Alternatives to VMware in 2026: Discover Huawei FusionCompute
Anyone who works with virtualization has already realized that VMware has become a different conversation since the Broadcom acquisition. The focus has shifted from “What features do I need?” to “How much will this cost at the next renewal?” For many customers, this shift has opened the door for Proxmox. It makes sense. But there’s a third option that almost never comes up in initial meetings: Huawei FusionCompute. The platform is neither new nor experimental. It is currently at version 8.10, has extensive technical documentation, and is used by telecommunications companies, banks, and government agencies around the world. In Brazil, it still rarely comes up in discussions about replacing VMware. And maybe it’s time to take a closer look at it. What is FusionCompute? FusionCompute is Huawei’s virtualization layer for data centers. It runs on physical servers, provides VMs, manages CPU, memory, networking, and storage, and is part of Huawei’s DCS solution. The architecture revolves around two components: CNA (Computing Node Agent): Runs on each physical server, implements the UVP hypervisor, and manages VMs locally. VRM (Virtual Resource Manager): The VRM is the central brain and handles cluster management. It controls resource scheduling, VM lifecycle management, IP and VLAN allocation, and provides the web-based administration interface. It runs in active/standby mode with automatic failover within 1 to 2 minutes if the active node goes down. The UVP hypervisor is based on KVM, just like Proxmox, but it runs on a bare-metal architecture without an intermediate host OS, similar to ESXi. Comparison table of the three platforms The table below helps distinguish between actual architectural differences and differences that are merely due to commercial packaging. Functionality VMware ESXi / vSphere 8 Proxmox VE 9.2 Huawei FusionCompute 8.10 Hypervisor type Bare-metal (ESXi) Type-1 (KVM + QEMU) Bare-metal (UVP/KVM) Hosts per cluster up to 96 No explicit limit* up to 128 VMs per cluster up to 8,000 No explicit limit up to 8,000 Licensing Subscription required; min. 72 colors/CPU Open-source (optional paid support) Huawei Business License VM HA ✅ ✅ ✅ Automatic, independent of the management node Live Migration ✅ vMotion ✅ ✅ Storage Live Migration ✅ Storage vMotion ✅ ✅ Automatic load balancing ✅ DRS (included in the bundle) ✅ Dynamic Load Balancer (since PVE 9.2) ✅ Integrated DRS + DPM Automatic Power Saving (DPM) ✅ ❌ ✅ Automatically shuts down idle hosts Intelligent Memory Overcommit ✅ ✅ (ballooning) ✅ (ballooning + sharing + swapping; x86 and Arm) Thin Provisioning ✅ ✅ ✅ Distributed Virtual Switch ✅ vDS (in the paid bundle) ✅ OVS/SDN ✅ Native DVS SR-IOV Limited ✅ ✅ GPU Passthrough ✅ ✅ ✅ GPU Virtualization ✅ (NVIDIA vGPU) ✅ (NVIDIA vGPU, starting in 2025) ✅ (Integrated Intel vGPU) Containers / Native K8s ❌ (Tanzu, separate and paid) ✅ (LXC; no native K8s support) ✅ Integrated K8s Fully multi-tenant ✅ (with add-ons) ❌ ✅ (VPC, ECS, ELB, NAT, etc.) Orchestrated DR ✅ SRM (paid) ❌ ✅ Built-in UltraVR Agentless Backup with CBT ✅ (through third parties) ✅ Proxmox Backup Server ✅ Native eBackup Arm Support ❌ ❌ ✅ Diagnostic Black Box ❌ ❌ ✅ The official Proxmox documentation does not specify a limit on the number of nodes per cluster. The practical upper limit depends on network hardware and latency; there are reports of clusters with more than 50 nodes in production using enterprise-class hardware. What stands out about FusionCompute Cluster scale FusionCompute supports 128 hosts and 8,000 VMs per logical cluster, with up to 4,096 hosts and 80,000 VMs managed per instance. VMware supports up to 96 hosts per cluster in vSphere 8. Proxmox does not have a documented upper limit, but stability in very large clusters depends heavily on how the management network was designed. For large enterprise data centers, support for 128 hosts per cluster with a total scale of 80,000 VMs is a major advantage. DRS and DPM: Energy-Saving Scheduling FusionCompute’s DRS monitors host load in real time and automatically migrates VMs to balance CPU and memory usage across the cluster, without manual intervention. This is equivalent to what VMware offers in the vSphere bundle and what Proxmox now offers with the Dynamic Load Balancer in PVE 9.2. What sets FusionCompute apart here is DPM (Dynamic Power Management): when the cluster’s load drops, the system consolidates the VMs onto fewer hosts and automatically shuts down idle servers. When demand rises, the hosts are restarted. For environments with varying workloads throughout the day or week, this results in real energy savings without the need for external automation. Three-Layer Memory Overcommitment FusionCompute combines ballooning, memory sharing (identical pages across VMs are consolidated into a single physical copy), and swapping to allow a server to provide more virtual memory than the available physical memory. Proxmox uses ballooning but does not natively implement memory sharing between VMs. The practical result is a higher density of VMs per host on FusionCompute, especially when workloads have similar memory usage profiles. This feature works on both x86 and Arm, which is a key advantage in environments with Kunpeng servers or similar systems. Three-dimensional resource-based QoS per VM While Proxmox offers basic controls for CPU shares and limits, FusionCompute allows you to configure three independent parameters per VM: Quota: the proportion of CPU that the VM receives during resource contention among VMs on the same host. Reservation: the guaranteed minimum amount of CPU that the VM will always receive, even under high contention. Limit: The absolute maximum amount of CPU that the VM can consume, even when the host is idle. The same model applies to memory, networking, and storage IOPS. This matters when the same cluster hosts a mix of production, validation, and less predictable workloads. Without a well-defined resource policy, a resource-intensive VM can become a problem for another area. Five-Layer VM Isolation The UVP hypervisor implements isolation between VMs in five dimensions: physical resources, vCPU scheduling (via VMCS), memory (with three levels of addressing that prevent VMs from accessing each other’s memory), internal networking (with VRF and packet filtering), and
How Pontonet got out of server chaos and reduced costs with Proxmox
Find out how Made4it transformed a total failure scenario into a modern, resilient and cheaper infrastructure. 16/09/2025 – By Made4it The scene is familiar to any IT manager: end of the month, bills to be issued, system running… until everything crashes. This is exactly what happened to Pontonet, when a simultaneous failure in a physical server put the entire business at risk. Stop and think: if all your disks crashed today, how much would it cost to recover a whole year’s worth of information? That’s when Made4it stepped in to turn disaster into opportunity. The problem: simultaneous failure and no backup This is the kind of risk that many companies ignore until it’s too late. Solutions on the table: keep VMware or migrate? Faced with the disaster, we evaluated two alternatives: Continue to VMware Migrate to Proxmox Why Proxmox? Proxmox is more than a free alternative. It offers: When compared to VMware, Proxmox has proven to be more agile, economical and secure. Made4it’s role in this turnaround Pontonet was already a client of Made4it’s networks and servers. When the failure occurred, we took the following actions: This process demonstrated our technical mastery and ability to turn crises into opportunities for innovation. Results: safety and savings After the migration: Proxmox and Made4it: the winning combination This story shows that technology and strategy go hand in hand. There’s no point in investing in expensive licenses if the project doesn’t include redundancy and backup; likewise, an open source solution requires expertise to be applied safely. Made4it delivers both: in-depth knowledge and affordable solutions. Do you know someone who still relies on an old server with no backup? Send them this article! And if you don’t want to be shocked to discover that your company is vulnerable, talk to our experts.
New Method for Importing VMware VMs into ProxMox
Hi everyone, Bryam from Made4it here! As you know, we’re always on the lookout for new developments that could revolutionize the way we work, and today we’re really excited to share something that’s going to make life easier for all of us who work with infrastructure and virtualization. Every day we carry out various migrations for all kinds of companies, and this new feature will make our process much easier. You asked for it, and technology delivered: migrating VMs from VMware to ProxMox just got much simpler and more intuitive! Forget about complicated commands and seemingly endless lines of code. Now, with just a few clicks, you can complete the entire process directly through the Web GUI. Stay tuned—we’ll be breaking down everything about this innovation that promises to be a game-changer in our daily lives. Join us on this technological journey! Introduction Until then, migrating from VMware to ProxMox was a process done entirely via the CLI; we had to download a specific binary, establish communication with the destination VMware server , download the disk, convert it, import it into ProxMox, and attach it to a VM. Seeing this massive shift of people choosing ProxMox, they took the opportunity to develop a new method for migrating VMs—and best of all, it’s entirely via the Web GUI, which has made the process much easier, since we no longer have to touch the server’s CLI at all! This new option is available starting with ProxMox version 8.1.8, and the binaries that make this work are as follows: pve-manager version 8.1.8, libpve-storage-perl version 8.1.3, and the new pve-esxi-import-tools binary! Updating First, we need to have one of these repositories set up on our Proxmox: pvetest or pve-no-subscription Select your Host > Updates > Repositories If you don’t have any of these repositories, simply go to the “Add ” option and select the ” Test” or ” pve-no-subscription” repository. Once the repository has been added, simply go to the “Updates” option, select ” Refresh ” to get the latest packages, and then go to ” Upgrade” ONLY UPDATE YOUR PROXMOX IF YOU ARE SURE OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING; IF NOT DONE CORRECTLY, THIS PROCESS CAN AFFECT YOUR ENVIRONMENT!! IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US!! A pop-up window will open; simply configure the upgrade. Once the upgrade is complete, we recommend rebooting your server so that it runs on the new kernel (if it was updated). Communicating with VMware Communication with our VMware environment occurs via API, and to configure this, we need to go to: Data Center > DataStore > Add > ESXi We will configure this new storage as follows: Once you’ve configured the storage, it will already be visible on your ProxMox servers. Performing Migration When you access Storage, a screen like this will appear: Basically, we’ll look at the existing VMs in your VMware environment. After that, just select the one you want to migrate and choose the ” Import” option. This screen will appear, showing the presets you want to configure before importing: If the VM has a CD-ROM drive attached to it in VMware, it will not be migrated! The VM cannot be migrated while it is running; you must shut it down first (in VMware) After making the changes you want, just click ” Import ” and wait. Once the import is complete, your VM will be ready to use! Live Import To minimize downtime—since we need to shut down the VM that is going to be migrated—ProxMox has introduced the Live Import option, which allows us to power on the VM during the import process and have it up and running right away, simulating the Live Restore feature already provided by ProxMox Backup Server. More information So, are you interested in simplifying your VM migrations? Made4it is here to ensure that your transition to ProxMox goes as smoothly as possible. Don’t let your questions hold you back! Contact us and we’ll schedule a call to explain everything you need to know. Still not convinced? Check out our post “VMware vs. ProxMox – Which One Should You Choose?” on the Made4it blog. There, we detail the advantages of each system so you can make the best decision for your situation. Remember, Made4it is an expert when it comes to virtualization. We’re here to help you reach new heights with ProxMox. Contact us right now and take your infrastructure to the next level!
VMware vs. Proxmox – Which one to choose?
Introduction When we talk about servers today, we automatically associate them with virtualization. Gone are the days when we used bare-metal servers to run just one application. With the ease of virtualization and better use of server resources, it has become almost mandatory to use your server with some virtualization software. Currently, two major players have been leading the way when it comes to virtualization: VMware and Proxmox. Especially after the news about VMware’s sale to Broadcom, this topic has become even more prominent. And the question on most people’s minds is: VMware or Proxmox? Which virtualizer to choose? Which is the “best”? Throughout this post, we’ll make some comparisons between the two virtualizers so that you can decide which one best suits your needs and, of course, get to know the main features of each one! Overview of services Proxmox is an open-source virtualizer updated and maintained by Proxmox. It is based on Debian and uses KVM/QEMU as a virtualizer and LXC for containers. It stands out because it’s free and has a wide range of features, so the limit to how much you can grow and evolve is directly linked to your knowledge of the tool. Proxmox also stands out when it comes to compatibility with older hardware, as it is directly linked to the Linux kernel being used. VMware is a proprietary virtualization platform that has recently been updated and maintained by Broadcom. It is no longer free; users must now obtain a license to use it. It uses proprietary technologies for server virtualization, and its high performance and stability are undeniable. It stands out for its simple interface and features that add significant value in large-scale environments. VMware’s compatibility depends on the version being used; the newer the version, the less compatible it is with older hardware. Ease of use Proxmox, at first glance, may seem confusing and difficult, especially since some configurations require integration with the CLI. However, once you get used to its interface and the functions you need, everything becomes easier. It also has excellent documentation that covers all the available functions. It also has paid support, which users can choose whether or not to purchase, and has a good active community. VMware has a user-friendly and more objective interface. With just a few clicks, you can get a VM up and running. On the other hand, if you want access to other features, you will need to purchase a new license and/or configure other software (e.g. VEEAM, vCenter). It has excellent documentation and several KBs (knowledge base) explaining various problems that can occur. Performance Both services perform well. VMware stands out for running its OS in RAM memory, thus allowing you to better navigate its interface. Other than that, both are very close in terms of performance in mixed scenarios, using Linux and Windows VMs and different types of storage. Scalability Both virtualization platforms allow you to easily increase the resources (CPU/MEM/DISCO) of your VMs, and, if necessary, even expand internal resources, such as adding more space to a datastore or disk on your VMs. Now, if you purchase another server and want to expand your server infrastructure, Proxmox handles the addition of a new server to your system more effectively. Whereas in VMware that server would be isolated and you’d need to set up a new service (vCenter) to bring the servers under its management, in Proxmox you simply create a cluster and register the new server in the cluster (literally just those two steps). Features and functionality Both services have similar features and functionalities. In the case of VMware, access to them will depend on the license you have, while in Proxmox it will depend on whether or not the version you are on has support for it. Examples of some of the features they have in both: Costs We did a simulation for a server with 1 CPU (Socket) and these were the costs For Proxmox you don’t need a license to use it, only direct support from the manufacturer if you want to. Case studies and practical examples Let’s assume a few scenarios and understand where it is interesting to implement VMware or Proxmox. P.S.: I’m going to give a shout-out to on-premises environments from internet service providers! Scenario 1: I have a used server from before 2015 and would like to add it to production to virtualize 5 non-critical VMs. VMware scenario: Proxmox scenario: In other words, in both scenarios, you’ll be able to implement your solution. Of course, in the case of VMware, in addition to the license price, you’ll need to consider your server model and, most importantly, its age. Very old servers aren’t supported by the latest versions of VMware, and you’ll have to make additional investments to support the backup scenario if you have more than 10 VMs in your environment. Upgrade Scenario 1: I saw that the virtualization worked very well, and now I want to add more VMs, but now there will be critical VMs, and to run these VMs I upgraded and bought a new server. VMware scenario: Proxmox scenario: Conclusion Anyway, we’ve seen that Proxmox and VMware are very similar and can deliver the same result, as long as you meet a few requirements! It all depends on the size of your infrastructure and its criticality. The first thing we need to consider is the investment I’ll be making in licenses. If I decide to use VMware, I should consider whether that investment might be better spent elsewhere (for example, upgrading a component of my internal server). My recommendation is this: if your infrastructure is 100%, with new servers that don’t need to be upgraded, and you can afford the licenses, go with VMware, because it will give you the best in the virtualization world. However, if you have a small/medium-sized infrastructure, Proxmox will serve you VERY well, as we already have access to all its features from the moment we install it. Unlike VMware, which requires us
