Migrating from VMware to OpenStack: Top Tools to Simplify Your Transition

In the wake of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware in 2024, many organizations have started rethinking their virtualization and cloud infrastructure strategies. Concerns around rising costs, uncertain product roadmaps, and increasingly restrictive licensing policies have led many IT leaders to explore alternative platforms. Among them, OpenStack has gained significant support as a powerful, open-source solution for building cloud infrastructure.

As companies search for greater flexibility and independence, many turn their attention to open-source private cloud solutions. OpenStack, a leader in this domain, enables businesses to design and operate tailored cloud environments without relying on proprietary software ecosystems.

Why Make the Move to OpenStack?

Unlike traditional virtualization platforms, OpenStack provides a vendor-neutral, modular architecture that fits startups and large enterprises. However, migrating virtual machines (VMs) from VMware to OpenStack is rarely straightforward. It requires not only technical expertise but also the right tools to minimize downtime, ensure data integrity, and streamline integration.

There are several compelling reasons to consider migrating from VMware to OpenStack:

• Cost Efficiency. OpenStack eliminates costly licensing fees associated with proprietary platforms like VMware, offering a more budget-friendly approach to scaling infrastructure.
• Vendor Independence. With OpenStack, businesses escape vendor lock-in. They gain complete control over infrastructure components and avoid being bound to a single provider’s roadmap or pricing structure.
• Flexibility & Customization. OpenStack supports a broad ecosystem of hardware and plugins, enabling users to build cloud environments tailored precisely to their operational and business needs.
• Horizontal Scalability. Designed to support hyperscale environments, OpenStack is ideal for organizations planning future growth or operating large-scale workloads.
• Community Support. Backed by a global community of developers and users, OpenStack evolves rapidly and offers extensive documentation, tutorials, and peer support.

Despite its advantages, migrating from VMware to OpenStack presents challenges, such as avoiding service interruptions, adapting to different virtualization formats, and reconfiguring networks and storage. To tackle these issues, selecting the right tools is crucial.

Below, we provide an in-depth overview of five commercial and open—source leading tools that can significantly ease your VMware-to-OpenStack migration journey.

1. Virt-V2V

Virt-V2V is a well-established open-source tool developed by Red Hat that specializes in converting VMware VMs to run on KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) — the hypervisor commonly used in OpenStack environments. It is integrated into Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and leverages the libguestfs library.

Key Features:

• Free and Open-Source: Ideal for organizations using KVM-based platforms.
• Broad VM Compatibility: Supports both Windows and Linux VMs.
• Hypervisor Transition: Converts from VMware ESXi and Xen to KVM.
• Native Linux Ecosystem Integration: Works well within Linux environments.

Limitations:

• Architecture-Specific: Only supports x86_64 platforms (Intel/AMD).
• Manual Configuration: Requires hands-on execution and command-line proficiency.
• Extended Downtime: Source VMs must be powered off during conversion, leading to longer maintenance windows for large workloads.

Use Case:

Best suited for smaller environments or testing scenarios where VMs can tolerate extended downtime.

2. MigrateKit

Recently released as open-source by VEXXHOST, MigrateKit is a command-line tool designed specifically for VMware-to-OpenStack migration. It automates the process and offers a dual-phase migration model to reduce downtime.

Key Features:

• Minimal Downtime: Online sync followed by a quick cutover phase.
• Native OpenStack Integration: Built by a company that operates OpenStack clouds.
• Flexibility: Supports migrations to public, private, or hybrid OpenStack deployments.
• Open-Source: Free to use and easy to modify for unique needs.

Limitations:

• No GUI: Command-line only, which may be challenging for less technical users.

Use Case:

Ideal for medium-to-large businesses looking for a no-cost, low-downtime option that integrates cleanly with OpenStack environments.

3. Coriolis

Coriolis by Cloudbase Solutions is an enterprise-grade tool developed for live VM migrations across various platforms, including VMware, OpenStack, Hyper-V, AWS, and Azure.

Key Features:

• Live Migration Support: Keeps source VMs operational during most of the process.
• Cross-Platform Capability: Supports diverse cloud and virtualization stacks.
• Enterprise Automation: Allows orchestration of hundreds or thousands of VMs.
• Robust Rollback: Built-in error handling and recovery tools.

Limitations:

• Licensing Costs: Not fully open-source; requires payment per VM migrated.
• Complex Deployment: Initial setup may require time and technical expertise.

Use Case:

Suitable for large enterprises with mission-critical applications that cannot afford long downtime.

4. Hystax Acura

Hystax Acura offers an end-to-end migration solution focused on automation and ease of use. It supports various hypervisors and cloud platforms, making it one of the more flexible commercial solutions.

Key Features:

• Full Automation: From discovery to replication and cutover.
• Incremental Data Sync: Keeps downtime minimal by continuously syncing live changes.
• Cross-Platform: Compatible with AWS, Azure, VMware, and OpenStack.
• User-Friendly Interface: GUI simplifies the process for non-experts.

Limitations:

• High Cost: Commercial licenses can become expensive for large-scale migrations.
• Customization Needs: This may require tailored setups for complex networks.

Use Case:

Best for companies that want a nearly hands-free experience and can budget for premium automation features.

5. Trilio

Trilio is well known for its backup and recovery solutions in OpenStack environments. Still, it also offers a robust toolset for VMware-to-OpenStack migration, fully integrated into the Horizon dashboard.

Key Features:

• Flexible Migration Strategies:
• Cold Migration (complete shutdown),
• Warm Migration (minimal downtime),
• Dry Run (testing migration).
• Automatic Flavor Mapping: Matches VMware hardware specs to OpenStack flavors.
• Storage & Network Mapping: Supports translation of VMware datastores and networks to OpenStack infrastructure.

Limitations:

• Windows Disk Mounting: This may require post-migration fixes for Windows data disks.
• Kernel Handling: This doesn’t auto-switch Linux kernels, potentially requiring manual adjustments.

Use Case:

Perfect for existing OpenStack users who value native integration and flexible migration workflows.

Example Target Platform: c12n by Cloudification

While migration tools help move workloads from VMware, it's equally important to define the target cloud environment. One example is c12n — a private cloud platform based on OpenStack and Kubernetes, developed by Cloudification.

c12n is a cloud platform that serves as the destination for migrated workloads. It is built to support modern infrastructure use cases and long-term private cloud operations with automation, scalability, and flexibility in mind.

Key Features:

• Kubernetes-as-a-Service (KaaS) running on top of OpenStack
• GitOps-first automation for full infrastructure lifecycle management
• Support for GPU-based workloads, edge deployments, and hybrid cloud models
• Open-source compatibility — typically used alongside tools like MigrateKit for VMware migrations
• Used in production by organizations in telecom, research, SaaS, and industrial sectors

Learn more about the c12n private cloud platform at cloudification.io