Nutanix
US-based Nutanix pioneered HCI: compute, storage and virtualization in one node, scaled by adding nodes. The AHV hypervisor is included in the Nutanix Cloud Platform, all managed in Prism, and Nutanix Move helps migrate VMs off VMware.
- Headquarters
- United States
- Positioning
- Mid-marketEnterprise
- Official website
- www.nutanix.com
Who it suits
Organizations whose servers and SAN are both near end of warranty and want a three-node cluster that grows easily.
Overview
Who Nutanix is
Nutanix is a publicly listed US company headquartered in San Jose, California. It started with the hyperconverged (HCI) idea: instead of several servers attached to a central SAN, each node has its own CPU, RAM and disks, and software pools the disks of all nodes into one storage layer that keeps multiple copies of the data. Need more? Add a node.
How the products fit together
- Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is the core: distributed storage (AOS), the AHV hypervisor included in the licence, plus networking and security. It comes in Starter, Pro and Ultimate editions, licensed per core on one- to five-year subscriptions.
- Prism is the management interface: Prism Element for each cluster and Prism Central for many clusters or branches.
- Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) adds capacity planning, automation and cost tracking.
- Nutanix Unified Storage serves file, object and block from the same cluster.
- NC2 runs Nutanix on AWS or Azure, and the Nutanix Kubernetes Platform handles containers.
- Nutanix Move is a free tool that migrates VMs from ESXi, Hyper-V or the public cloud to AHV.
Hardware options include Nutanix NX, Dell XC, HPE DX, Lenovo ThinkAgile HX and Cisco UCS. Since 2025 Nutanix has also let AHV run against external storage, starting with Dell PowerFlex and Pure Storage FlashArray and later Dell PowerStore. That helps organizations that bought a new SAN recently and do not want to throw it away.
Who it suits
Nutanix fits mid-size to large organizations: banks, insurers, hospitals and multi-branch companies whose servers and SAN reach end of warranty together and who want a three-node cluster that grows easily, with enterprise support. For an office with a dozen VMs it is usually more than you need.
Strengths
- AHV is included in the NCI licence, so there is no separate hypervisor bill as there would be with VMware on HCI.
- Firmware, hypervisor and AOS upgrades for the whole cluster run from Life Cycle Manager with one click, one node at a time, without stopping VMs.
- Nutanix Move pre-syncs VM data from VMware and only stops the VM for the final cutover, which makes a VMware exit plannable.
- You can choose hardware from several brands and use certain external storage arrays, so you are not tied to one server vendor.
Things to know before choosing
- Licensing is a per-core subscription, just like VMware. Do not compare only the first-year price; get the three- to five-year renewal terms in writing.
- HCI grows CPU and storage together. If data grows fast but VM count does not, you may end up buying nodes with more CPU than you need, or storage-heavy nodes.
- Entry cost is high: a standard cluster needs at least three nodes. For one or two servers the cost rarely makes sense.
- Engineers with real Nutanix experience are still few in Laos. Deep troubleshooting usually means opening a case with Nutanix or relying on a team from Thailand.
Using it in Laos
Most Nutanix clusters in Laos are three nodes in a head-office server room in Vientiane, sometimes with a smaller second cluster as a DR site.
Notes from the field:
- Power: each node has two power supplies. Wire them properly: one to UPS A, the other to UPS B or a conditioned feed. Set up automatic cluster shutdown through the UPS network card before the batteries run out.
- Heat: HCI nodes pack disks and CPUs densely. A room that goes above 27°C in the hot season makes fans work hard and disks fail early.
- Network: use two redundant 10/25 Gbps switches. A single switch is the most common single point of failure we see.
- Spares: disks and power supplies are replaced through the hardware vendor (Dell, HPE, Lenovo or Nutanix). Check that the support contract covers parts delivery to Laos and how many days it takes.
Keep a separate backup. Snapshots inside the cluster are not a backup.
Compared with alternatives
VMware fits better if you run hundreds of VMs, your team already knows vSphere and you can accept the new subscription costs. Proxmox fits one to five hosts where saving licence cost matters and someone knows Linux. If you have a lot of data but not many VMs, ordinary servers with NetApp storage may be better value than HCI.
Product lines
- Nutanix Cloud Platform
- AHV
- Prism
- Nutanix Unified Storage
- Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2)
- Nutanix Kubernetes Platform
Solutions that use this brand
Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)Compute, storage and virtualization in the same nodes; add a node when you need more. Built for 1–3 person IT teams with no SAN…
Server VirtualizationCollapse a room of ageing servers into one cluster on VMware, Proxmox, Nutanix or Hyper-V, so one dead host no longer stops the…
Backup & Disaster Recovery3-2-1 backups with an immutable copy ransomware cannot delete, and restores that are actually tested, not just green job reports.
Cloud MigrationDecide what belongs in the cloud and what should stay, then move in stages with your internet link and monthly bill in mind.FAQ
If our Nutanix subscription expires, do the VMs stop?
In general the VMs keep running, but Prism raises warnings, you cannot upgrade, and there is no support. The details depend on the licence level, so get the answer in writing before signing and renew at least a month before expiry.
Can we run Nutanix Community Edition instead of paying?
Community Edition is for learning and testing. Support comes only from the user community, cluster layouts are limited, and it is not designed for production. We would not run real workloads on it.
We just bought a new SAN. Can we still use Nutanix?
Possibly, if the SAN is one Nutanix supports, such as Dell PowerFlex, Dell PowerStore or Pure Storage FlashArray. In that case you use compute nodes running AHV with data on the SAN. If yours is not on the list, one option is to use it as a backup target until it retires.
Does Nutanix work for provincial branches?
Yes. One- and two-node clusters exist for branches, all managed from Prism Central in Vientiane. But licence and hardware cost per branch is high. For a branch that only has a file server and small systems, we usually suggest centralizing or using a simpler single server.
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