VMware vs Nutanix: HCI Solutions Comparison

Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) is a native, enterprise-grade

hypervisor built by Nutanix, designed for running virtual machines and
containers, and is part of the Nutanix Cloud Platform, offering a simplified
and streamlined virtualization experience.
Key Features and Benefits:
 Native to Nutanix Platform:
AHV is integrated with the Nutanix Acropolis Operating System (AOS) and
the Prism management interface, simplifying management and providing a
unified view of the infrastructure.
 Webscale Virtualization:
AHV is designed for large-scale deployments and enterprise
environments, offering features like high availability, live migration, and
dynamic scheduling.
 Open Source Foundation:
AHV is built on the open-source KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
hypervisor, providing a robust and flexible foundation.
 Simplified Management:
The Prism interface provides a centralized console for managing the
entire virtualized infrastructure, including VM provisioning, monitoring, and
maintenance.
 Integrated Networking and Storage:
AHV integrates seamlessly with Nutanix's software-defined networking
and storage solutions, simplifying infrastructure management.
 Hybrid Cloud Support:
AHV enables a consistent hybrid cloud operating model across
datacenters, the edge, and public clouds.
 Security:
AHV offers security-hardened clusters and features like one-click
hardening with machine-readable security technical implementation
guides (STIGs).
 Workload Mobility:
AHV supports the migration of workloads between different hypervisors,
including ESXi and Hyper-V.
 Community Edition:
 Nutanix offers a Community Edition, allowing users to try out AHV and the
Nutanix platform in a lab environment.
 Nutanix Flow:
AHV leverages Nutanix Flow networking products for advanced
networking capabilities, including virtual private cloud and virtual public
cloud constructs.
 VMHA:
AHV has built-in VM high availability (VMHA) and a resource contention
avoidance engine called Acropolis Dynamic Scheduling (ADS)

VMware has been working for more than 25 years in the hardware
virtualization arena and has earned an excellent reputation among
customers with its vSphere solution. After Broadcom acquired
VMware in 2023, some changes can impact VMware customers, and
here are some concerns that existing and potential VMware
customers can have:
 The transition to a subscription licensing model, with perpetual
licenses being deprecated.
 Increased licensing prices and subscription costs. Forced packaging
of unwanted products for customers. Transition from per-CPU to per-
core licensing.
 No ESXi Free Edition (VMware vSphere Hypervisor).
This blog post explains Nutanix as the VMware alternative and
contains a comparison of these two virtualization solutions.
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Can Nutanix Be Considered a VMware

Alternative?
There are several reasons why some organizations consider Nutanix
as an alternative to VMware vSphere. These include Nutanix’s
approach to hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), ease of use,
scalability, and cost-effectiveness.
The following factors can be noted when considering Nutanix as a
VMware alternative:
 Nutanix was one of the pioneers in HCI, which combines storage,
compute, and networking subsystems into a single system. The
objective of this combination is to reduce data center complexity
and make a virtualization environment more scalable.
 Nutanix’s business model includes the hypervisor as part of its
overall HCI solution, which can present a more straightforward and
potentially less expensive licensing structure compared to
VMware’s. Organizations looking to consolidate their operational
expenses often find Nutanix’s pricing model more predictable and
cost-effective.
 Nutanix provides robust solutions for hybrid and multi-cloud
environments, allowing businesses to seamlessly move workloads
between different clouds and on-premises data centers.

What Is Nutanix?
Nutanix is a technology company that specializes in cloud
computing and hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solutions.
Founded in 2009, Nutanix aims to make cloud infrastructure and
virtualized data centers more efficient and simple to operate by
integrating storage, computing, and networking into a single
system.
The Nutanix platform utilizes a software-defined approach, which
means that it relies on software to provide services that were
traditionally managed by hardware. This approach allows
organizations to scale their virtual infrastructure quickly, depending
on their current needs, which can significantly improve efficiency
and reduce costs.
Nutanix solutions are designed to support a variety of workloads,
including enterprise applications, databases, virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI), and big data analytics, among others. By
providing a unified environment, Nutanix helps organizations
streamline their IT operations and move more seamlessly towards a
hybrid or multi-cloud model, integrating public clouds with private
clouds and on-premises data centers.
One of the key components of Nutanix’s technology is its Acropolis
Operating System (AOS), which includes the Acropolis Hypervisor
(AHV). Nutanix AHV is an enterprise-grade hypervisor that provides
virtualization capabilities without the additional cost or complexity of
third-party hypervisors. Nutanix supports VMware ESXi and Microsoft
Hyper-V as hypervisors as well.

Nutanix vs VMware: Comparison

In this VMware vSphere vs Nutanix HCI section, these two
virtualization solutions are compared in several categories.

Virtualization architecture
VMware and Nutanix are both leaders in virtualization and hyper-
converged infrastructure (HCI) solutions, but they have different
architectural approaches and focuses. Below, you can see the
comparison of the architectural elements of VMware and Nutanix
virtualization solutions, highlighting their key differences and
similarities.
 VMware virtualization architecture
Core components of VMware environments:
 vSphere is VMware’s core virtualization platform, which includes the
ESXi hypervisor and vCenter Server for management. Add-ons can
be installed to extend the functionality.
 ESXi is a hypervisor of the first type and is the main vSphere
component. ESXi runs directly on the physical hardware to run and
control virtual machines (VMs) and their guest OSs (operating
systems).
 vCenter Server provides centralized management for vSphere
environments, enabling advanced features like vMotion, High
Availability (HA) and Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS).
Storage:
 VMware vSphere uses Virtual SAN (vSAN) for hyper-converged
storage, integrating local storage devices of the servers into a
shared data pool across the cluster.
Networking:
 VMware NSX is the platform for network virtualization and security
designed for creating a software-defined data center (SDDC),
allowing for complex networking topologies and security policies to
be implemented in software.
Other:
 vCloud Director is a solution to create virtual software-defined
datacenters.
 VMware Horizon is a powerful solution for virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI).

Key differences
The following differences between the VMware and Nutanix
architectures can be highlighted in the appropriate categories.
 Hypervisor. VMware utilizes its proprietary ESXi hypervisor, while
Nutanix is more flexible, primarily using its AHV hypervisor, but also
supports other hypervisors, including ESXi and Hyper-V. Nutanix
AHV can work only in HCI without traditional storage, including iSCSI
storage.
 Storage. VMware integrates vSAN for hyper-converged storage,
whereas Nutanix uses its own Acropolis Distributed Storage Fabric
(DSF).
 Networking. VMware has a more comprehensive networking solution
with NSX, compared to Nutanix, which relies more on integration
with third-party networking solutions.
 Management and operations. VMware divides its management
between vCenter for centralized virtual infrastructure management
and other components like NSX Manager for networking. Nutanix
focuses on simplicity and consolidation, offering a unified
management experience through Prism.
VMware offers a mature, comprehensive solution with a wide range
of software product components to support various aspects of
virtualization, storage, and networking. VMware vSphere is highly
scalable and suits a variety of deployment scenarios, from on-
premises data centers to hybrid clouds.
Nutanix, on the other hand, emphasizes simplicity and convergence
with a strong focus on making infrastructures invisible. Integration of
computing, networking, and storage into a straightforward, scalable
solution allows Nutanix to aim at reducing the complexity of
managing IT infrastructure.
Note that when migrating from VMware vSphere to Nutanix, you
may need to buy new server hardware based on the hardware
compatibility list of Nutanix.

Pricing
The licensing and pricing models of VMware and Nutanix
virtualization solutions can significantly affect your decision
depending on your organization’s size, needs, and budget. These
vendors use different approaches for licensing their products.
 VMware licensing
VMware vSphere provides a broad range of virtualization solutions,
including ESXi hypervisors, vCenter Server, VMware vSAN for
storage virtualization, and VMware NSX for network virtualization,
among others. Every component must be licensed, and each is
licensed differently.
VMware used to follow a per-processor licensing model optimal for
smaller environments, but they have been introducing new options
instead, such as per-VM or per-core licensing for certain products
and circumstances on a subscription basis.
The main licensing schemes for vSphere are:
 Per CPU core licensing. At least 16 cores must be licensed per CPU
(subscription).
 Per-VM licensing.
 vSphere + subscription based on capacity.
 Per CPU perpetual licensing (deprecated).
The licensing principles for VMware vSphere components are as
follows.
vSphere. A vSphere license must be applied to license an ESXi host.
Priced per CPU core, VMware offers different editions (Standard,
Enterprise Plus) depending on features. As your requirements grow,
you can upgrade licenses to unlock more capabilities. VMware offers
a subscription-based model and VMware Cloud, which integrates
with AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other cloud services.
vCenter. VMware vCenter Server licenses must be used on a per-
instance basis (each vCenter Server instance is licensed). There are
two vCenter editions: Foundation and Standard.
vSAN. VMware’s HCI solution is licensed per CPU core to cover
different types of environments and needs. There are different
editions (Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, etc.), each offering more
sophisticated features as you move up the edition. VMware vSAN is
purchased as an add-on for vSphere (additionally).
NSX. Network virtualization and security platform is licensed per CPU
core or per current connection (CCU), depending on the specific
product version and your deployment strategy. NSX is purchased as
an add-on, similar to vSAN. NSX Professional, Advanced, and
Enterprise Plus editions are available on a subscription basis.
Trial: A 60-day full-featured free trial is available for VMware
vSphere (ESXi), vCenter Server, vSAN, and NSX.
Contact VMware to check the latest price for the VMware
virtualization solution.

Nutanix licensing
 Nutanix offers a slightly different approach, focusing on making the
infrastructure invisible and allowing IT to focus on the applications
and services. Nutanix’s main product lines include Acropolis (AOS,
for a hyper-converged infrastructure), Prism (for infrastructure
management), and AHV (their hypervisor), which are licensed as
explained below.
AOS. Nutanix offers AOS in multiple editions: Pro and Ultimate, with
each higher edition adding more capabilities. These editions use a
node-based licensing model, where each license is applied to a node
in the cluster regardless of the number of processors or cores.
Nutanix has also introduced capacity-based licensing and
subscription options for greater flexibility.
Prism. Usually, it comes included with AOS, but advanced features
require upgrading to Prism Pro or Prism Ultimate, enhancing
automation and management capabilities.
AHV. Nutanix’s hypervisor is included for free with AOS, positioning
it as a cost-effective alternative to other hypervisors in the market.
However, it’s worth noting that your choice of hypervisor could
affect the total cost, especially if you’re tied to certain VMware
features.
Trial: A 90-day free trial is available.
An additional license is required to provide data deduplication and
compression with Nutanix AHV.
The vast majority of Nutanix products are sold with hardware.
Contact the vendor to check the latest Nutanix price for the solution.

Key differences
The main licensing differences in the VMware vs Nutanix comparison
are as follows.
 Pricing structure. VMware tends to be more traditional with per
CPU/core licensing, while Nutanix leans towards node-based and
capacity-based models, which may be more predictable and easier
to manage in certain situations.
 Flexibility. Both offer flexibility but in different ways. VMware, with its
vast ecosystem and range of products, allows you to have a highly
customized environment. Nutanix, with its node-based approach and
inclusion of the hypervisor, can offer a simpler, potentially more
cost-efficient solution for certain use cases. Nutanix supports easy
license portability across on-premises and cloud environments.
 Cloud integration. Both vendors offer strong cloud integration
services, though VMware’s extensive partnerships might provide
more options for hybrid cloud strategies.
VMware’s extensive feature set and broader industry adoption might
make it attractive for many enterprises, but Nutanix’s simplicity and
inclusive pricing can also be attractive, especially for new
deployments or environments where cost and ease of scaling are
priorities. Always consult the latest pricing and licensing details
directly from the vendors, as these can frequently change or offer
special terms under certain conditions.

Performance
Comparing VMware and Nutanix in terms of performance involves
several factors, including the specific virtualization solutions you are
considering (for example, VMware vSphere for server virtualization
vs. Nutanix AOS for hyper-converged infrastructures), workload
types, and the underlying hardware. Both companies offer robust
solutions for virtualization, but they are excellent in slightly different
areas due to their architectures and design implementations.

VMware
VMware ESXi hypervisor is mature and has been optimized over
many years for a wide range of workloads, offering high
performance for traditional and cloud-native applications.
VMware provides advanced features for resource management, such
as Storage DRS and Network I/O Control, which can help optimize
performance based on workload requirements.
VMware vSphere can scale up to manage large environments
efficiently, which is beneficial for enterprises with extensive virtual
infrastructure.

Nutanix
Nutanix is built on a hyper-converged infrastructure architecture,
which integrates compute, storage, and virtualization resources in a
single system. This can lead to easier management and can yield
performance benefits for certain types of workloads, especially
where the locality of data is crucial.
Nutanix’s own hypervisor (AHV) and its Acropolis Operating System
provide a tightly integrated environment optimized for Nutanix
hardware, potentially offering performance advantages in
environments designed specifically for their ecosystem.
One of Nutanix’s key performance features is data locality, where
data is kept close to the VM that needs it, potentially reducing
latency and increasing performance for data-intensive applications.

Key differences
The following key differences in the VMware vs Nutanix comparison
can be highlighted in terms of performance.
Workload specifics. The performance can greatly depend on the
specifics of the workload. VMware might show better performance
for certain types of applications, particularly where the
infrastructure can be fine-tuned and optimized. Nutanix, with its
data locality feature and HCI architecture, might outperform in
scenarios where these characteristics are particularly beneficial,
such as VDI environments or databases that benefit from reduced
latency.
Future developments. Both VMware and Nutanix are continuously
evolving, with advancements in technologies such as NVMe over
Fabrics (NVMe-oF) and software-defined networking (SDN) promising
to further impact performance. However, after VMware was acquired
by Broadcom, the way of future developments is uncertain.
Benchmarks specific to your industry and application type can
provide additional more practical information. Additionally,
considering conducting your own performance tests or researching
assessments from both vendors can help in making the most
informed decision.

Integration and compatibility

The approaches of VMware and Nutanix to integration and
compatibility with other products differ based on their ecosystems,
partnerships, and strategic focus areas.

VMware
Broad ecosystem. VMware has a broad ecosystem and supports
integration with a wide range of server hardware, operating systems
(Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, etc.), and third-party
applications. VMware vSphere is a leading server virtualization
platform that integrates seamlessly with other VMware products like
VMware NSX for networking, VMware vSAN for storage, and VMware
vRealize Suite for management and operations.
Extensive partner network. VMware collaborated with numerous
hardware vendors and software developers, ensuring that a wide
range of devices, applications, and services are certified to work
with VMware products. This extensive partner network facilitates
easier integration across different environments.
Cloud integration. VMware has strong integrations with major cloud
service providers, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and IBM
Cloud, through offerings like VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware
Cloud on AWS. This provides flexibility for businesses to operate in
hybrid or multi-cloud environments.

Nutanix
HCI focused. Nutanix’s approach, focusing on HCI technology,
simplifies the data center stack by integrating compute, storage,
and virtualization in one solution, which can improve compatibility
and reduce integration challenges within its ecosystem.
AHV and third-party Hypervisors. Nutanix’s native hypervisor, AHV, is
designed to work seamlessly within its ecosystem, which simplifies
operations and reduces costs associated with virtualization.
However, Nutanix also supports third-party hypervisors like VMware
ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V, offering flexibility and compatibility with
existing virtualization environments. AHV supports Windows, Linux,
and FreeBSD guest OSs on VMs.
Wide integration with applications and services. Nutanix has made
significant progress in compatibility and integration with a variety of
applications, services, and cloud providers. Nutanix supports
integration with major databases, business applications, and cloud
services, ensuring that organizations can leverage their Nutanix
environment for a wide range of workloads.

Thoughts
Both VMware and Nutanix offer robust solutions with strong
integration and compatibility with other products. VMware has
advantages in terms of the size of its ecosystem, extensive partner
network, and cloud integration capabilities, making it a versatile
choice for diverse IT environments. Nutanix, on the other hand,
offers a streamlined, HCI-focused approach that simplifies the data
center stack and facilitates ease of use and management, with
strong support for multi-hypervisor environments and integration
with various applications and cloud services.

Ease of deployment and configuration

Ease of deployment and configuration can impact the overall
performance of an organization.
VMware. VMware vSphere, combined with its vSAN HCI solution, is
well-documented and extensively supported, making deployment
straightforward for those familiar with VMware products. However,
for newcomers, the deployment can be somewhat complex due to
the numerous components and options available. VMware Cloud
Foundation offers a more integrated experience, but initial setup
complexity can still be high for those without VMware experience.
Nutanix. Nutanix declares that they simplify the deployment process.
Its HCI solution is designed to be ready out of the box for many use
cases, with an emphasis on reducing the complexity typically
associated with setting up an infrastructure. This includes
automated discovery of nodes and easy clustering capabilities.
Nutanix’s Prism interface simplifies deployment tasks further, which
can make deployment friendly even for beginner users.
Thoughts. Nutanix is often praised for its simplicity and ease of use,
especially in HCI deployments, which can indirectly impact
performance by ensuring optimal configuration with less specialized
knowledge. VMware, on the other hand, allows for a high degree of
customization and optimization, which can lead to excellent
performance when expertly configured.

Maintenance
There are differences in how these two solutions are maintained,
including when it comes to software upgrades.
VMware. VMware’s products benefit from a mature ecosystem with
comprehensive support structures and extensive documentation.
Patching and updates are regular, ensuring security and
performance enhancements. However, maintaining a VMware
environment, particularly across multiple components and plugins,
requires attention and expertise. vSphere Lifecycle Manager aims to
streamline updates and upgrades for the vSphere environment,
including host and cluster maintenance.
Nutanix. Nutanix emphasizes reducing maintenance overhead
through its Prism interface, automating many routine maintenance
tasks. The solution offers one-click upgrades for the entire stack,
including hypervisor updates, which minimizes downtime and
operational complexity. Nutanix’s approach to maintenance is
designed to be less resource-intensive, appealing to organizations
looking to reduce IT overhead.
Thoughts. Both vendors use different approaches and tools for
maintenance, software updates, and upgrades. Nutanix upgrade can
be easier for new users.

Containers
Both VMware and Nutanix offer solutions that can be used for
running containers, which are increasingly becoming a standard in
modern application deployment and management. However, the
approaches, integration methods, and ecosystems of VMware and
Nutanix towards containers and Kubernetes (the orchestration
platform for containers) can vary.

VMware
VMware supports Kubernetes through its product Tanzu. VMware
Tanzu is a set of services and software components to adopt
infrastructure and applications for a Kubernetes-centric approach.
Tanzu Kubernetes Grid and Kubernetes are tightly integrated with
vSphere.
VMware NSX-T, which is their network virtualization product,
organically fits with Kubernetes by providing networking and
offering security features for Kubernetes through Tanzu. This
includes capabilities for micro-segmentation, load balancing, and
network policies specifically designed for container traffic.

Nutanix
Nutanix has positioned its platform with the ability to choose
between VMs and containers, aiming to streamline operations across
diverse workloads. Its Kubernetes solution, Karbon, is deeply
integrated with the Nutanix platform.
Nutanix Karbon offers a seamless experience for running
containerized applications on a Nutanix HCI environment. It aims to
make the provisioning and management of Kubernetes as simple as
managing VMs in a Nutanix environment. Nutanix clusters generally
run on AHV, Nutanix’s native hypervisor, which is designed to be
efficient for both VMs and containerized workloads.
Beyond just container services, Nutanix offers database as a service
(DBaaS) through Nutanix Era, and desktop as a service (DaaS) via
Nutanix Frame, both of which can play a role in a broader strategy
for modern application delivery that includes containers.

Thoughts
While VMware vSphere operates with containers using its Tanzu
solution for Kubernetes and NSX for networking, Nutanix uses
Karbon, Era, and Frame for this purpose.
VMware vs Nutanix Comparison Table
The main points of the VMware vs Nutanix comparison are
highlighted in the table below.

VMware Nutanix
Core product VMware vSphere Nutanix AOS

Hypervisor ESXi AHV (native), ESXi, Hyper-V

Storage vSAN offers hyper- Uses its own distributed storage fabric, providin
converged storage hyper-converged infrastructure
solutions

File storage File Services Nutanix Files

services

Object storage Third-party Nutanix Objects (native)

required

Management vCenter Server Prism

Scalability Highly scalable, Also highly scalable, known for easy scalability
supports large- hyper-converged environments
scale virtualization
projects and
clusters

Networking NSX Flow

virtualization

Cloud Offers VMware Offers Nutanix Clusters on AWS and Azure for s
integration Cloud on AWS, hybrid and multi-cloud integrations
Azure VMware
Solution, among
others for hybrid
cloud
environments

Pricing model Licensing costs Licensing is relatively simpler, with a focus on p

can be complex or per-VM pricing, but specifics depend on dep
and depend on the and scale
required features,
number of CPUs,
and other factors

Target Large enterprises Enterprises seeking a straightforward, hyper-co

audience and organizations infrastructure with a strong emphasis on simpli
with extensive scalability
 virtual
infrastructure or
those deeply
invested in
VMware
ecosystems

Strengths Industry-leading Simplified infrastructure management and depl

virtualization and Strong focus on HCI (Hyper-Converged
cloud Infrastructure) and ease of use.
infrastructure Integrated virtualization, storage, and netw
solutions. in a single solution
Comprehensive
ecosystem of
solutions for
networking,
storage, and
management.
Extensive third-
party integration
and support.

Disadvantages May be more May lack some advanced features found in VMw
expensive. highly specific enterprise requirements.
Learning curve Less third-party integration compared to VM
for managing a
comprehensive
ecosystem.

Conclusion
Both VMware and Nutanix offer powerful virtualization solutions,
each with strengths optimized to different types of organizations.
VMware vSphere is a mature solution with an extensive feature set
and granular control options that are suitable for large enterprises
with complex requirements and dedicated IT departments. On the
other hand, Nutanix offers a simplified, streamlined experience ideal
for mid-sized organizations or those seeking to reduce the
complexity and overhead associated with deploying, configuring and
maintaining their virtualized environments. Ultimately, the choice
between VMware and Nutanix depends on an organization’s specific
needs, existing infrastructure, and IT expertise.
Despite the virtualization environment you use, a VM backup is
essential. Download NAKIVO Backup & Replication to protect your
VMware VMs in vSphere and Nutanix clusters.
VMware and Nutanix: An overview
Before we dig deep into each HCI offering, let’s discuss the background of both
companies.

What is VMware?
VMware is a cloud computing company that is most popular for pioneering
virtualization technology through its bare metal hypervisor. It offers a wide range of
virtualization solutions, enabling IT staff around the world to create and run virtual
machines (VMs) on a single physical server.
VMware offers a suite of products that forms the backbone of its HCI stack,
including:

 vSphere — VMware’s flagship virtualization platform, which allows for the efficient
management of VMs.
 vSAN — VMware’s software-defined storage solution that integrates directly with
vSphere.
 vCenter — VMware’s centralized management platform that provides users with a
unified solution for managing vSphere environments.
vCloud Director — VMware’s vCloud Director is the platform’s control panel for
simplifying, managing, and grouping VM hosts into software-defined data centers.
Key points

 Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) is a software-centric framework where

computing, storage, network, and virtual resources are consolidated into a unified
platform.
 VMware and Nutanix rank as the top two solutions in the HCI market.
 Nutanix uses a distributed architecture to run diverse workloads across multiple
nodes, while VMware uses virtualization technology to provide a robust HCI solution.
 When choosing between Nutanix vs VMware, consider the platform’s integration
capabilities, cost-effectiveness, and the HCI features you need.

What is Nutanix?
Founded in 2009, Nutanix is a cloud computing company that offers data center
infrastructure solutions. Since Nutanix launched Complete Cluster (now Virtual
Computing Platform) in 2011, the company has built and maintained a solid
reputation in the HCI market.
Nutanix has expanded its HCI offering in recent years, boasting a robust tech stack
that includes:

 Prism — A management interface that gives IT administrators a single pane of glass

to manage and control the entire Nutanix environment.
 Acropolis — This is Nutanix’s turnkey solution that offers virtualization capabilities
and supports various workloads and applications.
 Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) — A software stack that helps IT staff manage
hybrid cloud environments by unifying compute, storage, and networking resources.
What are the differences between Nutanix and VMware?
VMware uses virtualization technology and a mature ecosystem to provide a
comprehensive and powerful HCI solution, while Nutanix relies on distributed
architecture to streamline IT operations across cloud environments.
Let’s break those differences down based on key features and benefits.
Performance and scalability
The ability to integrate all hardware-centric systems into a virtualized pool is a
significant benefit, especially if an HCI platform has the capacity to run and scale
these data center resources on demand.
Nutanix
Nutanix’s main strength is that its HCI software seamlessly integrates with the best
hypervisors, including VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V. You can use its native
hypervisor, Nutanix AHV, at no additional cost.
As an HCI solution, Nutanix uses distributed architecture, meaning resources are
spread across multiple nodes. This removes silos between public, private, and hybrid
cloud environments, allowing you to handle more demanding workloads.
VMware
VMware enhances performance and scalability by leveraging the best of
virtualization technology.
Using VMware’s vSphere with Tanzu, you can create a Kubernetes control plane on
the hypervisor layer. This not only enables your IT infrastructure to run more
intensive workloads but also facilitates collaboration between vSphere administrators
and DevOps staff.
vSphere 8.0 Distributed Services Engine also enables you to offload network and
security functions to DPUs. This frees up around 20 percent of CPU workloads,
improving performance and minimizing latency.
Lastly, VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi supports external SAN systems, allowing
you to efficiently handle large volumes of data.
Verdict: VMware gets the slight edge here. While Nutanix’s distributed approach
allows you to handle diverse workloads, VMware’s advanced virtualization
technology offers more advantages, especially when running intensive workloads
across multi-cloud environments.

Management features
Being able to integrate the critical elements of your IT infrastructure into one platform
is already a plus. Imagine the added advantage if you could use an HCI solution with
robust and user-friendly management tools.
Nutanix
Nutanix’s management tool, Prism, provides centralized access and a multi-cloud
interface for configuring, managing, and monitoring cloud environments. Prism is
well known for its “single pane of glass” approach, which enables you to see key
metrics, networks, and configurations at a glance.
Prism uses AI-driven operations to help you detect and fix issues early. It also offers
a root cause analysis feature that identifies the most probable cause of an issue and
suggests resolutions.
VMware
VMware vCenter is a centralized platform for managing, monitoring, and controlling
vSphere environments. Managing infrastructure components can get complex. But
thanks to vCenter’s “command center” approach and clean design, you get
increased visibility and easy access to VMware’s broad ecosystem and critical
components, including vSphere, vSAN, and vRealize Suite.
vCenter takes some getting used to, which is understandable considering its many
features. That said, vCenter is the most familiar control panel for HCI. And given its
supportive community of VMware customers, you can rest easy knowing you’ll
always get help if you encounter any navigation issues.
Verdict: Nutanix Prism gets a slight edge over VMware’s vCenter on account of its
ease of use, unified management, and automation features.

Licensing and pricing

HCI solutions are a huge investment. As such, you have to analyze their prices
before committing.
Nutanix
Nutanix’s pricing model is straightforward. The licensing plans are subscription-
based and categorized by the type of node. You’ll find tiers such as Starter, Pro, and
Ultimate. This makes it easy for you to accurately estimate costs as you scale.
Nutanix uses a per-core licensing approach for certain products, such as Nutanix
Cloud Manager. It also offers specialized licensing for virtual desktop infrastructure
(VDI) based on user counts.
VMware
In the wake of the $69 billion Broadcom acquisition, VMware shelved the perpetual
license model in favor of the subscription model to “better serve customers with
continuous innovation, faster time to value, and predictable investments.”
The organization’s licensing plans include per CPU, per core, and per VM models,
giving you the flexibility you need to deploy and manage your server environments.
Verdict: This is an apples vs oranges scenario where there’s no clear winner.
Nutanix uses a straightforward licensing approach to make it easier for you to
estimate costs as you scale your business. VMware’s licensing structure is more
nuanced but offers greater flexibility in addressing diverse deployment needs.

Integration capabilities
An HCI solution needs robust integration capabilities. After all, unifying components
into one central hub is its main job.
Nutanix
Nutanix’s ecosystem is strong but could benefit from key partnerships with hardware
vendors and hyperscalers. Also, Nutanix HCI doesn’t support external storage
solutions such as Fibre Channel and iSCSI disk arrays. This is a major disadvantage
if your organization requires a more flexible storage solution to run mission-critical
workloads.
VMware
VMware’s broad network of partners includes Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Wipro
Limited, and Atos. The result is a robust HCI ecosystem that helps you meet and
address the diverse needs of an enterprise environment.

The history: Nutanix and VMware

Nutanix and VMware are two of the most recognized names in hyperconverged
infrastructure (HCI) and virtualization. Nutanix pioneered the HCI market,
modernizing IT design and operations via a web-scale, distributed cloud architecture
using off-the-shelf servers to run business-critical workloads, cloud-native, and AI
applications.

VMware (now part of Broadcom) redefined the IT landscape using virtualization with
its popular vSphere product enabling multiple workloads to run on the same physical
server. Nutanix HCI is listed on VMware’s Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) with
certified compatibility to run VMware vSphere’s ESXi® hypervisor, which simplifies
management and offers a virtualization platform for VMware vSphere users. For
those looking for an alternative to ESXi, Nutanix also offers its Nutanix
AHV® hypervisor as part of the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure solution (NCI) with no
additional cost.

For years, thousands of enterprise IT teams around the world have used both
companies’ products. Today, the two remain competitors in key markets, including
HCI, virtualization, IT automation, hybrid multicloud management, software-defined
file storage, and network-based microsegmentation.

As hybrid and hybrid multicloud become dominant IT strategies, and partly as a

result of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, there is market uncertainty. This
instability is encouraging organizations to move away from VMware and migrate to
Nutanix Cloud Platform, which offers a future-proof architecture and enables
consistent operations and natural extension to cloud and edge.

Nutanix Named a Leader in 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Distributed Hybrid
Infrastructure

How can Nutanix meet VMware customer needs?

While technology architectures may differ significantly depending on unique business

requirements, both Nutanix and VMwareoffer solutions to meet those diverse needs.
Exploring the differences between each solution helps align where Nutanix HCI
technology can meet the needs of customers running VMware vSphere, and
how Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) can future-proof your IT to support business-
critical applications and databases from edge to datacenter to the cloud.

VMware architecture was specifically made for virtualization

VWware's marketing strategy for its virtualization products seems focused on the
following use cases:

 Running virtualized workloads that are certified for VMware vSphere/VMware

hypervisor ESXi.
  Using VMware Cloud to help move VMware virtualized workloads to the various
public clouds.

In contrast, Nutanix offers customers the capability to do much more.

Nutanix architecture: ready for today and tomorrow

Since its founding, Nutanix has stood on the core tenet of flexibility. Nutanix supports
multiple hardware configurations, multiple virtualization hypervisors, and multiple
clouds. For example, Nutanix HCI software seamlessly integrates with the
industry’s leading hypervisors – VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V®, and the
Nutanix AHV hypervisor, the latter at no additional cost.

While many Nutanix customers choose to run ESXi on the Nutanix platform, a
significant portion also prefer Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V. Today, customers
are switching to Nutanix AHV to reduce virtualization licensing costs, streamline
management through a single unified pane-of-glass interface across hypervisors,
and ensure the capability to run business-critical workloads. Also, Nutanix helps
customers transition by offering free migration tools and providing training and
support for organizations seeking to adopt Nutanix AHV.

Equally important as reducing costs and the other advantages its technologies offer,
Nutanix also provides flexible adaptation to accommodate changes in customer
architecture,market conditions, or the technological needs for various solutions.
Nutanix delivers on key concepts like:

 Facilitating the management of dual-hypervisors to reduce cost and offload risk by

utilizing a multi-vendor solution strategy.
 Introducing user-focused self-service options and integration with partners like
ServiceNow.

Overall, Nutanix delivers more hybrid multicloud value outside of legacy virtualization
solutions by:

 Enabling a multi-vendor strategy to reduce the risk of a single virtualization platform.

 Scaling business-critical, cloud-native, and AI workloads across public and private
clouds.
 Running different hypervisors simultaneously under a single management “pane of
glass.”
 Protecting the freedom to choose the best hardware and cloud provider for
customers’ solutions.
 Enabling the possibility of significant reductions to the total cost of ownership with
web-scale design through software-defined-storage.
 Enabling the portability of Nutanix NCI licenses between on-premises, the edge, and
public clouds, such as AWS from Amazon and Azure Microsoft.

Customers also win because Nutanix modeled its solutions on popular cloud and
SaaS offerings. Indeed, Nutanix products are known for full lifecycle simplicity and
ease of use – from initial deployment, production scaling, and troubleshooting.
Nutanix provides a comprehensive platform architecture that enables workloads to
scale from on-premises to the edge to the cloud, always with cost-efficiency top of
mind.

Gain more insights into the impacts of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and
explore potential paths forward.
Comparing the hyperconverged infrastructure solutions from Nutanix and VMware

side-by-side comparison of HCI architectures from Nutanix vs. VMware:

HCI Nutanix VMware

VMware ESXi, Nutanix

Hypervisors supported AHV, Microsoft Hyper- VMware ESXi only
V

AHV virtualization
Additional hypervisor licenses Virtualization licenses are sold
included; no additional
required separately per CPU
cost

Legacy storage technologies

Modern web-scale
Architectural design retrofitted into software-
architecture using HCI
defined solutions

Yes, via Nutanix Files

Native file storage services? Yes, via San File Service
Storage™

Yes, via Nutanix No native support. Third party

Native object storage services?
Objects Storage™ products required

Automated database Yes, via Nutanix VMware Data Services

management, provisioning, Database Service™ Manager
 HCI Nutanix VMware

and security?

Automated machine learning

for workload-based resource Yes No
anomalies?

Low-latency application
Yes Yes, but limited
performance via data locality?

WEBINAR

Finding the Right Platform for Modern Workloads: Essential Questions to Ask
Following the VMware Acquisition

Create a multi-vendor strategy that adapts to a shifting landscape

Organizations must have the agility to adapt to changes in the vendor landscape. For
example, mergers and acquisitions can raise risk through product rationalization or
price increases that may cause business disruption, create uncertainty, force
untimely changes and increase costs.

Considerations when deciding on a multi-vendor strategy are:

 Platform flexibility to run multiple vendor solutions

 Full license portability (across clouds and on-premises) and choice
 Support quality and extend reach to reduce downtime
 Cost consistency without being blindsided by changing price overhead

When it comes to customer loyalty, customer recommendations and repeat

business, Nutanix consistently outranks the competition, with a seven-year
average Net Promoter Score of 90+.

Amidst the uncertainties surroundingBroadcom’s acquisition of VMware, Nutanix is

committed to providing certainty and transparency around your concerns. It’s difficult
to imagine a world without the continuation of VMware’s virtualization products in
some form or another. But if you choose to find an alternative, Nutanix stands ready
to assist you in avoiding the potential business disruptions that may arise from
transitioning to new solutions.
Run all your workloads how you want

Nutanix future-proof architecture reduces risk by enabling a multi-vendor strategy

that runs your applications and workloads in an efficient, resilient, and cost-effective
way. And, because they extend beyond their original borders to the network edge,
end-user devices and public clouds, you can run your applications and workloads
flexibly, on the cloud of your choice, and securely and under your control.

Business-critical applications, cloud-native applications, AI applications, data lakes,

and unstructured data exemplify the evolving landscape of modern ITworkloads,
synonymous with cloud-like designs. Nutanix HCI was born from the same DNA that
built how the modern web scales, seamlessly integrating web-scale capabilities for
workloads spanning multiple servers, datacenters, and cloud environments. This
concept has spawned a distinctive attribute inherent to Nutanix: Choice.

This choice includes:

 Enjoy extreme flexibility in selecting the off-the-shelf hardware you want.

 Create networks that intelligently scale.
 Run workloads where you need them to run, not within the confines of a rigid
architecture.
 Select stand-up data-centric designs focused on your business.
 Decide on a license model that makes sense to your budget, whether CAPEX or
OPEX focused.
 Align public clouds to do what they do best, run dynamic workloads and data, and
keep static workloads under your control in a private cloud.

EBOOK

Simplify Your Transition from VMWare

Comparing hybrid cloud solutions from Nutanix and VMware

Below is a quick comparison of a few hybrid-cloud features from Nutanix vs.

VMware:

Hybrid Cloud Nutanix VMware

Customer managed for Available only as a VMware-

Delivery model
full flexibility managed service

AWS, Azure, and Google

Public clouds supported AWS and Azure
Cloud

Requires proprietary
Integration with public clouds Natively integrated gateways for network
integration
 Hybrid Cloud Nutanix VMware

Nutanix license portability

Supported on AWS and
between public and private Limited support
Azure
clouds

VM hibernation to reduce costs Supported Not available

Nutanix provides a platform of choice, and choice is the basis of a true hybrid
multicloud that is future-proof, and can reduce risk and permit you to run things your
way.

Nutanix, Inc. is not affiliated with VMware by Broadcom or Broadcom.