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From VMware to Nutanix: Build the Network Your HCI Needs

Discover how east-west traffic, leaf-spine architecture, and Arista networking simplify your migration.

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More Than Just VM Migration

Broadcom's acquisition of VMware has pushed many IT leaders to rethink their data center roadmap. While moving workloads from VMware to Nutanix AHV is a sound strategy for lowering costs and removing the risks involved with an enterprise's relationship with Broadcom, these migrations aren't just about hypervisors.

One crucial piece is often overlooked: the storage network

Shifting from traditional SAN environments to Nutanix's hyperconverged architecture transforms how data flows through your network. Without the right network design, even the best Nutanix deployment can fall short of its potential. This page will help you understand the network changes, design considerations, and how platforms like Arista's 7200R3 can ensure a smooth, low-risk migration, and improved performance in your production environment.

How Nutanix Changes Storage

Traffic Direction: North-South vs. East-West

Legacy VMware with SANs sends storage traffic “north-south” between hosts and a central storage array. Nutanix distributes storage across nodes, creating “east-west” traffic as nodes talk to each other for replication, balancing, and health checks.

Centralized vs. Distributed Storage

Legacy SANs rely on a centralized storage array. Nutanix distributes storage across nodes, removing improving scalability, availability, and performance.

Network: Fibre Channel vs. Ethernet

VMware SAN environments need a dedicated Fibre Channel network. Nutanix eliminates SAN complexity by converging storage and data traffic over high-speed Ethernet, simplifying design and cost.

Scale-Up vs. Scale-Out

Legacy SANs scale up by replacing arrays with bigger ones—costly and disruptive. Nutanix scales out easily by adding nodes, increasing storage and compute capacity without downtime.

Designing Your Network for Nutanix

Hyperconverged infrastructure thrives on predictable, low-latency east-west traffic. That means the old three-tier network designs often fall short. Instead, Nutanix best practice is a leaf-spine topology.

Why Leaf-Spine for Nutanix?

Simple, two-tier design

Low latency, non-blocking fabric

Scales easily without performance drops

Avoids multiple hops and bottlenecks

Host Connectivity Best Practices

Bond at least two high-speed links (10/25/100GbE or higher)

Active-backup bonds are simplest for fault tolerance

LACP optional for higher aggregate throughput

Always use data center-grade switches with:

Deep Buffers

Low Latency

Robust monitoring and automation

A Low-Risk Path to Migrating from VMware to Nutanix

Here's a summary of how IVI works with Nutanix and Arista to reduce risk in your VMware-> Nutanix and SAN-> HCI migrations.

Modernize the Network

Deploy an Arista leaf-spine network, potentially migrate existing hosts from legacy network or simply interconnect legacy network and Arista environment (greenfield within brownfield approach)

Deploy Nutanix

Rack and stack new Nutanix nodes, interconnect with new Arista fabric.

Migrate Workloads

Use Nutanix Move to migrate VMs from VMWare to Nutanix. Execute migrations over the stable, high performance Arista fabric, with complete visibility into microbursts and other performance components.

Migrate Remaining Hosts and Decommission

Migrate the remaining hosts and network devices (non VM hosts) and decommission legacy server, storage, and network hardware.

Visibility with Arista CloudVision and Tracer for AHV

Network Visibility is critical during migrations (and operations for that matter) 

Arista CloudVision helps by:

Tracking VM movement in real time

Correlating virtual and physical network views

Rapidly diagnosing network or performance issues during migration

Automating VLAN and policy changes as VMs move between clusters

In conjunction with Arista DANZ provide visibility into sub-µs microbursts and buffer utilization

Additionally, Arista's Tracer for AHV helps:

Automatic discovery of VMs in an AHV cluster

Tracks live VM migrations and updates network policies dynamically

Supports seamless operations during large-scale migrations of cluster changes.

 

Arista Tracer for Nutanix AHV

The Network is the Backbone of Your Nutanix Migration

Moving from VMware to Nutanix isn’t just a hypervisor swap—it’s a fundamental change in how your storage network functions.

Designing for east-west traffic, adopting a modern leaf-spine architecture, and choosing enterprise-grade Ethernet solutions like Arista ensures your migration delivers on its promises.

With the right network foundation, you can:

Lower migration risk and complexity
Maintain reliable, high-performance operations for Nutanix workloads
Position your data center for future technologies and growth

Ready to Explore What's Possible?

Let's Talk

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is network design so important for Nutanix?

Nutanix turns storage into a distributed, east-west traffic pattern. Without the right network, you’ll face performance bottlenecks and unpredictable latency.

 

 

Do I need to rip out my whole network to migrate to Nutanix?

No! You can modernize your network first (with a greenfield within brownfield approach) providing your new Nutanix cluster with modern deep buffered networking and interconnect with your legacy networking fabric to facilitate the migration workloads gradually. This phased approach reduces risk.

Is Fibre Channel still usable with Nutanix?

While Nutanix can connect to external storage via FC, its native architecture runs best over high-speed Ethernet. Staying on FC adds complexity and cost without delivering Nutanix’s full benefits.

How does Arista help during migration?

Arista’s switches handle the bursty east-west traffic of Nutanix and provide tools like CloudVision for visibility and automation, making migrations smoother and less risky.

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