Nearly all organizations of all sizes face an unenviable task: dealing with ever-growing VMware vSphere software licensing costs. To avoid paying these fees, many have opted to identify viable VMware vSphere alternatives. Doing so requires, in part, calculating each alternative’s software licensing costs and the costs of the server hardware to host the VMware vSphere alternative.
When making these calculations, organizations may not consider the option of using server hardware they already own. VMware vSphere alternatives often require less robust hardware than VMware vSphere, creating the option for organizations to reuse server hardware. Yet to confidently pursue this option, organizations must minimally ask and answer the following three questions:
- Can the existing server hardware successfully host the VMware vSphere alternative?
- Will using existing/aging server hardware be more problematic to maintain and manage than simply buying new server hardware?
- Can organizations using aging server hardware create and maintain a stable, reliable environment that protects their data?
The Answer is “Yes, Yes It Can”
“Yes” represents the answer to the first question about successfully reusing existing server hardware to host a VMware vSphere alternative. Organizations considering a VMware vSphere alternative often want to reuse the hardware that they already use to host VMware vSphere.
The type of server hardware each organization currently uses to host VMware vSphere will vary, depending upon multiple factors. These factors minimally include: the VMware vSphere version, the number of VMs hosted, and the application(s) hosted on each VM, among others. However, if running ESXi8.0, the latest version, Broadcom requires server hardware to meet the following minimum specifications:
- At least two CPUs.
- Each core must be a multi-core 64-bit x86 processor.
- Possess 8GB of physical RAM, and at least 12GB of RAM to run VMs in production.
- One or more 1Gb (or faster) Ethernet controllers.
- A boot disk of at least 32GB of persistent storage.
Most organizations already use server hardware that far exceeds these minimum server hardware specifications to host ESXi8.0 and prior versions. As a result, this translates well into organizations repurposing their existing VMware server hardware for VMware vSphere alternatives.
For example, one VMware alternative, Verge.io VergeOS, has the following minimum hardware specifications:
- One 64-bit CPU with hardware virtualization support.
- 16GB of RAM per vSAN node plus 1GB of RAM for each additional TB of storage.
- Minimum 5GB/1TB of usable NVMe-based storage with 10GB/1TB recommended.
- Minimum two Ethernet ports (one 1Gb, one 10GB) with two of each recommended.
VergeOS does require more robust minimum hardware specifications than some VMware ESXi8.0 minimum specifications. However, VergeOS’ minimum specifications also largely fall well below the threshold of the server hardware that organizations deploy in production. As such, organizations will largely find repurposing existing VMware server hardware to host a VMware vSphere alternative a viable option.
Sensible Repurposing of Server Hardware
Meeting or exceeding the VMware vSphere alternative’s minimum hardware specifications represents only one evaluation criterion. After all, it makes sense to repurpose existing server hardware that is only a year or two old.
But what about server hardware three, four, or five years old? Does it make sense to repurpose those servers?
The server hardware must still meet application performance requirements. Further, the solution itself must remain reliable and keep an organization’s data out of harm’s way. Can it accomplish these two objectives using older server hardware?
The answer to that question clearly varies depending on the VMware vSphere alternative that one considers. However, some VMware vSphere alternatives better address these two specific concerns than others.
A Hypervisor with an Infrastructure Operating System
The server virtualization solution offered by many VMware vSphere alternatives often builds upon multiple different layers. They minimally offer a hypervisor and a management layer, and many also offer software-defined storage and networking layers.
However, when creating these different virtualization layers, each layer consumes CPU cycles, memory, and I/O. These layers, in turn, place more demand on the underlying server hardware, which eventually leads to hardware obsolescence. This obsolescence results not from unreliable server hardware but from increasing software demands placed on the hardware.
The Verge.io VergeOS represents a different approach to address those two concerns. Rather than creating different server virtualization layers, Verge.io created an infrastructure operating system (IOS).
The VergeOS IOS then integrates these separate compute, storage, and networking layers into one codebase. This design eliminates some of the overhead effects that both VMware vSphere and competing VMware vSphere alternatives introduce. For instance, it eliminates redundant modules and the interprocess communication that occurs between them.
This architecture has the net benefit of maintaining the performance of the server hardware even as the software introduces new features. Since these new software features may include availability, data protection, and resilience options, organizations can immediately access them. Using VergeOS, Verge.io has found that some of its customers keep their server hardware in use for up to eight and even ten years.
Of course, not every organization will want to or can keep their server hardware in operation that long. Some need to retire their server hardware once the hardware provider stops supporting BIOS or firmware updates to it.
However, the retirement age for server hardware varies by hardware provider. For example, Dell offers updates up to seven years after the initial release of a specific PowerEdge model. Others such as HPE may offer support for up to five years after a ProLiant Server model has been discontinued. This can equate to 7 – 10 years of support. Even once support ends, some third parties offer parts and support for the server hardware.
Longer Server Life a Likely Benefit of Selecting the Right VMware vSphere Alternative
Organizations already experience considerable angst when considering their VMware vSphere software licensing predicament. Now they potentially have relief from that pain in two forms:
- First, they have a growing number of viable VMware vSphere alternatives from which to choose.
- Second, the vSphere alternative may also give them the option to both repurpose their existing server hardware and extend its life.
In the case of Verge.io, it addresses these two potential concerns head-on. Many organizations will find VergeOS a viable vSphere alternative from a software feature and licensing perspective. However, VergeOS also enables organizations to do more than simply repurpose their existing server hardware. They may find they can extend the life of that server hardware another 3, 5, or 7 years and perhaps even longer.
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