VRT-03 · EXPERIENCE
Virtualization on VMware vSphere and Nutanix AHV
I design, build, and operate virtualization on VMware vSphere and Nutanix AHV, from first sizing through day-two cluster work. I move physical workloads to virtual cleanly with P2V migrations, and I wire hosts into shared storage like NetApp so nothing is bolted on after the fact. You get a cluster that is sized for the real workload, documented, and safe to change.
01 · What I do
The actual work
- Size clusters to the actual workload: CPU, memory, storage, and host count, with headroom for failover and growth instead of guesswork.
- Deploy vSphere (ESXi and vCenter) and Nutanix AHV with Prism, including networking, host config, and HA settings.
- Run day-two cluster operations: capacity checks, host adds and evictions, patching, DRS and resource balancing, and health triage.
- Migrate physical servers to virtual (P2V) with validation on each workload before I retire the old hardware.
- Integrate storage end to end, including NetApp over NFS or iSCSI, datastores, and the multipathing and presentation that goes with it.
- Harden hosts to published baselines and document what was changed and why.
- Write the change plan, the rollback, and the gates before I touch a production cluster.
02 · What you get
What you are left with
- A right-sized cluster with capacity and failover headroom you can defend, not a box someone over-bought or under-bought.
- A documented build: host config, networking, storage layout, and the settings that matter, so the next person is not reverse-engineering it.
- P2V migrations completed with each workload validated, and the legacy hardware retired on purpose, not abandoned.
- A written change plan and a tested rollback for any production change, so a bad night does not become a bad week.
- Hosts hardened to a known baseline with the deltas documented.
03 · Tools and knowledge
What I work with here
04 · How I approach it
Planned, scoped, and owned
It starts with a 30-minute scoping call and a same-day written fit assessment, so we both know what the cluster is for and whether I am the right hand for it before any money moves. Before I change anything in production, I write a documented change plan with a rollback, then I do the work inside a defined window and validate it against gates I set in advance: hosts healthy, storage presented, workloads up, performance sane. The rollback is owned, not assumed, so if a gate fails we back out cleanly instead of improvising at 2 a.m.
05 · Questions
Good questions, straight answers
Do you work with both VMware and Nutanix, or just one?
Both. I design and run VMware vSphere and Nutanix AHV, and I am candid about which fits a given workload, budget, and team rather than pushing whichever I touched last.
Can you do P2V migrations without taking production down for hours?
Yes. I migrate workloads inside a defined window, validate each one against set gates before cutover, and keep a tested rollback ready. If something fails validation, we back out instead of forcing it live.
Will you connect this to our existing storage, like NetApp?
Yes. Storage integration is part of the build, not an afterthought. I present NetApp over NFS or iSCSI, set up datastores and multipathing, and confirm performance and resilience before workloads land on it.
06 · Related experience
Adjacent work I do
Need this handled?
Tell me what you are trying to move and where it is stuck. A few sentences is plenty to start, and it goes straight to my inbox.