Best next steps - Choosing your Hypervisor
Today, businesses are discovering that their predictable VMware costs are about to go through the roof. And while Microsoft is often considered a go-to with Hyper-V, Proxmox offers a compelling alternative not only to VMware but also to Hyper-V, providing flexibility, modern architecture, and significant cost savings.
Proxmox offers a more cost-effective licensing model than Hyper-V for many organisations. While Hyper-V deployments typically require Windows Server licensing and may involve additional Microsoft management tools, Proxmox provides enterprise-grade virtualisation with predictable subscription costs and without a dependency on the wider Microsoft ecosystem.
One of Proxmox’s key advantages is its ability to manage both virtual machines and Linux containers from a single platform. This allows organisations to choose the most appropriate workload type for each application, improving resource utilisation and potentially reducing the amount of hardware required to support business services.
Storage flexibility is another area where Proxmox excels. With support for technologies such as ZFS, Ceph, NFS, iSCSI, SMB, and local storage, organisations can design storage architectures that meet their performance, resilience, and budget requirements without being tied to proprietary solutions or expensive hardware investments.
| Feature | Proxmox VE | Microsoft Hyper-V |
Licensing Model | Annual subscription per CPU socket with access to Enterprise Repository and vendor support | Windows Server licensing based on physical cores, plus Software Assurance where applicable |
Vendor Support | Direct support from Proxmox Server Solutions with enterprise SLAs available | Microsoft Premier/Unified Support and partner ecosystem |
Management Interface | Single integrated web-based interface | Hyper-V Manager, Windows Admin Center, Failover Cluster Manager, PowerShell |
High Availability | Included as standard | Available through Windows Failover Clustering |
Cluster Management | Built into the platform | Requires Failover Clustering configuration |
Backup Integration | Native integration with Proxmox Backup Server | Typically relies on Microsoft tools or third-party backup solutions |
Container Support | Native LXC containers and KVM virtual machines managed from one interface | Windows Containers and Hyper-V Containers, managed separately |
Storage Options | ZFS, Ceph, NFS, SMB, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, local storage | Storage Spaces Direct, SMB, iSCSI, SAN, Azure integrations |
Hyperconverged Infrastructure | Native Ceph integration included | Storage Spaces Direct requires Windows Datacenter licensing |
Software-Defined Storage | Included through Ceph integration | Requires additional Microsoft technologies and licensing tiers |
Monitoring & Management | Built-in monitoring and reporting | Often enhanced through System Center and Azure services |
Resource Efficiency | Lightweight Linux platform with minimal overhead | Additional Windows Server overhead |
Patch & Update Management | Centralised through Proxmox repositories | Windows Update, WSUS, Azure Update Management |
Total Cost of Ownership | Typically lower due to simplified licensing and reduced infrastructure requirements | Typically higher due to Windows licensing, management tooling, and support costs |
Why leap from the frying pan into the fire when you can leap from VMware to Proxmox, lower your costs, expand your resilience and improve your performance. Book a call with us now and find out how we can help you!