At Robert Harris IT Consulting, our mission has always been to deliver cost-effective and reliable IT solutions. Recently, changes in VMware’s licensing model following its acquisition by Broadcom presented a significant challenge for our clients. These changes, including substantial price increases and a forced subscription model replacing perpetual licenses, created uncertainty and financial strain. In response, we sought an alternative that was both robust and affordable, ultimately selecting Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE).
Problem
Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware fundamentally altered its licensing structure. Perpetual licenses were replaced with a subscription-based model, significantly increasing costs for many businesses. Furthermore, the introduction of core-based licensing—requiring payment for a minimum number of cores—added unnecessary financial burdens for organizations with lower core-count servers. These changes highlighted the need for a more sustainable virtualization solution.
Action
Our search for a new virtualization platform focused on four key criteria:
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Cost-effectiveness
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Ease of use
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Robust community support
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Critical features, such as USB passthrough (vital for software reliant on license dongles) and integrated backup solutions.
We evaluated three platforms: Hyper-V, XCP-ng, and Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE).
To assess each platform, we created test environments featuring Windows Server 2019, Windows 10, and Windows 11 virtual machines. We evaluated USB passthrough capabilities and tested backup and restore functionality. Here’s what we found:
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Hyper-V
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Strengths: Easy installation and management within the Windows ecosystem.
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Weaknesses: Lacked functional USB passthrough and an integrated backup solution, disqualifying it from consideration.
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XCP-ng
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Strengths: Offered USB passthrough and a robust backup solution.
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Weaknesses: Required building Xen Orchestra (XO) from source for effective management, and its backup system was incompatible with USB passthrough.
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Proxmox Virtual Environment
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Strengths: Free, user-friendly, supported by a thriving community, and excelled in USB passthrough and backup/restore functionality.
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Proxmox stood out as the ideal solution, combining robust features with a cost-effective, open-source framework.
Migrating from VMware to Proxmox involved several critical steps:
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Prepare VMware VMs
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Pre-installed VirtIO drivers on existing VMware virtual machines.
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Import VMs to Proxmox
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Added the ESXi host as Proxmox storage.
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Used Proxmox’s import wizard to transfer VMs.
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Optimize VM Settings
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Adjusted hardware configurations, including switching to VirtIO drivers and enabling QEMU Guest Agent.
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Removed VMware tools and cleaned up hidden VMware devices.
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Fine-Tune Performance
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Enabled SSD emulation and optimized I/O threads.
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We relied on the extensive Proxmox Wiki, YouTube tutorials, and test environments to navigate initial challenges, ultimately ensuring a smooth transition.
Result
Switching to Proxmox delivered tangible benefits:
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Cost Savings: Eliminated virtualization licensing costs entirely.
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Performance: Matched VMware’s performance while offering greater flexibility.
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Ease of Management: Proxmox’s intuitive interface and comprehensive documentation streamlined operations.
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Hardware Efficiency: Allowed repurposing older hardware for redundency and testing.
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Backup Simplicity: Integrated backup solutions enhanced data protection.
Since implementing Proxmox in production, we’ve experienced zero downtime, and our clients are thrilled with the savings and performance.
We wholeheartedly recommend Proxmox Virtual Environment to businesses seeking a cost-effective, flexible, and feature-rich virtualization platform. Proxmox’s open-source nature, combined with its robust community and support resources, empowers organizations to regain control over their virtualization infrastructure.
If you’re considering moving away from VMware or exploring virtualization options, we’re here to help. Contact us to learn more about our experience with Proxmox and how we can guide you through the transition.