of the users have been using ELF virtualization stably for more than 3 years. These enterprises have demonstrated the competitive advantages of ELF in replacing VMware virtualization in various application scenarios, including core business services, databases, big data platforms, AI applications, containerized applications, DR, Dev&Test, and more.
In this blog, we will dive into the advantages of ELF virtualization as an alternative to VMware virtualization, and share five customer stories about VMware replacement.
Why Do Enterprises Choose SmartX ELF Virtualization as a VMware Alternative?
Rich Virtualization Features and High Performance
SmartX native hypervisor ELF is developed based on KVM virtualization technologies. Except for basic VM management features, ELF also provides diverse enterprise-class virtualization features, including VM High Availability (HA), Dynamic Resource Scheduling (DRS), and timed snapshot of VM. Converged with ZBS (SmartX distributed storage), ELF virtualization can further enhance VM I/O performance and reliability, leading to the higher performance of SMTX OS clusters than VMware.
Read more:
Improving Resource Utilization: Innovative Implementation of DRS in SmartX HCI
VMware vs SmartX: Snapshot Mechanism and I/O Performance Comparison
VMware vs SmartX: Distributed Storage Caching Mechanism and Performance Comparison
VMware vs SmartX: I/O Path Comparison and Performance Impact
Free Migration Tool with Great Reliability and Compatibility
Using our free SMTX Migration Tool, users can easily migrate VMs from VMware vSphere to ELF virtualization. The entire migration is efficient and simple to operate, ensuring reliability and compatibility while reducing the impact of VM migration on running business services.
Say Goodbye to Legacy Virtualization while Reducing Procurement and O&M Costs
For users deploying VMware virtualization on centralized storage, SmartX has a holistic replacement solution that not only modernizes IT infrastructure but also reduces procurement costs and O&M burdens; SMTX OS eliminates the need to purchase additional high-end centralized storage and SAN switches while saving on VMware virtualization licensing fees.
Customer Stories
Everbright Sun Life Insurance: Replacing VMware Virtualization in a Flexible Approach
Everbright Sun Life Insurance, a subsidiary of China Everbright Group, initially relied on VMware virtualization and centralized storage to run its business services in the production environment. To enhance IT infrastructure performance and agility, the company opted to transition to a hyper-converged architecture.
During the selection of the virtualization platform, the company faced a dual challenge. Firstly, the company was concerned about VMware’s perceived instability in the global market and sought an alternative solution. However, there were also concerns about whether alternative platforms could meet the demands of financial business services in a production environment. With these considerations in mind, the insurance company aimed for a hyper-converged architecture that could support both VMware virtualization and an alternative platform, allowing for smooth migration and a gradual transition away from VMware.
In 2018, the company deployed several nodes of SMTX OS clusters (based on ELF virtualization) in its development and testing environments. After a year of testing, the reliability and stability of SmartX ELF virtualization were thoroughly validated, along with the feasibility of smoothly migrating VMs from VMware to ELF. Over the following five years, the company systematically migrated VMware virtualization clusters hosting business services, including group insurance sales management systems, personal insurance core systems, group insurance core systems, group insurance rules engine, and corresponding MySQL databases, to SmartX ELF virtualization. Furthermore, the company has utilized the SMTX OS cluster, converged with VMware virtualization, to support Oracle databases. Both virtualization platforms can be centrally managed, providing users with a flexible option for VMware replacement.
Learn more about Everbright Sun Life Insurance’s case study
Bank of Communications: Shifting from VMware to ELF Virtualization, with 1,000 Nodes Deployed
Bank of Communications (BOC), ranked as the fifth largest bank in China, embarked on research in 2017 to replace VMware virtualization and conducted tests on various HCI products. The company specifically evaluated SMTX OS and VMware products in terms of compute, storage, backup & disaster recovery, and unified management capabilities, and was highly impressed by the performance, features, and stability of SMTX OS.
Following two years of Proof of Concept (POC), BOC deployed 16 SMTX OS nodes (based on ELF virtualization) in the production environment of its head office data center. In the subsequent year, it expanded another 50 nodes to accommodate a range of core business services and databases. Subsequently, with strong confidence in the performance and stability of SMTX OS and ELF virtualization in the production environment, the bank progressively deployed nearly 1,000 nodes of SMTX OS across its head office and branches nationwide over the following five years. All of these nodes utilize ELF virtualization, resulting in substantial cost savings from VMware license fees.
Learn more about BOC’s case study
An Insurance Company: Migrating 500+ VMs from VMware to ELF Virtualization with SMTX Migration Tool
A leading Chinese insurance company had plans to replace VMware virtualization but was concerned about the reliability of VM migration. Upon discovering SmartX’s migration tools, the company conducted tests to assess the efficiency, reliability, and user-friendliness of using the SMTX Migration Tool for migrating VMs from VMware to ELF virtualization.
The company was highly satisfied with the performance of the SMTX Migration Tool and subsequently migrated over 200 VMs in the production environment and 300 VMs in the test environment from VMware to ELF virtualization. There are still 500 VMs in the production environment on the waiting list for migration. Notably, despite the normal downtime window being 20 minutes, SmartX engineers managed to complete migration tasks ahead of schedule as the project went ahead, minimizing disruptions to business operations.
Thus far, SMTX OS clusters have been providing stable support for a range of core business services, including life insurance and property and casualty insurance, as well as management systems and OA systems.
Xuanwu Hospital: Introducing SMTX OS to Lower the Dependency on VMware Virtualization
Xuanwu Hospital, a large Grade 3 and Class A comprehensive hospital in China, initially utilized VMware virtualization and centralized storage in its production environment. Seeking digital transformation, the hospital conducted a half-year Proof of Concept (POC) on SMTX OS, based on ELF virtualization, and fully recognized it as a viable alternative to VMware virtualization.
Subsequently, intending to gradually reduce dependency on VMware virtualization, the hospital deployed SMTX OS clusters, based on ELF virtualization, to support critical healthcare systems such as the HIS system’s backup database, PACS system, surgical anesthesia system, and others. Additionally, for future expansions, the hospital continued to opt for ELF as the virtualization solution for SMTX OS clusters, thereby eliminating the cost of VMware virtualization licensing fees.
Learn more about Xuanwu Hospital’s case study
A Manufacturing Company: Replacing VMware Virtualization Step by Step
Concerned about VMware’s recent changes in subscription models and product offerings, an established manufacturer examined SMTX OS by building a new cluster (based on ELF virtualization) to support their post-sales service systems. After six months of stable operation, the user became convinced of SMTX OS’ performance, stability, and reliability. As a result, they opted to replace VMware virtualization with SMTX OS (based on ELF) to support critical applications such as MES and WMS, along with their respective databases.
Learn more about this case study
For more information on VMware replacement, please visit our solution webpage, and read our previous blogs:
Four Case Studies Disclose How to Replace vSAN and VMware HCI with SmartX HCI
The Ultimate Guide to Cope with VMware’s Simplified Portfolio and Licensing Model
Three Performance Comparisons Disclose Why You Should Choose SmartX HCI as a VMware Alternative
