XCP-NG thanks Broadcom for increased interest, swipes Citrix for not helping build an alternative
- Reference: 1728365475
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/10/08/cxp_ng_8_3_futures/
- Source link:
In a [1]post announcing version 8.3 of the platform, CEO and co-founder of Vates, Olivier Lambert, wrote that the success of the 8.x series "has been a game changer for our growth – thanks in part to Broadcom."
He also revealed that work has commenced on version 9.0 of XCP-NG, which he described as "a platform that will be built differently from XenServer, reflecting our own vision and the lessons we've learned."
[2]
"This next major release will target markets that XenServer has never truly focused on, such as server virtualization replacements for organizations impacted by the Broadcom/VMware exodus," he wrote.
[3]
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Lambert hinted that building the new version has been harder than necessary thanks to XenServer – the spinoff of Citrix by Cloud Software Group.
In his remarks about XCP-NG, 8.3 Lambert described the release as "an important evolution for us" as Vates is "increasingly standing on our own while continuing to work closely with key upstream projects like Xen and XAPI."
[5]
"Although we've encountered challenges with Citrix (now Cloud Software Group) XenServer's decision-makers, particularly when it comes to platform-related development, our direct collaboration with these upstream projects has allowed us to make significant progress," he wrote.
He later noted "Our success in migrating even very large customers from VMware to our virtualization stack" and suggested such wins "may also prompt XenServer decision-makers to reconsider their stance. Collaboration, after all, would be far more efficient in driving progress than wasting resources competing, especially as XenServer loses ground as the leader of its own original platform."
Ouch!
[6]GPU-accelerated VMs on Proxmox, XCP-ng? Here's what you need to know
[7]XenServer, split from Citrix, promises per-socket prices 'unlike certain other hypervisors'
[8]Xen to RISC-V port progresses with foundational efforts
[9]Broadcom promised to reform VMware so it enables better hybrid clouds. Will it deliver?
The Register has made numerous interview requests to Citrix and XenServer over the last year, without ever receiving a response that would indicate interest in outlining strategy or technology direction. We'll keep asking!
Lamber billed version 8.3 of XCP as one for those who can tolerate change – as version 8.2 has Long-Term Release status and is "the benchmark for stability."
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Inclusions in version 8.3 that may make it worth the move include support for Windows 11 guests and virtual trusted platform modules. IPv6 support is another addition. The project's [11]release notes explain all the new bits in detail. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://xcp-ng.org/blog/2024/10/07/xcp-ng-8-3/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZwUCxtJudNbAEDmQc2zvcAAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZwUCxtJudNbAEDmQc2zvcAAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZwUCxtJudNbAEDmQc2zvcAAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZwUCxtJudNbAEDmQc2zvcAAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/19/proxmox_xcp_ng_gpu_passthrough/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/23/xenserver_socket_licences/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/24/xen_risc_v_port_progress/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/26/vmware_explore_preview/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZwUCxtJudNbAEDmQc2zvcAAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://docs.xcp-ng.org/releases/release-8-3/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Tried it, found it clunky and slow, went back to Proxmox.
Well, I would previously have agreed with the comments above but we've completed a migration from VMware to XCP-ng and I have to say, it's very good. We paid for support, which is an annual cost. The system is free of licence costs. The support team is brilliant, very quick response with info that is accurate and gets the issue resolved.
There is no difference in speed between runnong VMs on VMware and XCP-ng. We have Debian, Windows and Centos VMs and 16 core Postgres instances for examle run as fast on XCP-ng as they did on VMware. The rolling pool update works well, the migration speed is perhaps slightly slower for large VMs but the backup even backs up direct to AWS S3 or Wasabi immutable with S3 compatibility. Version 8.3 also includes better compression for migrations and backups which will help. I was even able to migrate an old Windows 2008R2 VM from Vmware to XCP-ng without adding any additional drivers and it works. Maybe not advisable but got me out of a hole !
Overall, it was a rocky start before we understood the requirements - there are some which do not apply to VMware, such as using the same NIC number on each host for the same thing, but once you understand how it works (I've been VMware since 2006) it's very easy and it's one of those products that 'does what it says on the tin'.
We have just over 100 VMs with two SaaS products with about 600 customers and maybe 40,000 users. Use quality hardware and it is really very little different to VMware as far as a smaller enterprise is concerned. I'm not sure how it would run with 1000 VMs but I suspect it wold be the same as it is with 110.
I'd strongly recommend watching lots of videos on YouTube, do lots of reading and set up a test system first, with the support from Vates. Just as you would if you were approaching VMware for the first time !
Ok, so there are worse options than Broadcom's VMWare...
...I forgot about these guys. I guess Xen is still sort of a thing.