Businesses have dramatically changed the way they manage IT infrastructure over the years. Applications are becoming more complex, workloads are distributed across multiple environments, and IT teams are under pressure to deliver reliable performance without adding unnecessary complexity to the infrastructure.

Virtualization is one of the things that has changed. Instead of running each application on a separate physical server, organizations can run multiple workloads on the same hardware via virtual machines. This is something that can be done due to a technology called a hypervisor.

The hypervisor is sandwiched between the physical hardware and the virtual machines and allocates resources such as CPU, memory, storage, and networking. Selecting an enterprise virtualization platform is so much more than just virtual machines. Performance, security, management, scalability, compatibility, and long-term infrastructure plans all have to be considered.

What is a hypervisor?

A hypervisor is software that enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server.

Each virtual machine has its own OS and applications. The hypervisor manages sharing of the basic hardware resources between the virtual machines. This enables organizations to use their physical infrastructure more efficiently.

You could have a database, application server, and development environment running as separate virtual machines on one server. Each workload is logically isolated yet shares the same physical resources.

This simple idea is one of the primary reasons that virtualization became so important in enterprise data centers.

What is a hypervisor?

The hypervisor controls access to the physical server’s resources. When a virtual machine needs to use some CPU time, memory, storage, or access the network, the hypervisor is the coordinator of those resources.

Based on the workload requirements, IT administrators are able to assign varying levels of resources to various virtual machines. Resources can also be monitored and adjusted as requirements change.

This makes provisioning new workloads, consolidating servers, and managing infrastructure easier without having to buy a dedicated physical server for every application.

Of course, benefits depend on how the environment is designed. Performance issues can still arise from poor resource planning, incompatible hardware, or insufficient storage and networking.

Type 1 Hypervisor vs Type 2 Hypervisor

Hypervisors are generally categorized into two types: Type 1 and Type 2

Type 1 Hypervisors.

A Type 1 hypervisor runs directly on the physical hardware itself. This is commonly referred to as a bare-metal hypervisor.

This architecture is common in enterprise environments because the virtualization layer has direct access to the server hardware.

Well-known Type 1 hypervisors include VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM, the open-source hypervisor built into the Linux kernel, which underpins many enterprise virtualization platforms.

Type II Hypervisor

A Type 2 hypervisor runs on top of an existing OS.

This is a common practice in desktop virtualization, development, testing, and lab environments. It is unlike the bare-metal approach typically used for large production data centers.”

The right choice depends on the intended use, workloads, performance expectations and infrastructure environment.

So why does the hypervisor matter?

The hypervisor is not only a tool to create virtual machines. It is the basis for many virtualized environments.

Virtualization enables organizations to consolidate workloads onto fewer physical servers, provision systems more quickly and more effectively utilize available hardware.

A hypervisor can also simplify things like workload migration, testing, resource allocation and infrastructure management.

Today’s enterprise environments have evolved to more than just virtualization. Storage, networking, security, backup, disaster recovery and management all need to work together.

That’s where integrated infrastructure approaches like HCI come into play.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure Hypervisor

Hyperconverged Infrastructure, often called HCI, combines a number of infrastructure functions. HCI combines compute, storage, networking, and other components into a more integrated architecture, rather than managing them as completely separate systems.

The hypervisor still plays a key role in this model as it provides the virtualization foundation.

Sangfor HCI combines server virtualization software defined storage, networking, security and centralized management. Its architecture includes aSV for server virtualization, aSAN for software-defined storage, aNET for network virtualization, aSEC for security, and Sangfor Cloud Platform (SCP) for infrastructure and cloud management.

Sangfor is a global enterprise technology provider, delivering cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions to organizations worldwide, with strong and growing operations across APAC, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.

For an IT team, this means HCI should not be viewed simply as another way to run virtual machines. It’s a way of dealing with the broader infrastructure that supports those workloads.

Why Sangfor HCI?

Sangfor HCI delivers virtualization, storage, networking, security, and management in a single infrastructure platform.

It consists essentially of the following:- aSV – server virtualization

– aSAN- software-defined storage

– aNET – Virtualization of Networks

– aSEC – security

– SCP – cloud & infra management

Sangfor serves mid-market and large enterprises worldwide, with customer deployments across APAC, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.

Organizations considering VMware Alternatives can consider the larger infrastructure stack supported by the Sangfor architecture rather than just virtualization.

These comparisons describe matching areas of an infrastructure architecture; they should not be taken to mean that the products are the same. Enterprises should validate features, integrations, certifications, hardware support, workload support, and migration requirements for their environment.

VMware and Hypervisor Alternatives

VMware has long been a big name in enterprise virtualization. Its technologies cover server virtualization, storage, networking and centralized infrastructure management.

Organizations contemplating VMware Alternatives may thus need to consider more than just the hypervisor.

An adequate evaluation can include virtual machine compatibility, storage architecture, networking, security, management, backup, hardware support, licensing and migration requirements, among other things.

Since Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and its shift to subscription bundles centered on VMware Cloud Foundation, many organizations have re-evaluated their virtualization strategy, weighing cost, packaging, and long-term platform fit. There is no universal migration path, since every environment has its own applications, dependencies, hardware, and operating processes. Each environment has its own set of applications, dependencies, hardware, processes for operations, and business requirements.

aSV vs ESXi

One comparison that enterprises might consider is aSV vs ESXi.

Sangfor aSV is a KVM-based Type 1 hypervisor. It can be deployed as a standalone hypervisor, or as the server virtualization layer within Sangfor HCI.

In comparing aSV with ESXi, organizations should consider practical requirements as opposed to product names alone. Key areas cover operating system support, virtual machine compatibility, hardware support, performance, high availability, migration capabilities, backup integration, security, and management.

A pilot environment with real or representative workload can give a better picture of compatibility than a feature list alone.

Hypervisor and Software Defined Storage

Storage is critical to VMs . Operating systems, databases, applications and user data must be able to reliably access storage resources.

In an HCI environment, software-defined storage can aggregate storage resources from multiple infrastructure nodes and present them to virtual workloads.

Sangfor aSAN is a fully integrated, distributed software-defined storage layer that pools local disks across HCI nodes into shared storage for virtual machines. VMware customers comparing it with vSAN should check which vSAN entitlements are included in their VCF or VVF subscription.

When evaluating storage, enterprises should look beyond capacity.

Requirements for performance, redundancy, scalability, hardware compatibility, data protection and recovery can affect the suitability of a platform.

Network Virtualization and Hypervisor

With the growth of virtual environments, the importance of networking increases.

Virtual machines demand reliable connectivity and organizations may also need segmentation, security policies, routing, monitoring and automation.

Network virtualization permits the management of many of these functions via software, rather than being wholly dependent on each physical network device.

Sangfor aNET is the built-in network virtualization layer of Sangfor HCI, providing virtual switching, routing, and segmentation through a visualized interface. It works on top of the physical network, which still needs to be designed for cluster traffic.

Central Management

It’s not hard to manage a few VMs. Managing hundreds or thousands is another challenge.

Enterprise environments need to centrally see and control virtual machines, resources, clusters, policies and infrastructure operations.

Sangfor Cloud Platform (SCP) is the centralized management hub for Sangfor HCI. It lets administrators manage clusters and virtual machines, automate routine operations, and offer self-service resources across multiple tenants. Depending on licensing and deployment, it can also manage existing VMware vCenter clusters during a transition.

This is why you need to look at the management layer as well as the hypervisor when you consider a virtualization platform.

Hypervisor Migration Planning

The migration process should begin with an assessment, not a migration to another virtualization platform.

First, IT teams should understand their existing environment, including:- Virtual Operating Systems and Machines

– dependencies for the application

– CPU and memory requirements

– Set up storage

– Set up network

Backup and recovery processes

– Hardware compatibility

– Security needs

– Integration requirements

Then you can reduce unnecessary disruption through a phased approach.

Five Practical Phases

1. Assessment: Understand current state and identify dependencies.

2. Pilot: Choose a small representative set of workloads to test.

3. Validation. Test application performance. Networking. Storage. Backup. Security and recovery.

4. Phased Migration – Instead of altering the entire environment at once, migrate workloads in manageable groups.

5. Recovery Planning: Ensure tested and validated recovery and rollback procedures are in place during transition.

This approach allows the IT team to identify issues before they impact a larger number of workloads.

Security and Resilience

Security should be integrated at the start of the virtualization discussion.

You need to protect the hypervisor, the virtual machines, the management interfaces, the storage, the networks and the backup systems.

Sangfor aSEC adds security capabilities such as micro-segmentation and east-west traffic control to Sangfor HCI, working alongside the virtualization, storage, and networking layers. Licensing and feature scope depend on the deployment.

Resilience is also worth a separate mention. Having backups doesn’t necessarily equate to an effective disaster recovery strategy for an organization. IT teams should define Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs), Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs), backup frequency, recovery procedures, offsite copies, and recovery testing.

Backup and recovery integrations can be thought of as part of the larger infrastructure strategy.

Five Considerations for Choosing a Hypervisor

While no one checklist will work for every organization, these five areas provide a pragmatic starting point.

Workload fit – Can the platform support the applications and operating systems that are used today?

Operational fit: Can the IT team manage, monitor, troubleshoot, and maintain it effectively?

Resilience fit: Does it satisfy the organization’s availability, backup, and disaster recovery needs?

Commercial fit: Does licensing, hardware, support, migration, and operational costs fit within the organization’s plans?

Strategic fit: Can the platform support future requirements such as HCI, private cloud, security, and infrastructure modernization?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a hypervisor?

A hypervisor is software that allows creating and managing virtual machines on physical computing hardware.

What is a hypervisor Type 1?

Type 1 hypervisor – This type of hypervisor is installed directly on the physical hardware of the server. You typically see this in enterprise data centers.

Is HCI identical to a hypervisor?

No. A hypervisor is the virtualization layer, whereas HCI combines this with infrastructure functions such as storage, networking, security, and management.

KVM is used in enterprise virtualization.

Yes. KVM is the base of many virtualization and infrastructure platforms. Sangfor aSV is built on top of KVM.

Does an organization change its hypervisor?

This is dependent upon the technical environment, workload requirements, operational requirements, commercial factors, and long-term infrastructure plans of the organization.

Conclusion

The hypervisor remains a key building block in enterprise virtualization. Multiple virtual machines can share physical resources, and it provides the foundation for running virtualized workloads.

Modern infrastructure, however, requires a broader view. In the real world, the performance of a virtualization environment is impacted by storage, networking, security, management, backup, and disaster recovery.

In that context, the hypervisor is therefore only one part of the decision for enterprises evaluating VMware Alternatives or considering HCI. Organizations can make an architecture choice that is compatible with their environment through a full assessment of workloads, infrastructure, compatibility, operations, resilience and long-term needs. Please ensure a final check is performed before delivery.