Table of contents
Staying on VMware through a retained Pinnacle partner after March 2027 (route 1 in Part 1) buys you time to build your own platform. But VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is still licensed per core on every vSphere host, including the hosts that only hold DR replicas. Moving that DR site to a KVM-based platform removes those cores from the subscription without moving production. In the example below, that is one-third of the estate. The license savings begin at your contract’s renewal or agreed reduction point.
In short
- DR hosts count toward VCF cores just like production hosts; in the example below, they are a third of the estate.
- Moving the DR site to a KVM-based platform takes those cores out at your next renewal or reduction point, with no change for tenants.
- Every DR test then boots tenant machines on the new platform, so each test doubles as a migration rehearsal.
Where the dependency sits
| Today | Route 1 with Hystax Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| DR and replica hosts | vSphere, counted in VCF cores | Any KVM-based platform, no VMware cores |
| DR replication | Veeam Cloud Connect Replication on vSphere or Hyper-V hosts | Hystax Disaster Recovery from any supported source |
| Replication and migration tooling | Often depends on Broadcom’s VDDK | In-guest Hystax agent needs no VDDK; the agentless external agent uses the VDDK you already hold |
| New tenants | Land on VMware | Land on your own cloud |
| Exit readiness | Untested | Replicas boot on KVM in every DR test |
| vSphere 8 end of general support, October 11, 2027 | Upgrade the whole estate | Upgrade less, with a tested alternative |
Broadcom removed public VDDK downloads in August 2026. Our VDDK analysis explains what that changes across the market and where Hystax Platform does and doesn’t use the library.
How much of your estate sits in DR
Take an illustrative provider with 30 hosts, each with two 16-core CPUs, and 10 of those hosts running DR for the other 20. VCF counts every physical core, with a minimum of 16 per CPU (Redress Compliance), so the estate carries 960 VCF cores, and 320 of them, one third, sit in the DR site. Move the DR site to any KVM-based platform, and those 320 cores come out of the subscription at your next renewal or reduction point, while the 20 production hosts stay exactly where they are.
What to put in your own comparison
Whether the move pays off depends on your numbers, not on a list price. Broadcom publishes no VCF rate card, so build the comparison from:
- Your per-core VCF price from your Pinnacle quote, for the term you are signing.
- The cores in your DR site, counted the way your contract counts them.
- The cost of Hystax Disaster Recovery for the production hosts you protect, from a Hystax quote.
- What you take on: support, capacity and transition costs for the KVM-based platform.
- What you stop paying: Veeam Cloud Connect Replication fees for the replicas that move; the next article in this series shows how Hystax runs alongside your Veeam backups.
- Your renewal or reduction date. A committed subscription does not shrink mid-term, so check the reduction date and minimums in your contract.
Why DR goes first
- No production change. Tenants keep running where they are while the new platform proves itself.
- Every DR test is a migration rehearsal. Tenant machines boot on KVM each time you test.
- Your team learns the new platform on DR capacity before production depends on it.
- The VMware estate stops growing. New tenants land on your own cloud from day one.
- October 2027 becomes a planned decision. vSphere 8 reaches end of general support on October 11, 2027. You evaluate the next VMware version against a tested alternative, with a smaller VMware estate.
When production follows
Moving DR first does not commit you to moving production, but it makes that move easier when you decide to make it. By then, your team has run failovers on the new platform, and every DR test has shown how each tenant’s machines boot and run on KVM. You migrate workloads you have already tested on the target, on a timeline set by your contract rather than by a deadline.
Four questions for your Pinnacle quote
- What is the price per core per year, and for which term?
- Are DR and standby hosts counted at the full rate?
- What minimums apply per CPU and per order?
- Can the core count go down at renewal when hosts leave VMware, and is that written into the order?
Frequently asked questions
Do DR hosts need full VCF licenses?
In a standard per-core VCF subscription, every physical core on every licensed ESXi host counts, with a minimum of 16 per CPU, whether the host runs production or replicas. Ask your partner whether standby hosts are priced differently before you assume they are.
When do the savings start?
At your next renewal or at the reduction point agreed in your contract. A committed subscription does not shrink mid-term, so plan for the new DR site to be live and tested before that date.
Does moving DR first commit us to migrating production?
No. Production stays on VMware for as long as your contract and plans require. If you move it later, you migrate workloads that have already booted on the new platform in every DR test.
Next step
Email Edwin Kuss, Director of Global Sales, at [email protected] with your host count and your Pinnacle quote to set up a two-hour working session. You'll leave with a side-by-side comparison of the cost of your DR site on VMware versus a KVM-based platform with Hystax Disaster Recovery.
Or join the Hystax Global Partner Program webinar on November 17, 2026 (register on Livestorm).
VMware 2027 for cloud providers: the series
- Part 1: March 2027 is a licensing deadline, not a platform decision
- Part 2: Keep VMware, lose the dependency: move DR first (you are here)
- Part 3: Veeam keeps the backups, Hystax runs the DR (coming soon)
Subscribe to the Hystax blog to get the next parts as they are published.
Stay licensed whichever way suits you, take DR off VMware now, and move production when you’re ready.
VMware, vSphere and VMware Cloud Foundation are trademarks of Broadcom Inc. or its subsidiaries. Veeam is a registered trademark of Veeam Software. Hystax is not affiliated with or endorsed by Broadcom or Veeam