Nutanix AHV Virtualization Reviews

Customers often choose Nutanix AHV Virtualization for its leading position in the hyperconverged segment. The primary use case is virtualizing workloads, whether migrating from a physical environment or transitioning from other virtualization platforms like VMware or Hyper-V.

Nutanix AHV Virtualization is a private cloud platform offering integration with various public cloud providers. This integration allows for a multi-cloud approach. In my opinion, Nutanix AHV Virtualization's strength is its storage. It innovates and excels in the hyper-converged storage segment, making it the number one choice in this area. 

Honestly, there's a lot to work on the product, especially for someone like me who has worked on VMware. VMware offers a significant level of customization when configuring virtual machines, and that level of detail is not as pronounced on Nutanix AHV Virtualization. 

I have been working with the product for six years. 

I rate the tool's stability an eight out of ten. 

I have not contacted the tech support team yet. 

The tool is pretty easy to set up. While I haven't deployed it for a customer, I have set it up in my home lab. It may require some resources, but the process is straightforward overall if you have the correct equipment and follow the deployment steps. I rate it a seven out of ten. 

Depending on the customer's environment and other details, people can set up Nutanix AHV Virtualization clusters in a week or two. Assuming all prerequisites are in place, one week should be sufficient to deploy it. 

The tool is not as expensive as VMware. It is essentially KVM, a Linux-based virtualization with a rebranded version and a web interface. While it does the job, it may not offer the same level of detail as VMware.

The solution's pricing is cheap for a new customer but becomes expensive during renewal. Especially when a customer plans to expand their environment, feedback in the market from end customers and partners becomes crucial. There have been instances where customers who chose between Nutanix AHV Virtualization and VMware opted for Nutanix AHV Virtualization due to cost considerations. Yet, as they aimed to scale, the pricing factor became a more significant consideration and changed their mind. 

The product stands out in the hyper-converged market due to its user-friendly nature. Automation minimizes manual configuration tasks, reducing the operational burden and making it less headache-prone for administrators.

In light of recent developments, especially with Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, there's a sense of uncertainty and potential disruption in the market. Broadcom's history, as seen with the Symantec acquisition, raises concerns about the impact on licensing renewals. VMware no longer selling perpetual socket licenses adds to the uncertainty.

In such a scenario, Nutanix AHV Virtualization appears to be stable. Unlike VMware, it hasn't undergone frequent changes in ownership. We have small, medium, and enterprise businesses using it. 

When considering it, it's important to assess third-party integrations. While the product has a mature platform with an expanding ecosystem, it may not be as mature as VMware regarding integrations. Therefore, potential buyers should ensure their desired integrations have native support within the tool's ecosystem. Whether it's an existing backup solution or other third-party products, compatibility checks are crucial before adopting Nutanix AHV Virtualization to avoid any issues with integration.

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten. 

The cluster is used for software tests, evaluations, or migration projects driven by Nutanix Calm. We needed a simpler approach with a higher grade of automation for testing purposes. As I already stated in my Nutanix Calm review, Nutanix Calm lets us do this. AHV was used so that we would not have any additional spend on a hypervisor. VM management does not require an additional management server like vCenter. Sizing the solution has always taken into account the need for Nutanix Controller-VMs (CVM) - the main part of AOS - to form the cluster and present storage to the hypervisor.

Nutanix AHV is the invisible hypervisor integrated into Nutanix AOS. Like with any other Nutanix solution, they do API-first. This way, it can be tightly integrated. Management is done through Nutanix Prism Web-Management. We deploy our machines using Nutanix Calm, so we get to have standardized VMs while tailored to the use case on hand.

Updates are done with the Lifecycle Manager (LCM) which too is integrated into Prism. It takes care of most cross-dependencies between Prism, Calm, AOS, AHV, and Firmware Updates.

AHV helps us because it is a no-brainer in regard to management.

There are no specific features we would consider special. It is the simple non-consideration we get with this product that's great. It just works. You can just do all the other things you are wrapped up with, so you can focus on anything but AHV. It is a hypervisor, not some exciting application server you have to tend to regularly. Therefore, the most valuable feature of AHV is "having time for other things".

As stated above, the lack of a need for something like vCenter has its perks, too. It is rather cool to have and underscores Nutanix's approach of "invisible infrastructure".

Since it is tightly integrated, you want to have it as a single installable thing. But that is against its nature. The tight integration with AOS makes it what it is. AHV is mostly on par with ESXi. Since it comes together with AOS you must compare it to ESXI with VSAN to get the complete picture. It can do vGPU just like ESXi, can move VMs just like ESXi, and snapshots won't make it "stun" the VM as it does on ESXi.

If you ever have a problem, hit up Nutanix Support. I've never had better support. Just do a Proof-of-Concept and have them wow you.

Just to be clear: If you have the need for special hardware like FibreChannel-Cards or such and there is no networked-way around it (such as you could work with USB Dongles via an HW-Dongle-Server of network), you have to use a separate hypervisor. That said, you could still present NFS from the Nutanix Cluster to VMware or use an iSCSI-Connection in-guest or in-host from the Nutanix Cluster.

We started using the solution back in 2019 with AHV. We still have our production system running with VMware.

We never had any issues regarding stability. There were a few vendor warnings (aka Nutanix field advisory) that mentioned possible stability issues in certain scenarios, depending on the customer's setup.

As with any solution, fixes are made and only an update away. Stability is always critical to a solution so you have to keep all components on a compatible level. To achieve that Nutanix introduced Life Cycle Manager (LCM) to help with this. LCM won't show any versions where critical issues are known to keep you from getting an issue just from updating. You always get a target version that is safe and compatible with your running components. 

To make it your own choice between safety and new features they have STS and LTS as known from other software. STS (Short Term Service) versions are updated very frequently and you can (and to some degree have to) update every few weeks and get the newest features. If you are not so keen on updating that frequently, you just stick to LTS. 

Alas, AHV is updated independently from AOS. So whether you are on LTS or STS with AOS you can just upgrade to a compatible AHV version with LCM, just make sure you have only AHV selected.

If you had (like me) an ESXi cluster paired with various components from NetApp, you really appreciate the Nutanix LCM that comes with it. I have seen more purple-screen-of-death than I'd like to admit. However, I've had nothing like that with AHV. 

All the Nutanix field advisories from the vendor are there to help you keep it running. Nutanix Support helps clear out any questions whatsoever.

Scalability is the true nature of a true HCI solution. You can scale as you like. If you just need storage, you would put storage nodes that are blocked for running VMs on. 

The support team is superb. Activating remote support on ticket creation gives them a head start at working on your issue. Ticket pickup-time is great and the support staff is polite and knowledgeable.

Positive

We just had some VM templates on ESXi but that did not cut it. Not by far. Handcrafting test VMs was just too cumbersome.

As easy as it gets. The servers came pre-installed. You just update to the desired version to start with.

We set everything up with a consultant from our local Nutanix Partner. His expertise was formidable.

Given an average of 2-5 days until a VM is ready before AHV and the free offering of the AHV hypervisor, that is difficult to calculate.

I'd advise users to get a proof-of-concept (POC) to evaluate the solution. Considering other HCI solutions, which AHV is a part of. The pricing is competitive with ESXi+vSAN.

Setup is done in a matter of hours. The longest part is racking it in the data center.

We had roughly 10 years of experience with ESX(i), so we knew what alternatives were out there.

Our primary use case for this solution is for different Omni Calculator applications and other applications of certification.

The redundancy factor features are valuable. Additionally, the storage features and volume system are great.

The price could be lower.

We have been using the solution for approximately one year.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable. It allows us to manage and scale out a square and have nodes. Additionally, we shepherd nodes between different clusters as well. Currently, six people are using the solution in our organization.

We have had a good experience with customer service and support. They are very supportive.

The initial setup was not complex because we had received training.

The solution is very expensive and is one of our concerns as we intend to upgrade.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten. The solution is good, but the price could be lower.

Our primary use case for this solution is utilizing it as a unified software. It's unified, easy to use and simplified. It has a lot of functionalities, such as replication and failovers, and we deploy it on-premises.

We have found the replication, analysis, and analytics tools valuable. It usually prompts when there is an impending issue that might occur. For example, if the failover is failing, or the remote site is down, it will alert you. The solution is very proactive and can even anticipate an issue that might occur. You can know in advance and be able to fix it.

The price of the solution can be improved.

We have been using this solution for one year.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable and there are currently 60 end users utilizing the solution. You can easily add resources. For example, when a server uses more resources, you can continuously optimize and reduce the server's resources, which uses less and the other, which employs more. It's very flexible and scalable, so you can take the flexibility you want. They are based on the usability and the resources of the infrastructure.

I rate customer service and support an eight out of ten. We had an issue and raised it with the Nutanix AHV Virtualization team, and they were able to resolve it. In addition, they have resolved any problems we request when we cannot manage them.

Positive

We previously used VMware and Hyper-V. However, we switched to this solution because of its flexibility, usability, and responsiveness. So, when you interact and have VMs running, or there's downtime or an issue, it usually transfers VMs from one node to another when there's an issue on one part of the node.

I didn't install this product, so I cannot comment on the setup. However, based on the research I've done with others, it's usually the same. It's efficient. The setup is efficient.

The licensing costs are a little bit expensive.

I rate the solution a ten out of ten, the solution is very good, but it could be cheaper. Nutanix AHV Virtualization is a very good solution, and I recommend it to anyone.

The solution is used for virtualization.

The dashboard of the solution is one of its strongest points.

Pricing is an area that needs improvement. In future releases, I would like to see a better pricing policy. The solution's scalability needs to be improved.

I have been using Nutanix AHV Virtualization for eight-plus years. I am using the solution's latest version. Also, I am not using it, but my team does use it. My company has a partnership with Nutanix.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a six out of ten. There are some issues with the availability of the services, which we are trying to sort out.

Around 10 to 20 people, who are managers and developers, are currently using the solution in my organization.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six out of ten. It's not a very scalable product.

The support team is helpful, and I rate the support a nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup was easy. For maintenance, ten engineers are needed.

The pricing depends upon the licenses, considering the number of devices.

I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten.

We use AHV to manage our virtual environment. The AHV is the hypervisor that we use to create virtual machines. AHV has another layer called AOS, which means the Acropolis Operating System from Nutanix.

AHV is based on a well-known hypervisor called the KVM hypervisor. KVM hypervisor is an open source hypervisor from Red Hat. Nutanix took KVM and added many features on top of it that weren't available. For example, moving virtual machines from KVM to another KVM wasn't possible without many configurations.

We're using the most updated version of AHV. It's deployed on-premises.

There are some issues with the interface and integration. The AHV management console is a web-based console. Sometimes the interface doesn't capture the mouse or keyboard strokes from the managing console to integrate with the virtual machines. Sometimes the type strokes aren't captured from the interface. To fix the problem, we have to close the interface and rerun it.

There's another problem with the scaling. If the main operating system is low scale, we can't see some parts of the virtual environment. For example, the screen won't be displayed because the window isn't big enough, so it's outside the scope of the screen.

The solution is stable. When we have a number of nodes and run the AHV hypervisor, we create a cluster and can create a virtual machine anywhere. If we want to move the virtual machine from one host to another, it's simple, straightforward, and stable. There's no interruption of the virtual machine. For example, we can run a ping to the virtual machine continuously, move the virtual machine from one node to another, and the ping won't drop.

There's no interruption of services when we move from one host to another. I think it's because the environment doesn't have many virtual machines.

It's scalable.

Technical support is good.

Deployment took less than two days. 

We have three years of guaranteed support. When we need troubleshooting or help with maintenance, we call the company or the resellers will send the engineer that deployed the environment to solve the problem.

We purchased the solution with three years of support. It's a one-time purchase. After that, we will need to renew support. The licenses are perpetual, which means they don't expire. Even if we don't have support or don't renew the support service after three years, we will still be able to use the solution.

I have compared the solution with VMware and Hyper-V.

I would rate this solution as eight out of ten. 

For someone who is planning to implement this solution, my advice is that if you're interested in it, buy everything that's Nutanix. Don't try to mix up different solutions from different manufacturers because you'll lose many features. If you want an all-in-one solution, go for the Nutanix all-in-one environment. Don't try to buy from other manufacturers.

Nutanix AHV's most valuable feature is NetFlow. Its performance and speed are also very good. 

An improvement would be for Nutanix AHV to support VMDK, AOS, Hyper-V, and VMware.

I've been working with Nutanix AHV for three years.

Nutanix AHV is stable.

Nutanix AHV is scalable.

The initial setup was straightforward as we used Nutanix Foundation to deploy the AHV computing and solution orders.

Nutanix AHV is low cost.

I would rate Nutanix AHV as eight out of ten.

We implement the solution overall in an on-premise environment. We primarily use the solution for business continuity plans and disaster recovery plans. We use Nutanix for our infrastructure as a service.

Nutanix is well implemented for business continuity and disaster recovery plans as it's a technology with full tolerance and is good for these cases.

AHV is free. When you implement Nutanix, when you buy a Nutanix appliance, AHV is free. It is inside of the appliance. You can decide if use it or choose another hypervisor such as VMware.

The user interface is fine.

It integrates well with other Nutanix solutions. 

The initial setup is very fast.

It offers very good stability.

We find it to be highly scalable.  

It's user-friendly.

I don't have enough knowledge to answer this question. I'm not extremely technical. 

VMware does tend to have more features than AHV. It's more of the leader in this space.

It's a stable, resilient solution.

The solution scales well. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so. 

The support is outstanding. You can choose the kind or the type of support you need and they are always available. 

I'm also familiar with Microsoft and VMware. VMware has many or more features than AHV. However, for example, the Microsoft Hypervisor is not in competition against Acropolis Hypervisor. It's not as robust. If I had to choose between AHV and Microsoft, I would choose AHV.

The product offers a very simple, very straightforward setup. It's very fast as well. I'd give it a four out of five rating in terms of the ease of the process.

We are an information technology company. We are an integrator, we are a service provider and we have consultants. We can handle any installation for ourselves or clients.

The solution is free to use with other Nutanix appliances. There is no licensing cost, no managing cost, and no maintenance cost.

We are partners of Nutanix. I work as an IT project manager. We are resellers of the infrastructure as a service and we internally have a Nutanix environment to handle reseller infrastructure as a service to our customers. My skill set does not include a technical skillset with Nutanix.

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.