Technical Guide: Infrastructure Considerations for Migrating from VMware to Enterprise Cloud Platforms

Following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, subscription model reforms have significantly increased enterprise operational costs. Gartner predicts that 70% of enterprises are considering migrating VMware virtual machine services to new platforms due to cost pressures from VMware’s subscription fees, complex management requirements, and adaptation speed to new technologies, prompting businesses to seek more flexible and economical platforms.

According to CRN, Toshiba – a 16-year VMware user – decided to switch platforms after discovering related product costs had surged to 10 times the original price, and is currently migrating 2,200 virtual machines from the VMware-Broadcom platform to other platforms.

As enterprise cloud platforms gain attention and adoption, what infrastructure considerations should be addressed when migrating from VMware? Below is a technical explanation.

Hardware Compatibility and Thorough Preparation

Servers

Before migrating VMware virtual machines to a new enterprise cloud platform, thorough hardware compatibility verification and preparation of underlying infrastructure is paramount. First is server selection and configuration. Ensure all new server hardware – including CPUs, memory, network cards, and HBA cards – fully comply with the target enterprise cloud platform’s Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). Additionally, detailed planning for server racking, power supply, and cooling solutions is needed to ensure physical environment stability.

Storage

Storage system planning and configuration are equally critical. Whether using centralized SAN/NAS storage or distributed storage (like Ceph), ensure performance, capacity, and supported protocols (e.g., iSCSI, NFS, RBD, CephFS) meet business requirements and integrate seamlessly with the enterprise cloud platform.

Network

Networks are the lifeblood of enterprise cloud platforms, and their design and configuration rigor directly impacts post-migration business performance and stability. At the physical network level, carefully configure physical switches (e.g., Top-of-Rack, Spine-Leaf architecture), VLAN segmentation, MTU (jumbo frame) support, link aggregation (LACP), routing protocols, and QoS policies, while ensuring redundant network designs to avoid single points of failure.

If the enterprise cloud platform uses Software-Defined Networking (SDN), such as Overlay networks built on OVS + VXLAN/Geneve, Calico or Flanner technologies, meticulous planning is required for Underlay network IP address allocation and Overlay virtual network architecture.

Comprehensive IP address planning is indispensable. Allocate separate IP segments for management networks, storage networks, business networks, and Overlay tunnel networks to ensure clear isolation between networks for easier management and troubleshooting.

Deployment and Optimization of Enterprise Cloud Platform Core Components

Basic Installation

Migrating from VMware virtual machines to a new enterprise cloud platform means fresh deployment and precise configuration of core components. Strictly follow best practices to deploy the enterprise cloud platform’s core services, including compute, network, storage, image, and identity services.

High Availability Configuration

High Availability (HA) is the cornerstone of stable enterprise cloud platform operation. Be sure to configure HA for control plane components (like API services, databases, message queues) and critical data plane components (like storage clusters) to handle potential failures and ensure business continuity.

Network Configuration

Network configuration is central to platform deployment. This includes creating physical-to-virtual network mappings (Provider Networks), configuring tenant virtual networks, subnets, virtual routers, and security group policies (similar to firewall rules). For load balancing needs, configure Load Balancer as a Service (LBaaS) or integrate external load balancers, along with DNS service integration.

Storage Configuration

For storage configuration, create storage backends (Cinder Volume Types) and define storage types with different performance and reliability requirements based on business needs. Simultaneously configure image repositories (Glance) to manage virtual machine images.

Identity Integration and Security Protection

Integrating the enterprise cloud platform with existing directory services (like Active Directory, LDAP) for unified identity authentication and authorization is key to security and simplified management. ZStack provides comprehensive security and operational capabilities including anti-virus protection and access control, further strengthening platform security posture.

Comprehensive Monitoring and Logging Systems

Post-migration, deploying and configuring centralized monitoring systems (like Prometheus/Grafana, Zabbix, Nagios) and log collection/analysis systems (like ELK, Loki/Grafana, Splunk) is crucial. These should cover both physical and cloud platform layers, providing real-time performance data, health status, and fault alerts to support operations team decision-making. ZStack CMP supports heterogeneous resource integration through advanced monitoring dashboards, facilitating full lifecycle management and ensuring platform stability, with real-time monitoring and auditing features providing intelligent support for efficient operations.

Migrating from VMware virtual machines to an enterprise cloud platform is a complex and meticulous process requiring attention not just to migration itself but also to post-migration infrastructure optimization and ongoing operations. Following this technical guide helps enterprises better plan and execute post-migration infrastructure management, ensuring business stability and efficiency in the new cloud environment.

ZStack: Let Every Company Have Its Own Cloud

As a cloud infrastructure software provider, ZStack’s vision is “Let every company have its own cloud.” ZStack’s product line is comprehensive, covering needs from core data centers to edge scenarios, from traditional virtualization to cloud-native, to data management and artificial intelligence.

ZStack’s core products include: ZStack Cloud Platform, a productized private cloud and seamless hybrid cloud solution with “4S” characteristics; ZStack ZSphere Virtualization Platform, delivering VMware-consistent virtualization experiences; ZStack HCI, a robust instant-deployment product supporting VMware management, multi-replication, erasure coding (EC), multi-tenant self-service, and seamless upgrades; ZStack Software-Defined Storage (SDS), including ZStack Ceph Enterprise and ZStack High Performance Storage, supporting PB-scale storage resource pools.

ZStack is widely used across ten industries: education, energy, manufacturing, internet, finance, telecommunications, healthcare, broadcasting, highways, and government. Currently, ZStack serves over 30 countries/regions globally with more than 10,000 community users and has earned the trust of 4,000+ leading enterprises. For VMware-to-enterprise cloud platform migration solutions, ZStack’s VMware to ZStack solution has successfully helped over 1,000 enterprise customers transition from VMware, significantly reducing costs. For example, through free trials of ZStack Cloud and ZStack ZSphere, enterprises can more flexibly evaluate and control initial investments.

FAQ

Q: After migrating from VMware virtual machines to an enterprise cloud platform, how to ensure data security and business continuity?
A: ZStack provides comprehensive solutions to ensure data security and business continuity. ZStack’s disaster recovery solution supports six scenarios through technologies like snapshots, block data replication, CDP, backup, disaster recovery, and active-active configurations. Additionally, ZStack provides complete security and operational capabilities including anti-virus protection and access control. ZStack’s active-active data center solution also supports cross-data center virtual machine high availability and integrates SAN, SDS, and public cloud storage mounting solutions to enhance overall system performance and reliability.

Q: What common challenges do enterprises face when migrating from VMware to enterprise cloud platforms, and how does ZStack provide support?
A: Common challenges include complex planning, potential business interruption risks, and cost control. Facing significant operational cost increases from VMware subscription fee surges post-Broadcom acquisition, ZStack offers professional VMware to ZStack solutions covering four migration paths: server virtualization, private cloud, hyperconvergence, and container cloud, having successfully helped over 1,000 enterprise customers transition from VMware with significant cost reductions. ZStack also provides detailed product documentation, video tutorials, downloads, compatibility lists, and professional technical support and training certifications to help users address migration challenges.

Q: After migrating from VMware virtual machines to an enterprise cloud platform, how to efficiently manage resources and optimize performance?
A: Post-migration, continuously adjust virtual machine CPU and memory allocations based on new platform monitoring data and optimize storage strategies, such as placing disks with different performance requirements on different storage backends. ZStack Cloud platform provides unified compute, network, and storage resource management, while ZStack ZSphere delivers VMware-consistent user experiences and supports intelligent unified operations. Additionally, products like ZStack Software-Defined Storage (SDS) help enterprises build large-scale, high-performance storage pools for efficient resource utilization. ZStack CMP also provides advanced monitoring dashboards to facilitate resource optimization.

Q: How does ZStack help enterprises control and optimize costs after migrating from VMware virtual machines to enterprise cloud platforms?
A: Cost control is an important consideration post-migration. ZStack’s VMware to ZStack solution has helped numerous customers significantly reduce operational costs. For example, ZStack Cloud and ZStack ZSphere both offer free trial versions, allowing enterprises more flexible cost evaluation and control during initial stages. ZStack’s product design emphasizes automated operations and intelligent management (“Smart” characteristic), effectively reducing operational labor costs.

Q: If enterprises want to build hybrid cloud environments after migrating from VMware virtual machines to enterprise cloud platforms, what solutions does ZStack offer?
A: ZStack provides native hybrid cloud solutions. Particularly through deep integration with Alibaba Cloud, enabling unified management of on-premises virtual machines and Alibaba Cloud ECS. Additionally, ZStack supports building hybrid cloud solutions with other public clouds via VPN and dedicated line access, meeting diverse enterprise hybrid cloud deployment needs.