{"id":165753,"date":"2026-08-27T12:07:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T10:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/?p=165753"},"modified":"2026-08-27T12:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T10:07:35","slug":"the-great-hypervisor-revolt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e3mag.com\/en\/die-grosse-hypervisor-revolte\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Hypervisor Revolt"},"content":{"rendered":"

The era of \u201ebusiness as usual\u201c in virtualization is finally over. Recent upheavals in the virtualization market\u2014particularly the massive price hikes and the forced shift to subscription models following Broadcom\u2019s acquisition of VMware\u2014have created a major pain point for the market. IT decision-makers are facing escalating costs, unpredictable renewal cycles, and a dangerous \u201eTCO explosion.\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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VMware Load<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Average licensing costs rise dramatically when contracts are renewed, and the shift from CPU-socket-based to core-based billing often leads to artificial over-licensing. For medium-sized to large enterprises, these costs for operating and managing ESX environments can range from several hundred thousand to several million euros annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This uncertainty creates a need for IT consolidation. Companies urgently need to streamline their IT landscapes and free themselves from the proprietary \u201eVMware burden\u201c\u2014the so-called hypervisor tax\u2014in order to adopt a new, future-proof operating model and reduce costs. Financial pressure is turning the inefficiency of legacy hypervisors into a risk at the executive level. Especially in storage-intensive and business-critical SAP environments, it is no longer economically justifiable to pay a premium for a virtualization layer that essentially performs a purely commodity function. Proprietary models tie companies to a single vendor\u2019s roadmap and pricing structure, limiting their bargaining power and flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is precisely where the core message for modern data centers comes into play: With its SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP Applications Platform, SUSE offers the SAP-validated KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) as well as a genuine, stable, and enterprise-ready open-source alternative through SUSE Virtualization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of spending their budgets on proprietary software subscriptions, companies are shifting their investments to a Linux operating system subscription that already includes a built-in virtualization layer. This protects companies\u2019 investments, prevents hardware lock-ins, and provides a high-performance foundation for the world\u2019s most demanding workloads. SUSE\u2019s unique selling point in this highly competitive environment is that it offers the only SAP-validated KVM solution currently available on the market. Added to this is its positioning as a provider that offers the hypervisor for SAP directly and natively from within the Linux platform. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications includes not only the operating system but also SUSE KVM, the hypervisor for SAP, as an integral component\u2014which completely eliminates the need for separate hypervisor license fees. This deep integration guarantees superior performance, which is essential for business-critical S\/4 environments and memory-intensive in-memory databases such as HANA. KVM operates with minimal overhead\u2014typically only 5 to 10 percent\u2014and thus delivers near-bare-metal speed. This not only meets SAP\u2019s stringent performance KPIs but also ensures high availability (HA) and business continuity during maintenance work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a technological standpoint, the platform stands out for its scalability: For example, based on the Intel Sapphire Rapids architecture, it supports HANA instances with up to 8 TB of RAM. SUSE manages the hypervisor and the operating system for the SAP applications via a central interface, the SUSE Multi-Linux Manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SAP HANA on KVM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The biggest challenge is to optimally align existing HANA systems with the target platform in terms of data volume, storage requirements, and workload distribution. Without a thorough analysis, resources are often oversized, or performance potential goes untapped. To harness the full potential of this architecture, customers rely on a strong partner ecosystem. XLC (Crossload Consulting), led by Jens Gleichmann, provides comprehensive architectural expertise in the HANA environment and lays the technical foundation for running HANA on KVM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opportunity to consolidate the IT landscape<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The focus is on a systematic health check of the existing environment. Storage consumption and workloads are analyzed, and opportunities for optimization are identified. Techniques such as SAP HANA Native Storage Extension (NSE), optimized indexes, or the conversion of suitable data types (Varbinary to Large Objects) significantly reduce storage requirements without noticeably impacting the performance of business-critical applications. The topics of sizing and workload management are so important today that Matthias Sander and Jens Gleichmann have dedicated separate chapters to them in their reference book *SAP HANA Deep Dive*. Practical experience shows that structured analysis and optimization can save 30 to 40 percent of system resources in many projects. Given the high investment costs for RAM and current generations of Intel servers\u2014such as Emerald Rapids\u2014this results in sustainable economic benefits. In a Discovery Workshop, XLC works with the customer to analyze the existing landscape. Building on this, the target architecture and operating model for KVM are developed. An initial health check provides the necessary transparency and lays the foundation for a migration that is both economically and technically successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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NetApp: Performance Booster<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NetApp delivers business value for SAP environments running on SUSE KVM by providing the highly available, high-performance data foundation required for HANA operations at near-bare-metal speeds. While SUSE KVM already minimizes virtualization overhead and delivers SAP-validated performance, its full potential is only realized when combined with NetApp\u2019s enterprise storage and data management capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Virtualization Strategy for SAP on a Digitally Sovereign Platform<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In SUSE virtualization environments, NetApp provides persistent, high-availability storage\u2014either as FC LUNs or NFS volumes\u2014ensuring uninterrupted operation. Storage provisioning in OnTap can be fully automated using open standards and APIs. Whether for in-guest mounts using NFS or via Fibre Channel (FC)\u2014provided the HBA is assigned directly to the VM in accordance with SUSE recommendations\u2014seamless backup and recovery processes via SnapCenter integration are standard. Backup and recovery processes via SnapCenter integration are standard features. NetApp\u2019s first-party cloud storage solutions on Microsoft Azure (ANF) and AWS (FSx for NetApp OnTap) are HANA-certified. They enable customers to replicate data to the cloud using native NetApp technologies such as SnapMirror. In this way, on-premises resource bottlenecks can be offset in the short term through the flexible use of cloud resources without requiring adjustments to the existing operating model. This makes a hybrid multi-cloud architecture a reality for customers who rely on the combination of SUSE, NetApp, and SAP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SAP Orchestration with Fsas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For cross-system orchestration, automation, and hardware integration, Fsas Technologies offers Primeflex for SAP Landscapes and the FlexFrame Orchestrator (FFO)\u2014a well-established SAP platform on the market that natively supports KVM. While SUSE provides the technological foundation for the operating system and virtualization, FFO ensures a standardized and highly automated operating model across the entire SAP landscape. SAP systems can be automatically provisioned, moved, scaled, and maintained, thereby reducing administrative overhead and simplifying operational processes. FFO\u2019s orchestration capabilities support stable and efficient operations, particularly during updates, maintenance windows, and high-availability and disaster-recovery scenarios. This frees up time for IT departments to focus on strategic tasks and move away from the frequent \u201cfirefighting\u201d mode of day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Freedom with Hypervisor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Evidence of this added value comes from a statement by Andreas Spiegler, SAP Basis Administrator at the Kuka Group: \u201eWith Primeflex for SAP Landscapes, we were able to significantly reduce our virtualization costs while maintaining the familiar standardized processes and automations for our SAP systems.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spiegler emphasizes that the world's leading provider of intelligent robotics, plant engineering, and systems technology has strengthened its digital sovereignty and regained freedom in its hypervisor strategy through the use of the open-source-based platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More Than Just \"Lift-and-Shift\"<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Migrating Hana workloads to SUSE KVM is far more than a simple \u201clift-and-shift\u201d project. Since proprietary vSphere features have no direct equivalents in the KVM world, the migration requires entirely new architectural approaches and a fundamental shift in operational procedures. Specialized expertise is essential for this complex technological transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where SoftwareOne and SUSE come in: SUSE\u2019s technological leadership in the open-source market is combined with SoftwareOne\u2019s in-depth implementation and consulting expertise. A holistic, all-in-one approach covers the entire lifecycle of the SAP landscape. Following a secure KVM migration performed by a Professional Service team, SoftwareOne\u2014as part of this managed service\u2014takes over proactive system management upon request, manages additional S\/4 transformation projects, and provides consulting and development support for the SAP Business Technology Platform. Through targeted FinOps, the use of proprietary tools, and precise license optimization for SAP Rise projects, SoftwareOne ensures continuous cost reductions. Every successful and secure modernization begins with the right first step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why SoftwareOne always begins joint projects with a thorough assessment. During a detailed scoping call, the experts analyze the customer\u2019s current VMware environment, identify technical legacy issues, and design a customized, risk-free target KVM architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the modernization of the IT infrastructure must not stop at SAP core applications. To realize their full economic and technological potential, companies must take the strategic step of looking beyond the core. This means that the replacement of VMware with SUSE Virtualization based on Kubernetes should also be extended to SAP and non-SAP cloud-native workloads, as well as traditional non-SAP workloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kubernetes for Edge Integration Cell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SUSE Virtualization offers a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) based entirely on open-source technologies, combining a Kubernetes-based virtualization layer (KubeVirt) with integrated storage and networking capabilities. This enables enterprises to securely and efficiently manage both traditional virtual machines and modern containerized applications on a single, consistent platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern SAP architectures benefit from this expansion into cloud-native technologies. The platform is ideally suited for deploying groundbreaking SAP extensions such as the Edge Integration Cell (EIC) and SAP Digital Manufacturing for Edge\u2014all on a unified, cost-efficient foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAP Edge Integration Cell is a next-generation hybrid integration runtime offered as an extension of the SAP Integration Suite. It enables companies to manage APIs and execute integration scenarios directly within their customer-managed private environments (on-premises or private cloud). By running the SAP EIC on SUSE Rancher for SAP Applications, sensitive data remains within the company\u2019s own network, which meets the strictest regulatory compliance requirements and ensures absolute data sovereignty. Another outstanding advantage of the Edge Integration Cell is its offline capability: it can continue to operate reliably even during temporary disconnections from the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAP Digital Manufacturing for Edge also benefits from this open, containerized infrastructure. The solution brings data processing extremely close to the machines on the shop floor, which drastically minimizes latency issues and enables faster decisions directly on the production line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By synchronizing master data between the cloud and the edge system, the solution acts as a critical buffer. Transactions and production-related data (such as orders and recipes) are continuously synchronized, ensuring that manufacturing continues seamlessly even during planned or unplanned cloud outages and is later replicated back to the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to offering a way out of the VMware dilemma, SUSE KVM and SUSE Virtualization create a future-proof, robust, and fully integrated platform that brings everything together\u2014from high-performance SAP databases to decentralized AI and edge scenarios on the modern shop floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ongoing Development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SAP on KVM and the FlexFrame Orchestrator reduce virtualization costs while maintaining a high degree of flexibility. They address the growing cost pressures associated with virtualized SAP workloads through seamless integration and freedom of choice in hypervisor strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n