VMware Alternative Open Source Solutions: What to Use and Why

VMware has long been a cornerstone of enterprise IT, offering robust virtualization capabilities and a slew of management tools. However, the company has recently changed its licensing models, making things more costly and driving many businesses to look for VMware alternatives as a result.

As VMware alternatives, open-source solutions can offer significant cost savings, but those are only part of the equation. The right software can empower teams with greater flexibility, extensibility, and control, giving your business the ability to adopt edge computing tools or implement a hybrid infrastructure.

With all of that in mind, join us below as we explore a handful of the top open-source VMware alternatives, along with what to consider when migrating, and how RackN’s Digital Rebar complements these platforms by automating provisioning and lifecycle workflows from the ground up.

Why Companies Are Looking for VMware Alternatives

A quick run of the numbers in a VMware license renewal calculator reveals just how expensive the technology has become. Be that as it may, cost isn’t the only reason that companies are looking for open source VMware alternatives. Business leaders are also worried about the following:

• Being locked into a single vendor
• Unpredictability of VMware licensing
• Closed ecosystems that are rigid
• Siloed tool stacks

These realities are sparking broader adoption of VMware alternatives by business leaders. They are turning to bare metal, edge, and hybrid deployments, where VMware isn’t always the best fit.

What to Look For in a VMware Alternative

Not all virtualization platforms are created equal, nor can they meet the demands of your business while simultaneously providing adequate cost savings. As such, when evaluating VMware alternative open source solutions, you need to prioritize these key capabilities:

• Virtualization Technologies: KVM, Xen, and QEMU offer efficient hypervisor functionality
• Provisioning and Lifecycle Management: Platforms must support image creation, updates, and decommissioning at scale
• API-Driven Orchestration: Essential for integration with IaC and CI/CD pipelines
• Community and Support: Active open-source communities ensure innovation and help resolve issues quickly
• DevOps Compatibility: Provides a seamless fit into existing workflows and tooling

Open source solutions that check all of these boxes will provide your business with the flexibility necessary to explore new technologies and effectively modernize itself.

Top Open-Source VMware Alternatives

The leading open-source tools that can serve as strong VMware alternatives include the following:

• Proxmox VE: A user-friendly platform that combines KVM and LXC for virtualization and container workloads
• XCP-ng: A Xen-based hypervisor built for production use and enterprise-grade virtualization
• oVirt: A feature-rich platform built on KVM with an emphasis on centralized management
• OpenStack: A comprehensive cloud orchestration platform that includes Ironic for bare metal provisioning and also supports hypervisors like KVM
• KubeVirt/OpenShift Virtualization: Integrates virtual machines into Kubernetes clusters

RackN’s declarative, event-driven workflows make it a foundational tool for building hybrid environments and reducing manual operations.

How the RackN Digital Rebar Platform Fits Into the Open Infrastructure Ecosystem

Most open source alternatives require machines to be prepared before use, leaving operations teams to handle system bring-up ahead of time. Bare metal automation tools, like Digital Rebar, fill this gap for scalable VM use. Digital Rebar is a platform that handles bare metal provisioning, OS installation, firmware updates, and lifecycle management, streamlining the transition to a new virtualization platform. It complements other virtualization tools by enabling the following:

• Zero-touch infrastructure bring-up
• Composable automation workflows for consistent infrastructure builds
• Support for brownfield and greenfield environments
• Repeatability at scale for remote, edge, or hybrid data centers

Altogether, RackN bridges the gap that many open-source projects leave unsolved, providing the missing automation layer between hardware and virtualization platforms.

Real-World Use Case: Replacing VMware With Open Tools + RackN

Suppose that an enterprise wants to migrate from VMware to something like Proxmox or OpenStack. They can use Digital Rebar to do the following:

• Automate provisioning of bare metal nodes
• Deploy either solution via reusable workflows
• Streamline OS installation, firmware updates, and network configuration
• Maintain versioned control over infrastructure builds

In turn, the business will see faster deployments, lower operational overhead, and greater reproducibility without sacrificing flexibility or control.

Tips for Migrating From VMware to Open Source Alternatives

As you prepare to move to an open source VMware alternative, here’s how to set your business up for success:

• Audit your infrastructure, including existing VMware assets, workloads, and licensing obligations
• Define your automation workflows, including lifecycle management templates
• Start small before scaling out to additional processes
• Use automation from the start to avoid manual processes
• Use Digital Rebar to unify your environments and orchestrate physical, virtual, and cloud resources

Connect with us to learn more about how Digital Rebar can support your journey, and start your move to a VMware open source alternative today.

FAQs

What Is the Best Open-Source Alternative to VMware?

There’s no single answer here, as it depends on your use case. If you are looking for simple virtualization, Proxmox or XCP-ng are great. For full cloud orchestration, consider OpenStack. RackN’s Digital Rebar is best for bare metal automation.

Is There a Free Alternative to VMware for Enterprise Use?

There are many different free, open-source tools that can deliver enterprise-grade features without the licensing costs. A few examples include oVirt, XCP-ng, and Proxmox. Some of these providers also offer optional support plans.

Can I Run VMs on Open-Source Platforms Like Proxmox or oVirt?

Both Proxmox and oVirt support KVM virtualization, allowing you to run Linux, Windows, and other OSes on virtual machines. Explore these solutions and compare your options so you can find the right fit for your business.

How Can I Automate Provisioning and Lifecycle Without VMware Tooling?

Use tools like Digital Rebar to automate the full lifecycle, from provisioning hardware to installing OSes and handing off to virtualization platforms or container orchestration. It is a user-friendly and versatile tool when you want to automate provisioning at scale.

What Role Does RackN Play in VMware Replacement Strategies? 

RackN also delivers infrastructure-as-a-code solutions to help you move away from VMware and transition to open-source alternatives, in addition to the automation backbone to bridge the gap between hardware and software.