Intro to Hypervisors

Hypervisors assist in virtualization and are often called a virtual machine monitor (VMM). They are a type of software that pools computing resources, such as memory, processing, and storage, and reallocates them to virtual machines. There are two types of hypervisors used in virtualization, type 1 hypervisors, referred to as native or bare-metal, run directly on the host's hardware when managing the guest operating system (Red Hat). It’s most common in enterprise data centers and server-based environments. Type 2 hypervisors, referred to as a hosted hypervisor, are run on a conventional operating system as an application (Bigelow).

Type 1 hypervisors are preferred in enterprise environments due to their efficiency and enhanced security from direct hardware access (Susnjara and Smalley). For a medium-sized business requiring 100 VMs and 100 containers to support external web applications, internal services, and developer platforms, a Type 1 hypervisor is necessary to meet performance and reliability requirements. This report will compare VMware ESXi and Proxmox VE. Proxmox VE is free and open source software with an option to pay for tiered support subscriptions that help in an enterprise-level environment. The subscriptions range from 115 euros to 1060 euros per CPU socket per year (Ischenko). VMware ESXi has paid per-core annual subscriptions and is significantly more expensive; additionally, it doesn't natively support containers, so there would be a new licensing cost from the container technology you must integrate (Ischenko). VMware ESXi maintains a strict Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), requiring certified hardware for support, while Proxmox offers greater hardware flexibility, able to run on commodity hardware and even decade-old servers (Ischenko). Proxmox has a slight edge over VMware because it is a Linux-based system, but both support Linux and other major operating systems. They both support shared storage protocols, including iSCSI, NFS, and NVMe-oF (Ischenko). VMware ESXI and Proxmox VE support clustering and live migration, necessary for managing large-scale deployments (Ischenko). ESXi has a slight advantage in high-density VM environments through advanced memory optimization, though both platforms show comparable performance in typical deployments (Ischenko). Proxmox provides a web-based interface with built-in backup and natively supports both VMs and LXC containers. VMware offers advanced features like vMotion and DRS, but requires vCenter for management and add-ons for container support, increasing complexity and cost (Ischenko).

Both hypervisors require 64-bit processors with hardware virtualization support (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). VMware ESXi requires a minimum of 2 CPU cores and 8GB RAM per host, though production environments need significantly more (Broadcom). Proxmox requires a minimum of 2GB RAM, but much more is recommended for production (Proxmox). For this scenario with 100 VMs and 100 containers, multiple enterprise-grade rack-mounted servers in a cluster would be necessary to evenly distribute the workload and provide redundancy.

SSDs are recommended for both, especially for larger environments. But with VMware, HDD is sufficient for file services in combination with RAID. RAID 10 is recommended for both as it provides data redundancy and high data throughput (Dell). It will be suitable for the range of applications being hosted by the company. As the number of virtual machines increases, "the physical network layer must be expanded to accommodate the increased network traffic or risk creating a bottleneck," and migrating to 10GbE NICs would "provide the required bandwidth without adding complexity and increasing the management burden" (A Dell™ White Paper).

For VM storage, both iSCSI and NFS protocols are viable options. Performance is almost the same between the two, but iSCSI can provide better results in situations with heavy-duty virtualization workloads (NAKIVO; Storware). However, iSCSI is more difficult to configure, requiring setup of IQNs, LUNs, masking, and multiple VLANs, whereas NFS is easier to configure (NAKIVO). For this scenario, iSCSI would be the better choice for high-performance requirements. Storage traffic should be isolated on separate VLANs for security reasons and to prevent interference with other network traffic (NAKIVO; A Dell™ White Paper). iSCSI also supports multipathing, providing redundant network paths to prevent data loss, and NIC teaming can be implemented for additional redundancy (Storware; A Dell™ White Paper).

Works Cited

Bigelow, Stephen J. “What's the difference between Type 1 vs. Type 2 hypervisor?” TechTarget, 7 March 2024, https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/Whats-the-difference-between-Type-1-vs-Type-2-hypervisor. Accessed 19 January 2026.

BROADCOM. “ESXi Hardware Requirements.” BROADCOM, 2026, https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/vsphere/8-0/esx-upgrade/upgrading-esxi-hosts-upgrade/esxi-requirements-upgrade/esxi-hardware-requirements-upgrade.html. Accessed 20 Jan 2026.

Dell. “PowerEdge: What are the different RAID levels and their specifications | Dell US.” Dell Technologies, https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000128635/dell-servers-what-are-the-raid-levels-and-their-specifications. Accessed 20 January 2026.

A Dell™ White Paper. “10GBE, SERVERS, STORAGE AND VIRTUALIZATION – INTEROPERABILITY REVIEW AND HIGHLIGHTS.” Dell, June 2009, https://i.dell.com/sites/csdocuments/Business_smb_sb360_Documents/en/au/wp-10gbe-best-practice.pdf.

Ischenko, Ivan. “Proxmox vs ESXi: A Detailed Comparison.” StarWind Software, 27 March 2025, https://www.starwindsoftware.com/blog/proxmox-vs-esxi-detailed-comparison/. Accessed 20 January 2026.

NAKIVO Team. “NFS vs iSCSI for Accessing VM Data.” NAKIVO, 2023, https://www.nakivo.com/blog/nfs-vs-iscsi-for-accessing-vm-data/. Accessed 20 Jan 2026.

ProxMox. “Hardware Requirements.” Proxmox, https://www.proxmox.com/en/products/proxmox-virtual-environment/requirements. Accessed 20 January 2026.

Red Hat. “What is a hypervisor?” Red Hat, 3 January 2023, https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-hypervisor. Accessed 19 January 2026.

Storware. “NFS vs iSCSI.” Storware, https://storware.eu/blog/nfs-vs-iscsi/. Accessed 20 1 2026.

Susnjara, Stephanie, and Ian Smalley. “What Are Hypervisors?” IBM, https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/hypervisors. Accessed 19 January 2026.