Traditionally, containers and VMs have operated in separate silos, each with distinct management tools and workflows. OpenShift Virtualization breaks down these barriers, allowing VMs to run alongside containerized applications as native Kubernetes resources. This offers organizations the flexibility to modernize their application stacks incrementally, leveraging existing VM-based workloads while embracing the agility of containers.
A core component of this is KubeVirt, an open-source CNCF Kubernetes-based project. KubeVirt provides the necessary APIs and tools to manage VMs within a Kubernetes environment, enabling consistent deployment, scaling, and lifecycle management across both containers and VMs.
The Announcement of Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine
Red Hat’s recent announcement of the OpenShift Virtualization Engine is a game-changer for organizations exploring alternatives to VMware. This new offering is designed to provide a more cost-effective pathway for enterprises to adopt OpenShift Virtualization, addressing budget concerns while maintaining robust performance and scalability. By bundling key virtualization capabilities into a single, streamlined package, the OpenShift Virtualization Edition reduces licensing complexity and enables organizations to transition to hybrid cloud infrastructure without breaking the bank. For businesses seeking to unify their virtualization and containerization strategies, this announcement offers a compelling reason to consider OpenShift as a core part of their IT modernization roadmap.
Best Practices for Implementing OpenShift Virtualization
To maximize the benefits of OpenShift Virtualization, organizations should consider the following best practices:
- Assess Application Suitability: Evaluate which applications are best suited for containerization and which should remain as VMs, based on factors like performance requirements, architecture, and dependencies.
- Leverage Unified Management Tools: Utilize native tools and APIs to manage both containers and VMs, streamlining operations and reducing complexity.
- Implement Comprehensive Backup Strategies: Deploy backup solutions that can handle the unique needs of both VMs and containers, ensuring rapid recovery in case of failures.
- Optimize Storage Performance: Use storage solutions that offer high performance and scalability, and that can seamlessly manage storage for both containers and VMs.
- Plan for Disaster Recovery: Establish disaster recovery protocols that account for the hybrid nature of your environment, ensuring minimal downtime and data loss.
By embracing OpenShift Virtualization and adhering to these best practices, organizations can create a flexible, scalable, and resilient IT environment that leverages the strengths of both containers and virtual machines.
Ensuring Data Protection and Disaster Recovery
You are ready to deploy or migrate virtual machines, so now what? As organizations deploy mission-critical applications on OpenShift Virtualization, robust data protection becomes paramount. Trilio offers native, fully integrated backup and recovery solutions specifically designed for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization and KubeVirt environments. Trilio’s platform enables point-in-time backups, application-consistent restores, and supports file, application, and VM-level recovery across clusters and clouds, providing comprehensive data protection tailored for modern hybrid infrastructures. (Discover Trilio’s Backup Solutions). So that no matter where you are in your cloud native journey, Trilio has your back(up)!
Conclusion
For more insights into the integration of VMs and containers, consider exploring the following resources:
How Trilio Empowers OpenShift Virtualization: Discover how Trilio enables seamless backup, recovery, and migration for applications running on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization and KubeVirt, ensuring data consistency and operational resilience.
Introducing Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine: OpenShift for your virtual machines: Discover how deploying, managing, and scaling virtual machines with OpenShift Virtualization Engine reduces unnecessary complexity and cost to align seamlessly with organizations’ immediate virtualization IT priorities.
These resources offer valuable perspectives on the evolving landscape of virtualization, providing guidance for organizations navigating this complex terrain. Enjoy.
