Migrating from VMware to Open-Source Hypervisors: A Step-by-Step Guide to Moving from ESXi to Proxmox VE & XCP-ng Without Downtime or Data Loss

By Hollis Denning

VMware exit strategies are no longer optional-they are a technical, financial, and operational necessity. Licensing changes, rising costs, and vendor lock-in have forced homelabs, SMBs, consultants, and enterprises to confront a hard truth: migrating away from VMware is inevitable, but doing it safely is non-negotiable.

This book is a production-grade, hands-on guide to migrating from VMware ESXi to open-source hypervisors-specifically Proxmox VE and XCP-ng-without downtime or data loss.

This is not a conceptual overview. It is not marketing material. It is not a collection of generic tips.

It is a step-by-step engineering playbook built for real environments.

You will learn how to:

Audit and score VMware environments for migration readinessDesign migration-safe target platforms using Proxmox VE and XCP-ngExecute disk conversions, imports, and post-migration tuning correctlyBuild repeatable migration factories with templates, naming standards, and storage mappingPerform near-zero downtime migrations using pre-seeding, synchronization, and controlled cutoversValidate data integrity with checksums, health probes, and user verificationDesign deterministic rollback and failback plans that actually work under pressureAutomate host preparation and migration pipelines with AnsibleStabilize production workloads post-migration with monitoring, tuning, and formal reviews

Unlike other books that treat migrations as one-off events, this guide teaches you how to build a scalable, repeatable VMware exit strategy-one that improves with every migration wave.

By the end of this book, you will not just have moved workloads off VMware. You will have:

Platform independenceOperational confidenceA defensible migration processAnd a future-proof virtualization foundation you fully control

If you are serious about leaving VMware-and doing it without breaking production, losing data, or gambling on downtime-this book was written for you.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GF1GZSFP
• ISBN13: 9798242606012
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.5" x 11.0"