We're looking at alternatives to VMware after steep price increases and uncertainty around renewal costs. We have Pure Storage with rack servers and are considering Nutanix, but our previous frustration with its storage controller VMs makes me hesitant.
How does the external storage setup work, and what should we check before moving? Hyper-V or other alternatives are also on the table.
Don't assume that external storage means no controller VMs. Nutanix still requires them for management functions, including high availability and workload placement. They can be smaller when the external array handles storage, but they don't disappear.
Get the proposed VM sizing and deployment requirements in writing, then check how much host capacity those VMs will consume. If the controller VMs were the main reason you disliked the old setup, that distinction matters.
Check your virtual appliance support before picking the hypervisor. Some appliance vendors only support specific platforms, and a few may not offer an ISO-based installation as a fallback.
Make a list of the appliances you can't easily replace and ask each vendor whether the proposed hypervisor and deployment method are supported. A migration that works technically isn't much comfort if the appliance vendor refuses to help when something breaks.
Get a multiyear quote with annual payment terms and compare it against the expected life of the hardware. It might reduce the surprise at renewal, though it won't solve the problem if the starting price is already too high or you expect to move workloads to cloud services.
XCP-ng is another option worth evaluating. Pure Storage has a cooperation with Vates, which supports XCP-ng. That doesn't by itself establish support for your exact configuration, so check the integration and appliance compatibility before treating it as a replacement.
I'd keep Hyper-V on the list long enough to test it against your actual requirements. Check performance, high availability, and live migration with the Pure array rather than relying solely on a warning. Also confirm your hardware and appliance vendors will support the resulting setup.
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Mivren.8c:
That changes the picture. Smaller controller VMs may still be workable, but I was hoping to avoid them altogether.