What is the difference between full HCI and a disaggregated Nutanix architecture?

Full HCI (hyperconverged infrastructure) runs Nutanix AHV and Nutanix's distributed storage fabric on the same compute nodes — storage is software-defined and distributed across all nodes in the cluster. A disaggregated architecture runs Nutanix AHV on compute-only Cisco UCS nodes with Pure Storage FlashArray as dedicated external all-flash storage, connected via NVMe/TCP over an Arista Ethernet fabric. The disaggregated model is typically the right choice for organizations with an existing Pure Storage investment under active support, or for workloads with strict IOPS and latency requirements that benefit from dedicated all-flash storage. Full HCI is typically right for greenfield deployments, vSAN migrations, or teams that prioritize a single management plane.

If I have Pure Storage FlashArray, do I need to replace it to move to Nutanix?

No. Nutanix AHV supports compute-only deployment where Cisco UCS nodes running AHV connect to an existing Pure FlashArray via NVMe/TCP over standard Ethernet. This is the FlashStack with Nutanix architecture, jointly validated by Cisco, Pure Storage, and Nutanix. Organizations with Pure FlashArray under active support can exit VMware vSphere licensing by replacing only the hypervisor layer, retaining their existing storage investment.

What VMware dependencies make a migration to Nutanix AHV more complex?

The four most common dependencies that add complexity to a VMware exit are: NSX-T or NSX-V for network virtualization, which requires a separate network re-architecture workstream; VMware vSAN as the primary storage platform, which means storage data must migrate alongside VMs; ISV application certifications that are vSphere-specific and have not yet been extended to AHV; and VMware Site Recovery Manager for disaster recovery, where production runbooks must be rebuilt and validated on Nutanix Protection Domains. Most standard Windows and Linux workloads without these dependencies migrate cleanly using Nutanix Move.

What is Amazon EVS and when does it apply to a VMware exit?

Amazon Elastic VMware Service (Amazon EVS) is an AWS service that runs native VMware vSphere software on AWS-managed bare-metal infrastructure. It is a bridge for workloads that cannot immediately move to Nutanix AHV — typically applications with NSX-T dependencies, complex SRM runbooks, or ISV certification restrictions that require time to resolve. EVS requires the customer to provide their own Broadcom VMware licenses (BYOL), so it does not reduce licensing cost. Its value is eliminating the on-premises VMware hardware commitment while the application work required to eventually exit VMware entirely is completed. EVS is a temporary bridge with a defined exit, not a destination architecture.

What does Aegis managed services cover for a Nutanix and Pure Storage environment?

Aegis managed services for AIM environments covers: 24x7 monitoring of Nutanix cluster health, CVM health, AHV host health, Pure FlashArray performance and capacity, Cisco UCS fabric interconnect health, and Arista fabric health via LogicMonitor; first-call incident response for hardware failures, Nutanix AHV service failures, storage performance degradation, and protection domain replication failures; Nutanix TAC escalation management for software defects; firmware and OS lifecycle management for Nutanix AOS, Purity OS, UCS firmware, and Arista EOS; and coordinating Pure Evergreen hardware events. Aegis explicitly does not cover guest operating systems inside VMs or applications running within those VMs.

How long does a VMware to Nutanix AHV migration typically take?

For a standard environment with no significant VMware-specific dependencies, a phased migration from vSphere to Nutanix AHV using Nutanix Move typically runs 12 to 20 weeks from project kickoff to VMware decommission, depending on VM count and data volume. Environments with fewer than 10 hosts can often complete in 8 to 14 weeks. Environments above 75 hosts or with dependencies such as NSX-T, SRM, or ISV certification restrictions typically run 24 weeks or more, with parallel workstreams addressing the dependencies alongside the primary migration.

Does Cisco UCS support compute-only nodes for a disaggregated Nutanix architecture?

Yes. Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers and UCS X-Series modular compute nodes support compute-only deployment with minimal local storage — typically an M.2 NVMe for OS boot only. In a disaggregated AIM environment, these nodes run Nutanix AHV and connect to Pure FlashArray as external storage via NVMe/TCP. All UCS nodes are managed through Cisco Intersight in Intersight Managed Mode for lifecycle management, firmware compliance, and health monitoring.

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Infrastructure Modernization Assessment

AIM Infrastructure Assessment

Which Modernization Path Is Right for Your Environment?

14 questions across 5 domains. Understand whether full HCI or disaggregated compute-plus-Pure is your right architecture, how clean your VMware exit is, and what to do next.

5 domains

14 questions

~8 minutes

Architecture recommendation