Technical Demo: Migrate from VMware to Kubernetes
A technical demonstration of how to evolve workloads from VMs running on Kubernetes into native container deployments
Written by:
Kenny VuPublished on:
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Technical Demo Objective
Explore how organisations can escape rising VMware costs by migrating virtual machines to Kubernetes using KVM and KubeVirt. This technical demo outlines a practical, phased migration approach, tooling such as Forklift, and key considerations for success, helping teams reduce vendor lock-in while establishing a modern platform for future application modernisation strategically.
TLDR
Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware triggered licensing cost increases of up to 1,000% for some customers. More than half are now looking to move away. The question is, where to?
Public cloud, alternative closed-source platforms, and open-source solutions are all possible solutions. We land firmly on the third option, a KVM on Kubernetes approach, because if modernising your applications is on the roadmap at all, a Kubernetes cluster is where you want to end up.
What the stack actually looks like
KVM replaces ESXi as the hypervisor. KubeVirt sits on top, enabling Kubernetes to run and manage virtual machines alongside containers. vSphere is replaced by Kubernetes and KubeVirt. The VMs themselves, and the applications running inside them, come across largely intact.
Don’t migrate everything at once
Start with a single application. Preferably, one that will teach you the most. This could be anything from a critical workload your team needs confidence in, or something complex enough that a successful migration proves the process works for everything else. Prepare the VMs, enable change block tracking on each disk, and verify your Kubernetes cluster has KubeVirt and CDI installed before you begin.
The warm migration process
We use Forklift, an open-source tool built for migrating VMs to KubeVirt. It copies disk data while the VM is still running, takes incremental snapshots using change block tracking, then performs a final delta copy at cutover when the VM is powered off. Virt-v2v handles the image conversion to make it KVM-compatible. Once complete, KubeVirt spins the VM back up inside the cluster.
After migration, the application needs Kubernetes services configured to route traffic correctly. It is running in a new environment, so some post-migration network configuration is expected.
What this solves
The immediate licensing risk is gone, and the application is running on open-source infrastructure with no proprietary vendor dependency. The result is you now have a Kubernetes cluster, which is the foundation for everything that comes next.
LiveWyer Related Content
This video is part two of our Technical Demos relating to VMware Migration and Modernisation. If this was of interest, you can find part two below, which builds on the initial migration and looks to modernise your application workloads.
This video is related to our VMware Migration series with our partners Kubermatic & Portworx. We recommend watching the rest of the videos in the series:
Modernising VMs in a Cloud Native world: Real-world advice from LiveWyer, Kubermatic & Portworx
VMs in Kubernetes: What it really takes to move beyond VMware
From VMware to Kubernetes: Practical Demos & Strategic Roadmaps
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