How much does it cost to replace VMware with OpenStack?+
There is no software license. Fully managed starts at $1,950 per node per year (10-node minimum), support alone at $750. The one-time costs are an assessment of about $10,000 and deployment from $30,000 per environment, with the assessment credited toward deployment when you proceed; on a three-year fully managed commitment of 15 or more nodes, deployment can be rolled into the annual rate. The pilot and the migration are scoped in the assessment. Prices are in US dollars.
Is OpenStack too complex to run?+
It is if you run it yourself, which is why most teams should not. On a fully managed cloud, VEXXHOST deploys, monitors, upgrades and repairs the platform. Your team works with projects, networks and virtual machines, much as it does today.
Do we need OpenStack skills in-house?+
Not when the cloud is fully managed. Your administrators learn the dashboard, the CLI and the API, and training is available. If you prefer to operate the platform yourselves, our engineers stay on call 24×7.
How fast do your on-call engineers respond to an incident?+
For urgent incidents, our on-call engineers respond within 15 minutes, 24×7.
Does OpenStack have an equivalent of vSphere HA and DRS?+
Both have a replacement that works differently. When a host fails, its virtual machines are restarted on healthy hosts by evacuation once the host is confirmed down, so two copies never write to the same volume: on fully managed clouds our on-call engineers run this 24×7; on supported clouds it is one operator command. For balancing, the scheduler places each virtual machine when it starts, following the rules you set, and an operator rebalances by live migration while the virtual machines run.
Does Veeam work with OpenStack?+
Veeam does not support OpenStack today, although its agents can still protect individual guests. Any backup product with OpenStack support works, including Commvault, Rubrik, NetBackup, Trilio and Storware.
Does OpenStack run Windows Server virtual machines?+
Yes. Windows Server guests are supported, and MigrateKit installs the drivers during cutover.
Can we keep our SAN or storage array?+
Yes. Ceph is the default storage, and existing Pure, NetApp, Dell and HPE arrays work through OpenStack storage drivers. The assessment confirms the exact models.
Who replaces failed hardware?+
You do. The servers are yours and stay in your data center, so your team or your hardware vendor replaces failed parts. If the cloud runs on hardware in our data centers, we replace it.
How long does a VMware to OpenStack migration take?+
The assessment takes about two weeks, and a new environment usually takes 2–4 weeks to deploy. After that, virtual machines move in waves at the pace your change windows allow.
How much downtime does each virtual machine have during migration?+
One short scheduled window, typically a minute or two. MigrateKit copies the disks while the virtual machine runs, then powers it off, syncs the last changes and starts it on OpenStack with the same MAC and IP addresses.
Can a virtual machine be rolled back to VMware after migration?+
Yes. Cutover shuts down the original virtual machine and leaves it in place in vSphere, so it can be started again there. Changes made on OpenStack after cutover are not copied back.
What if we want to leave VEXXHOST later?+
The platform is upstream OpenStack deployed with Atmosphere, which is open source. Your team or another provider can take over the same cloud, and nothing has to be migrated again.
How does OpenStack compare with Nutanix and Proxmox?+
Both are sound choices in the right situation, and the comparison above says when. Nutanix is the closest like-for-like replacement and remains a per-core subscription. Proxmox suits smaller estates whose administrators want to run KVM and Ceph themselves; because Proxmox sells support tickets only, 24×7 Premium coverage on 15–30 dual-socket hosts costs about the same over three years as having VEXXHOST deploy and operate OpenStack, while your team still carries the pager. OpenStack fits when you want a private cloud with tenants, storage drivers and APIs, operated for you 24×7.
Is OpenStack still relevant?+
Yes. More than 55 million cores are in production on OpenStack, and Walmart, Workday and CERN each run a million or more. A new release ships every six months, and the OpenInfra Foundation, home of OpenStack, has been part of the Linux Foundation since June 2025.
