Mark BurgessVMware costs have become unpredictable. Your hypervisor doesn’t have to.
Oracle Linux Virtualisation Manager (OLVM) is an enterprise-grade virtualisation platform that does what most organisations actually need from a hypervisor – at a fraction of VMware’s post-Broadcom pricing. It’s not a startup project or a community experiment. It’s backed by Oracle, built on battle-tested KVM technology, and running mission-critical workloads in production today.
This guide examines OLVM honestly: what it does well, where it falls short, and how to determine if it’s the right VMware alternative for your environment.
Executive Summary
Post-Broadcom acquisition, many organisations face VMware cost increases that fundamentally change infrastructure economics. Perpetual licensing is disappearing. Bundled tiers force you to pay for capabilities you don’t need. Renewal quotes arrive at multiples of previous costs.
OLVM offers a different model: enterprise-grade virtualisation through Oracle Linux Premier Plus Support subscriptions, with per-server pricing, unlimited VMs, 24×7 support, and zero per-core or per-feature complexity.
OLVM won’t replicate every VMware feature. It lacks advanced network virtualisation (no NSX equivalent). But for organisations running standard enterprise workloads – databases, application servers, web infrastructure – this gap rarely matters.
What you get: A production-ready hypervisor backed by a vendor with the resources and longevity to support it. KVM-based virtualisation that Oracle uses in Exadata and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Predictable costs without licensing complexity.
What you give up: NSX-equivalent network virtualisation, and the need to develop Linux operational competency if your team doesn’t have it.
For many organisations, that trade-off makes sense.
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Contents
- Why Consider OLVM Now
- What OLVM Actually Is
- Is OLVM Right for Your Environment?
- What OLVM Does Well
- What OLVM Doesn’t Do (Or Doesn’t Do as Well)
- Oracle Workloads: The Hard Partitioning Advantage
- Realistic Migration Process
- OLVM vs VMware: Direct Comparison
- Decision Framework
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Next Steps
Why Consider OLVM Now
The VMware landscape shifted fundamentally with Broadcom’s acquisition. Organisations that budgeted VMware as a predictable line item are facing:
- Elimination of perpetual licensing options.
- Mandatory bundling into higher-cost product tiers.
- Renewal quotes at significant multiples of previous costs.
- Uncertainty about future pricing trajectory.
For some organisations, absorbing these increases makes sense – VMware’s ecosystem depth and feature breadth justify the premium. For others, it’s forced a question that wasn’t previously urgent: Do we actually need everything VMware offers, or are we paying for capabilities we don’t use?
OLVM didn’t suddenly become viable. It’s been running enterprise workloads for years. What changed is the economic calculus that makes evaluating alternatives worthwhile.
What OLVM Actually Is
Oracle Virtualisation is Oracle’s enterprise virtualisation solution, encompassing Oracle Linux KVM and Oracle Linux Virtualisation Manager (OLVM). It’s a server virtualisation management platform based on KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) technology, built on Oracle Linux and the open-source oVirt project.
The architecture mirrors VMware’s approach:
- OLVM Engine – Central management server (equivalent to vCenter).
- KVM Hosts – Hypervisor nodes running virtual machines (equivalent to ESXi hosts).
This isn’t Oracle bolting a management GUI onto community software and hoping for the best. KVM is the virtualisation foundation Oracle uses in Exadata – their flagship engineered system – and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. When Oracle needs virtualisation for their most demanding database workloads, they use KVM.
The oVirt Foundation
OLVM is built on oVirt, an open-source virtualisation management platform with an active community and years of production deployment history. This matters for two reasons:
- No vendor lock-in at the technology level – If Oracle’s direction changes, the underlying platform continues independently.
- Proven foundation – You’re not beta testing; you’re deploying technology that’s been hardened across thousands of environments.
Oracle adds enterprise support, integration with their product ecosystem, and the backing of a vendor with the resources to maintain and develop the platform long-term.
Is OLVM Right for Your Environment?
OLVM isn’t the right choice for everyone. Before investing time in detailed evaluation, here’s how to quickly assess fit.
OLVM is a strong fit if you:
- Face significant VMware cost increases and need a credible enterprise alternative.
- Run standard enterprise workloads – databases, application servers, web infrastructure, file services.
- Don’t depend heavily on VMware-specific features like NSX micro-segmentation.
- Have existing Linux expertise – or willingness and budget to develop it.
- Value cost predictability over feature breadth.
- Want vendor backing without startup risk – Oracle isn’t going anywhere.
OLVM is likely not the right fit if you:
- Rely heavily on NSX for micro-segmentation and distributed firewalling.
- Have VMware-specific integrations that don’t have OLVM equivalents – audit your backup, monitoring, and automation stack first.
- Have no Linux skills and no appetite to build them – this isn’t optional.
Not sure?
The fastest way to determine fit is a 30-minute call where we assess your specific environment, VMware usage patterns, and renewal timeline.
What OLVM Does Well
Enterprise-Grade Core Functionality
OLVM provides the capabilities that matter for running production workloads reliably:
- Live VM migration with zero downtime (vMotion equivalent).
- High availability with automatic VM restart on host failure.
- Resource management including CPU/memory limits, reservations, shares, and memory ballooning.
- Storage flexibility with FC, iSCSI, and NFS connectivity plus multipathing.
- Storage live migration between storage domains.
- Network management with VLAN support and Open vSwitch integration.
- Snapshot and backup integration with API support.
- Disaster recovery replication across sites.
- REST API and Ansible automation for infrastructure-as-code approaches.
- Grafana monitoring integration for operational visibility.
- Wide x86 guest OS support including Windows and Linux variants.
These aren’t paper features. They’re production-tested capabilities running mission-critical workloads across financial services, government, healthcare, and enterprise environments.
Performance That Doesn’t Compromise
KVM’s architecture integrates directly with the Linux kernel, eliminating hypervisor overhead layers present in other architectures. The virtio paravirtualised drivers provide near-bare-metal performance for storage and network I/O.
In production environments, we’ve observed OLTP database workloads on OLVM achieving comparable or better performance than VMware, primarily due to efficient NUMA handling and lower hypervisor overhead. Storage-intensive workloads particularly benefit from virtio drivers’ more direct hardware access.
The practical reality: for most workloads, hypervisor choice isn’t your performance bottleneck. Application architecture, storage subsystem design, and proper resource sizing matter more than which hypervisor you run. Both VMware and OLVM provide more than adequate performance for enterprise workloads.
Cost Structure That Makes Sense
OLVM is available through Oracle Linux Premier Plus Support subscriptions for organisations managing multiple VMs. The pricing model is per physical server rather than per socket, core, or VM.
No per-core licensing. No per-VM fees. No feature tiers that force you into bundles you don’t need. No socket multipliers.
Contact Oracle or an Oracle partner for current pricing details. The cost structure remains dramatically simpler and lower than VMware’s post-Broadcom model.
Vendor Backing Without Startup Risk
One legitimate concern with VMware alternatives: will the vendor exist in five years? Will they have the resources to maintain and develop the platform?
Oracle eliminates this concern. They’re not a VC-funded startup hoping for an exit. OLVM is part of their broader infrastructure strategy – the same KVM foundation runs their cloud and their flagship engineered systems. They have both the incentive and the resources to maintain it.
This doesn’t mean Oracle is a perfect vendor. But it does mean you’re not betting your infrastructure on a company that might not exist when you need support.
How OLVM Differs from VMware
OLVM takes a different approach than VMware in several areas. Some are genuine gaps; others are just different implementations of the same capability.
Workload Balancing: Scheduling Policies
OLVM provides scheduling policies that automatically live migrate VMs based on resource utilisation thresholds – functionally similar to VMware’s DRS. You configure thresholds for CPU and memory utilisation, and the platform redistributes workloads accordingly.
This capability isn’t as heavily marketed as VMware’s DRS, but it addresses the same operational need. See Oracle’s documentation on scheduling policies for configuration details.
Active/Active Disaster Recovery
OLVM supports stretched cluster deployments with Active/Active DR, allowing VMs to run across geographically distributed sites with automated failover. See Oracle’s Active/Active DR documentation for architecture and configuration details.
Third-Party Ecosystem
VMware’s ecosystem is larger, but OLVM’s partner support has expanded substantially:
- Backup: Veeam, Commvault, Veritas, Storware, SEP – all supporting VM-level backups, with more vendors adding support.
- Management platforms: Morpheus, ServiceNow, and other orchestration tools have added OLVM integration.
- Automation: Ansible (native oVirt modules), Terraform, REST API.
- Monitoring: Grafana, Prometheus, Checkmk, standard SNMP.
- Storage: Most enterprise arrays (NetApp, Dell EMC, Pure Storage, HPE) via standard protocols.
The ecosystem gap has narrowed significantly. Check your specific integrations, but most enterprise backup and management requirements now have supported solutions.
Where Gaps Remain
Network virtualisation: OLVM supports VLANs and Open vSwitch but lacks NSX-equivalent capabilities for micro-segmentation, distributed firewalling, or software-defined networking. If your VMware environment heavily uses NSX, you’ll need to rearchitect networking or layer in third-party solutions. If you’re using standard VLANs with physical or perimeter firewalling – which describes most environments -OLVM’s networking is adequate.
Hardware compatibility: VMware’s Hardware Compatibility List spans thousands of configurations. OLVM’s is smaller. Most enterprise-grade HPE, Dell, and Cisco hardware is supported, but verify your specific server, storage array, and network adapter compatibility before committing.
The Philosophical Difference
OLVM provides robust core functionality and expects you to compose additional capabilities from best-of-breed tools. VMware bundles more natively but charges accordingly.
This isn’t a flaw – it’s a design choice. If you value an integrated suite and the budget supports it, VMware’s approach has merit. If you prefer choosing your own tools and paying only for what you use, OLVM’s composable approach may fit better.
Oracle Workloads: The Hard Partitioning Advantage
If you’re running Oracle Database or Oracle Applications, OLVM offers an additional benefit worth understanding: hard partitioning recognition for Oracle licensing.
What This Means
Oracle licensing on virtualised infrastructure depends on whether your hypervisor supports “hard partitioning” or “soft partitioning”:
VMware (soft partitioning): Oracle’s licensing policy requires you to license all physical cores on every host where Oracle VMs could run – typically your entire cluster.
OLVM (hard partitioning): You license only the cores allocated to the Oracle VM itself.
OLVM achieves this through CPU pinning and NUMA-aware scheduling that physically constrains workloads to specific cores, meeting Oracle’s technical requirements for hard partitioning recognition.
The Practical Benefit
For most organisations, this doesn’t reduce existing Oracle licensing costs – those licenses are already purchased. What it provides is:
- Compliance clarity – Your Oracle deployment architecture aligns with licensing policy without ambiguity.
- Architectural flexibility – You can consolidate Oracle workloads onto shared infrastructure without licensing every core in the environment.
- Audit risk reduction – Hard partitioning provides a defensible licensing position.
- Future deployment efficiency – New Oracle workloads can be right-sized without over-licensing.
If you’re running Oracle RAC, Oracle Applications, or significant Oracle Database deployments, this architectural advantage warrants consideration during platform evaluation.
Not Running Oracle?
If you have no Oracle workloads, this section doesn’t apply to your decision. OLVM’s value proposition for non-Oracle environments is straightforward: enterprise-grade virtualisation at substantially lower cost than VMware.
Realistic Migration Process
There’s no lift-and-shift magic here. Migration from VMware to OLVM requires guest-level conversion. It’s not complex, but it requires planning and testing.
Two-Phase Approach
Phase 1: OLVM Environment Provisioning
Before migrating any VMs, build out the OLVM infrastructure:
- Deploy OLVM Engine (management server).
- Configure KVM hypervisor hosts.
- Set up storage domains (FC, iSCSI, or NFS).
- Configure network infrastructure and VLANs.
- Establish backup integration.
- Implement monitoring and alerting.
Phase 2: Guest Migration
You have two migration approaches:
Option A: Offline conversion (traditional approach)
- Pre-migration: Remove VMware Tools, document VM configurations, identify application dependencies.
- Conversion: Use virt-v2v (command-line) or OLVM’s import wizard (GUI) to convert VMDK to QCOW2 format, inject virtio drivers, map virtual hardware.
- Post-migration: Install OLVM guest agents, reconfigure network settings if needed, validate application functionality.
- Testing: Parallel testing before cutover, performance validation, failover scenario testing.
Option B: Live migration (minimal downtime)
Several partner solutions now support migrating running VMs from VMware to OLVM with minimal downtime:
- Rackware
- Cloudbase
- NetApp Shift
- CirrusData
- Oracle Cloud Migration service
These tools handle the conversion process while VMs remain operational, reducing migration windows significantly. The right choice depends on your downtime tolerance and migration complexity.
The Infrastructure Recycling Advantage
Guest-level migration enables infrastructure repurposing. As you migrate VMs off VMware hosts, those physical servers can be re-provisioned as OLVM KVM hosts.
This approach eliminates new hardware purchases for the OLVM environment. Your existing VMware hosts become your OLVM hosts. The migration becomes a gradual transition where infrastructure is recycled rather than expanded – reducing capital expenditure and maximising existing investments.
Timeline Expectations
For a medium-sized environment (100-200 VMs), expect 6-8 weeks from kickoff to completion:
| Phase | Duration | Activities |
| Planning | 1-2 weeks | Assessment, design, tool selection |
| Environment Build | 1 week | OLVM infrastructure provisioning |
| Pilot migration | 1-2 weeks | Initial production workloads, validation |
| Full migration | 2-3 weeks | Remaining VMs, parallel running, cutover |
Larger environments or complex application dependencies extend timelines. Smaller environments with straightforward workloads can move faster. The biggest variable is typically your organisation’s change management processes, not the technical work.
You can run OLVM and VMware in parallel during migration, allowing gradual cutover without a high-risk “big bang” approach.
Skills Transition
If your team is VMware-native, the learning curve is measured in days to weeks, not months. Concepts map directly:
| VMware Term | OLVM Equivalent |
| vCenter | Engine |
| Datacenter | Data Center |
| Cluster | Cluster |
| ESXi host | Host |
| Datastore | Storage Domain |
The deeper learning curve is Linux administration. OLVM’s management interface is web-based and accessible, but troubleshooting and advanced configuration require comfort with Linux command-line tools. If your team lacks Linux expertise, budget for training or external support during the transition.
OLVM vs VMware: Direct Comparison
| Capability | VMware vSphere | OLVM | Assessment |
| Core virtualisation | Mature, full-featured | Mature, full-featured | Equivalent for most use cases |
| Live migration | vMotion | Yes | Functionally equivalent |
| High availability | vSphere HA | Yes | Functionally equivalent |
| Automated load balancing | DRS | Scheduling Policies | Both support threshold-based VM redistribution |
| Network virtualisation | NSX | Basic (VLANs, OVS) | Significant gap if NSX is core to your architecture |
| Storage live migration | Yes | Yes | Functionally equivalent |
| Backup ecosystem | Extensive | Growing (Veeam, Commvault, Veritas, Storware, SEP) | Gap narrowing; verify your specific vendor |
| Hardware compatibility | Extensive HCL | Narrower | Validate specific configurations |
| Stretched clusters | Mature | Supported | Both platforms now offer active-active capabilities |
| API/Automation | Extensive | REST API, Ansible | VMware more comprehensive; OLVM adequate for most needs |
| Oracle hard partitioning | No | Yes | OLVM advantage for Oracle workloads |
| Pricing model | Per-core, bundled tiers | Per-server, flat | OLVM dramatically simpler and lower cost |
| Vendor trajectory | Broadcom acquisition, pricing uncertainty | Stable Oracle product | OLVM offers more predictability |
The Honest Summary
VMware remains the more feature-complete platform. If you need NSX, vRealise suite, or deep third-party integrations that don’t yet support OLVM, VMware delivers capabilities OLVM doesn’t match.
But “more features” isn’t the same as “better fit.” If you’re using 40% of VMware’s capabilities and paying for 100%, OLVM’s focused feature set may be exactly right – at a fraction of the cost.
Decision Framework
Choose OLVM if:
- VMware costs have become unsustainable and you need a credible enterprise alternative.
- You run standard enterprise workloads that don’t require VMware-specific features.
- Your team has or can develop Linux competency
- You value cost predictability and simpler licensing.
- Oracle workloads are part of your environment (additional hard partitioning benefit).
Stay with VMware (or evaluate other alternatives) if:
- NSX micro-segmentation is core to your security architecture.
- VMware-specific integrations are deeply embedded with no alternatives.
- Zero Linux expertise and no willingness to invest.
The Real Question
Don’t ask “Is OLVM as good as VMware?” Ask “Does OLVM do what we actually need?”
If your VMware environment uses live migration, HA, basic networking, and standard storage – which describes most deployments – OLVM provides equivalent capability at dramatically lower cost with enterprise vendor backing.
If you’re deeply invested in VMware’s advanced features, the migration cost may exceed the savings.
The only way to know is to assess your specific environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is OLVM production-ready for mission-critical workloads?
Yes. OLVM’s KVM foundation is the same virtualisation technology Oracle uses in Exadata and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. It’s certified for Oracle Database, E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel. Enterprises run production workloads on OLVM today – this isn’t experimental technology.
Can I migrate from VMware to OLVM without downtime?
Yes, with the right tools. Several partner solutions now support live migration from VMware to OLVM with minimal downtime, including Rackware, Cloudbase, NetApp Shift, CirrusData, and Oracle Cloud Migration service. These handle the conversion process while VMs remain operational.
For traditional offline conversion using virt-v2v or OLVM’s import wizard, individual VMs require downtime during conversion. You can minimise impact through maintenance window migrations and parallel operation of both platforms during transition.
What’s the typical migration timeline?
For a medium-sized environment (100-200 VMs): 6-8 weeks from kickoff to completion. This includes planning, environment build, pilot migration, and full cutover. Larger or more complex environments take longer; simpler environments can move faster. The biggest variable is usually your organisation’s change processes, not the technical work.
Can I use my existing VMware hardware for OLVM?
Yes. As you migrate VMs off VMware hosts, those physical servers can be re-provisioned as OLVM KVM hosts. This converts your migration into infrastructure recycling rather than expansion.
What backup solutions work with OLVM?
VM-level backup is now supported by Veeam, Commvault, Veritas, Storware, and SEP, with more vendors adding support. Dell EMC NetWorker also supports OLVM. The backup ecosystem has expanded significantly – check with your specific vendor for current OLVM integration status.
How does OLVM compare to other VMware alternatives like Proxmox or Nutanix?
Proxmox is community-driven with optional paid support – lower cost but less enterprise backing. Nutanix is a full hyperconverged platform with its own pricing complexity. OLVM sits in between: enterprise vendor support at a fraction of VMware’s cost, without the infrastructure lock-in of hyperconverged platforms. The right choice depends on your support requirements, existing infrastructure, and budget.
Does OLVM support Windows VMs?
Yes. OLVM supports a wide range of x86 guest operating systems including Windows Server and desktop versions. Windows VMs run with virtio drivers for optimal performance.
What if Oracle changes direction on OLVM?
OLVM is built on oVirt, an open-source project that would continue independently if Oracle’s involvement changed. Your investment in KVM-based virtualisation isn’t locked to Oracle’s product decisions. That said, Oracle’s use of KVM across Exadata and OCI suggests continued commitment to the technology.
Find Out If OLVM Makes Sense for You
A 30-minute call is usually enough to determine whether OLVM is worth evaluating for your environment -or whether your time is better spent elsewhere.
In that call, we’ll cover:
- Your current VMware footprint and renewal timeline.
- Which VMware capabilities you actually depend on.
- Obvious fit or obvious blockers for OLVM.
- Whether a deeper assessment is warranted.
This call is most useful if you:
- Face VMware renewal in the next 12-18 months.
- Manage 50+ VMs with in-house infrastructure capability.
- Are genuinely evaluating alternatives, not just researching.
No deliverable, no lengthy report – just a direct conversation about whether OLVM fits your situation. If it doesn’t, we’ll tell you and point you toward alternatives that might.
Exploring other options? Check out our guide to Oracle solutions for VMware migration, including Oracle Cloud VMware Solution and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
