Purpose-built VMware alternative extends infrastructure services to smaller sites without an expensive storage network and builds GPU-based offerings on a unified solution.
Virtuozzo Infrastructure System (V/IS) 8.0 gives service providers, SaaS companies, channel partners, and other organizations more ways to deliver infrastructure and AI services. The release introduces lite deployments starting with one server and local storage, updates NVIDIA support for GPU workloads, and brings VMware migration into general availability.
Other additions include RHEL10 operating system support, new onboarding wizard for simpler setup, improved object storage performance, and greater control over API access.
A unified foundation for AI with updated NVIDIA support
V/IS brings GPU compute, storage, networking, and management together, helping providers deliver private AI services and run AI applications alongside traditional workloads.
8.0 release strengthens that foundation with the NVIDIA R595 driver and vGPU v20 software. Support for GPU passthrough and vGPU on the same host gives providers the flexibility to dedicate GPUs to individual workloads or share GPU resources across virtual machines.
Providers can begin with a footprint suited to the workload, then expand capacity as customers adopt more AI applications. They retain control over the infrastructure while helping customers meet their requirements for data location and access.
V/IS with less infrastructure footprint
Service providers support customer environments of every size, including small hosting deployments, branch offices, and factory locations. Many need only one or two servers, making the investment in additional infrastructure and an HCI storage network difficult to justify.
V/IS now provides a lite deployment option enabled by local storage support in 8.0 release. Compute, management, and storage can run on a single node, with VM workloads using local disks instead of a shared V/Storage tier. Configurable system reservations help reduce the resources allocated to system services in smaller deployments.
Providers and channel partners can use lite deployment of V/IS to offer:
- Dedicated customer nodes for workloads requiring separate hardware, without a shared storage cluster
- Managed infrastructure on customer premises for workloads that need to run locally
- Deployments for smaller businesses sized for current needs, with room to expand capacity and availability
Each independent deployment has its own administration panel, self-service panel, monitoring, and alerting. It uses standard V/IS licensing, with per-core and per-TB logical storage pricing. A V/IS with one-server setup can deliver approximately 53% lower TCO than VMware, based on the configuration modeled in our TCO calculator.
A lite deployment can grow from one to three (and even more) nodes with local storage under common cluster management, giving providers additional capacity as customer demand increases. Administrators can also live-migrate VMs between available nodes within the same lite cluster using disk copy, provided the VM disks use the same storage policy on both nodes.
When customers require automatic VM failover, providers can configure a storage network and shared V/Storage across at least three nodes to form a standard V/IS HA cluster. Other nodes can continue operating with local storage.
Additional improvements in V/IS 8.0
The release also includes:
- Easier VMware migration. The built-in migration tool is now generally available, supporting migration from vSphere 8, including ESXi hosts and vCenter Server, without requiring VMware’s Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK).
- Simpler initial setup. A new onboarding wizard simplifies and speeds up the initial configuration of lite and HCI deployments.
- Updated operating system. V/IS 8.0 moves to a RHEL 10-based operating system with Linux kernel 6.12, bringing updated security and support for modern hardware.
- Improved object storage performance. Faster S3 writes across multi-cluster deployments and lower latency for buckets with metadata sharding support growing storage workloads.
- Greater control over API access. Administrators can manage API access through user permissions and require dedicated API credentials.
V/IS 8.0 also introduces a refreshed look. Full details are available in the V/IS 8.0 release notes.
Get started with V/IS 8.0
Already using V/IS? Upgrade to 8.0 through the usual update process. Your account manager or Virtuozzo Support can help with any questions.
New to Virtuozzo? Get started with V/IS to explore the freemium option or try the platform in our cloud-hosted environment.
