Why Enterprises are Switching
As proprietary models and evolving platform economics reshape virtualization decisions, many organizations are reassessing their infrastructure strategy.
Why Leaders Choose SUSE Virtualization
- Modernize without a full rewrite: Move legacy VMs onto a cloud-native platform with minimal disruption—at your own pace.
- Reclaim Your Budget: Achieve cost sovereignty. Replace unpredictable licensing with a transparent, open-source model that puts you back in control of your IT spend.
Built for the Next Frontier
- AI-Ready Infrastructure: Native NVIDIA MIG vGPU multitenancy lets you run multiple AI workloads on shared GPU resources — no specialized hardware stack required.
- Edge-Ready by Design: Our lightweight footprint deploys across decentralized edge locations with the same unified management — no separate edge stack to operate.
SUSE Virtualization Migration Checklist
1. Pre-Migration Assessment
- [ ] Inventory Discovery: Audit your vCenter to list all VMs, CPU/RAM allocations, and disk usage.
- [ ] OS Compatibility: Verify guest operating systems are supported by KubeVirt (most modern Linux and Windows versions).
- [ ] Network Mapping: Document existing VLANs, vSwitches, and IP configurations to map them to Harvester’s network settings.
- [ ] Performance Baselining: Record current IOPS and latency metrics to ensure the new HCI environment is sized correctly.
2. Infrastructure Readiness
- [ ] Hardware Validation: Ensure bare-metal nodes meet minimum specs (typically 8+ cores, 32GB+ RAM) and support hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x/AMD-V).
- [ ] Storage Setup: Confirm Longhorn (built-in storage) has sufficient capacity—aim for 2x the size of your largest VM to allow for snapshotting and migration buffers.
- [ ] Add-on Activation: Enable the VM Import Controller in the SUSE Virtualization console.
3. Execution (The Migration Path)
- [ ] Credential Integration: Securely connect Harvester to your vCenter/ESXi endpoint using a Secret containing your credentials.
- [ ] Source Verification: Use the UI or CLI to verify the "VmwareSource" is marked as Ready.
- [ ] VM Preparation: * For Cold Migration: Shut down the VM to ensure data consistency.
For Warm Migration: Ensure Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is enabled on the VMware side. - [ ] Import Initiation: Map the VMware source networks to Harvester VLANs and trigger the import.
4. Post-Migration & Optimization
- [ ] Driver Update: Replace VMware Tools with VirtIO drivers (or open-vm-tools) for optimized disk and network performance.
- [ ] Backup Configuration: Integrate with an enterprise-grade tool like Veeam Kasten or use Harvester's native S3-based backup.
- [ ] Rancher Integration: Import the new cluster into SUSE Rancher to manage both these VMs and your Kubernetes containers side-by-side.
Migrate to SUSE automatically with Coriolis
Automate migration with Coriolis and SUSE Virtualization. No manual rebuilds, no downtime, and a path to a modern, enterprise platform.
Migrate without friction
Automated disk copy, OS adaptation, and VM creation. No manual rebuilds.
Zero disruption
Agentless migration with no credentials. VMs stay running during replication.
Scale with confidence
Continuous sync with on-demand failover and parallel, API-driven migrations.
Technical FAQ: Coriolis migrating to SUSE Virtualization
Can I migrate VMs from AWS or Azure to SUSE Virtualization?
Yes. Coriolis supports migration from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure in addition to VMware vSphere. The process works the same way: Coriolis connects to the source platform APIs, replicates disk data, performs OS adaptation, and creates the VM on SUSE Virtualization. This makes it possible to repatriate cloud workloads to on-prem infrastructure without rebuilding them.
How many VMs can I migrate with the included Coriolis licenses?
New SUSE Virtualization customers receive 10 complimentary Coriolis migration licenses. Existing customers receive 5. These licenses co-term with your SUSE Virtualization subscription for up to 12 months. For larger migration projects, additional licensing and professional services are available directly from Cloudbase Solutions.
Do my VMs need to be shut down during migration?
No. Coriolis replicates running VMs in the background using incremental sync. Your workloads stay online during replication. At cutover, Coriolis performs a final incremental sync to minimize the switchover window. You choose when to cut over, so you can schedule it during a maintenance window that works for your team.
What operating systems can I migrate?
Coriolis supports migration of both Linux and Windows virtual machines. Supported Linux distributions include SUSE Linux Enterprise, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Debian, and Fedora. Windows Server guests are also supported, with automatic VirtIO driver injection during the OS adaptation step so the guest boots correctly on the KubeVirt hypervisor.
Can I manage migrated VMs alongside Kubernetes workloads?
Yes. SUSE Virtualization runs VMs and containers on the same Kubernetes cluster. Once migrated, your VMs are managed through the same SUSE Rancher interface you use for Kubernetes workloads. This unified approach eliminates the need for separate management tools for VMs and containers, reducing operational complexity.