Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization on Azure: Seamless Hybrid Cloud Migration and Modernization

For organizations navigating the complex digital terrain of modernization and cloud transition, a significant barrier has always been the management of legacy virtual machine workloads while simultaneously adopting contemporary containerized solutions. Red Hat, in partnership with Microsoft, has taken a decisive step to address this challenge by launching the public preview of Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization on Azure Red Hat OpenShift—a move that promises to reshape hybrid cloud migration strategies, streamline legacy application modernization, and accelerate digital transformation for enterprise IT.

Bridging Virtualization and Containers: A Modern IT Dilemma​

Enterprises are often encumbered by the weight of legacy virtualization platforms—VMs that anchor business-critical processes but are slow to evolve in the face of fast-moving, agile development paradigms. The rise of Kubernetes and associated container technologies has opened the door to faster, more resilient app deployment models. Yet, most organizations cannot instantly abandon VM workloads: a reliable, scalable bridge between these worlds is essential.
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, now available as a self-managed operator on Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO), provides precisely that bridge. By enabling the orchestration of both virtual machines and containers within a single, unified Kubernetes environment, organizations can migrate, operate, and modernize their entire application estate—legacy and cloud-native alike—without sacrificing performance or security.

Unpacking the Azure Red Hat OpenShift Integration​

Azure Red Hat OpenShift is a fully managed service jointly engineered and supported by both Red Hat and Microsoft. Its promise has always been to abstract away infrastructure complexity and empower IT teams to focus on innovation and business value.
With the addition of OpenShift Virtualization, Azure Red Hat OpenShift now enables organizations to:

• Accelerate VM Migration: Purpose-built migration and automation tools such as Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Advanced Cluster Management streamline the lift-and-shift or replatform process, minimizing downtime and risk during migration.
• Unified Management: IT operators can manage both VMs and containers through a single pane of glass, making hybrid cloud operations more coherent.
• Automated Cluster Deployment & Management: Routines for seamless setup and operation of OpenShift clusters reduce operational overhead and mitigate configuration errors.
• Right-Sizing Resources: Resource allocation can be optimized dynamically according to workload requirements, leading to better infrastructure efficiency and cost control.
• DevOps Enablement: Legacy VM-based applications can now benefit from modern DevOps and CI/CD pipelines, tools, and workflows typical in Kubernetes-native environments.

These features collectively support a phased, manageable transition: organizations can move as quickly or as deliberately as necessary, depending on internal constraints, application dependencies, or compliance requirements.

A Joint Engineering Triumph: Red Hat and Microsoft’s Collaboration​

For years, Red Hat and Microsoft have nurtured a strategic partnership focused on harmonizing open source innovation with the robustness of enterprise-grade platforms. This joint engineering is evident in Azure Red Hat OpenShift, and the integration of OpenShift Virtualization builds firmly atop this foundation.
Chris Wright, Red Hat’s CTO, underscores the vision behind the collaboration: “As organizations continue to modernize and move away from legacy virtualization solutions, it is critical to choose a secure computing foundation for the future that can adapt to their current and evolving multi-infrastructure environments… Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization running on Azure Red Hat OpenShift delivers more consistent orchestration for VMs and containers alike, setting organizations on a clear path to modern application development and deployment.”
Brendan Burns, Corporate Vice President for Azure Compute at Microsoft, echoed this sentiment, noting, “As customers modernize and move their apps from traditional virtual-machine-based fabrics that are on-premises to modern Kubernetes platforms, some components still need to run on traditional virtual machines for a while. [This] enables customers to add virtualization capabilities to Azure Red Hat OpenShift, which allows them to modernize at their own pace, and get the best return on investment as they transition to the cloud.”

Technical Underpinnings: OpenShift Virtualization and KubeVirt​

At the heart of this move is KubeVirt, an open source virtualization add-on for Kubernetes that allows VM workloads to run alongside containers in a Kubernetes cluster. OpenShift Virtualization, built on KubeVirt, integrates natively with the OpenShift platform and is now extended to the Azure Red Hat OpenShift managed service.
This capability unlocks several practical avenues for organizations:

• Hybrid Application Strategies: Co-locate VMs and containers within the same infrastructure, orchestrate them using Kubernetes-native APIs, and leverage comprehensive policy, security, and network models.
• Efficiency and Cost Control: By gradually transitioning workloads, organizations can maximize the return on existing VM investments while scaling out Kubernetes-native applications as business needs dictate.
• Modernization Without Disruption: Mission-critical VM workloads can continue unchanged during migration, reducing the risk of operational interruptions and facilitating orderly, well-governed modernization roadmaps.

Importantly, the self-managed operator model on Azure grants customers autonomy and flexibility, while Red Hat and Microsoft’s joint support structures ensure enterprise-grade reliability and rapid resolution of issues.

Cloud Economics and Migration Pathways​

To further sweeten the deal for enterprise users, the public preview of OpenShift Virtualization on Azure accommodates common economic frameworks for cloud migration:

• Azure Consumption Commitment: Organizations can apply their pre-committed Azure spending to this new offering.
• Azure Migration and Modernization Program: Fast-tracks both advisory and technical support for organizations looking to move workloads from on-premises to cloud.
• Azure Hybrid Benefit: Reuse existing, on-premises Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows licenses when migrating to Azure, avoiding double-dipping on licensing costs and lowering total cost of ownership (TCO).

These pathways directly address enterprise procurement realities, flattening the migration curve and reducing both upfront and ongoing financial roadblocks.

Security and Governance in a Hybrid Future​

Modernization efforts are often stymied by concerns over control, compliance, and security—especially when transitioning from known, trusted legacy VM platforms to newer, container-centric architectures.
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is positioned to maintain—if not elevate—security baselines throughout migration:

• Unified Policy and Access Control: Leverage OpenShift’s robust Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and security contexts to govern access across both VMs and containers.
• Consistent Networking Models: Integrate VM networking with Kubernetes-native approaches, ensuring visibility and policy enforcement end-to-end.
• Automated Patching and Lifecycle Management: Reduce vulnerabilities and maintenance overhead via automated cluster management, reducing the risk of delayed security updates.

The alignment with best practices in enterprise cloud governance is not merely theoretical. Both Red Hat and Microsoft have rigorous compliance regimes (including certifications like ISO/IEC, SOC, HIPAA, and others) for their platforms, and OpenShift Virtualization inherits this posture.

The User Experience: IT Operations, DevOps, and Developers​

For IT operations, the single-console management of both legacy and new workloads radically simplifies hybrid cloud operations. Instead of juggling disparate toolchains—for virtual machine management on one hand, Kubernetes and containers on the other—teams can standardize skills, processes, and policies.
DevOps engineers gain the power to automate deployment, scaling, backup, and recovery across all workload types, creating more resilient delivery pipelines and reducing manual toil.
Developers, meanwhile, are no longer forced to choose between modern tools and legacy constraints. VM-based applications can be wrapped with modern CI/CD pipelines, instrumented for logging and observability, and gradually modularized or rewritten as native containers—without radical rewrites or organizational risk.

Risks, Caveats, and the Road Ahead​

While the potential benefits of OpenShift Virtualization on Azure are notable, enterprise IT decision-makers should weigh several considerations:

• Preview Status: As a public preview, the offering is not yet generally available (GA) and may lack production-grade support or stability guarantees. Early adopters should proceed cautiously, focusing on test/dev or non-critical workloads until GA.
• Operational Complexity: While unified management consoles and automation reduce friction, running mixed VM and containerized environments can complicate troubleshooting, monitoring, and incident response—especially at scale.
• Ecosystem Fit: Not all legacy VM workloads are ideal candidates for migration to Kubernetes platforms; tightly coupled, latency-sensitive, or highly regulated applications may require careful assessment and pilot testing.
• Learning Curve: The move to a modern platform requires upskilling across administration, security, and development staff. Red Hat and Microsoft offer robust documentation and training, but organizations must allocate bandwidth for this transition.
• Licensing and Cost: While there are avenues to reduce cost via the Azure Hybrid Benefit and reuse of existing licenses, actual TCO will depend on migration patterns, cloud resource consumption, and ongoing operational overhead.

Vetting these risks against the promise of faster iteration cycles, improved efficiency, and unified security posture will be key to a successful transition.

How Does OpenShift Virtualization Compare to Competing Solutions?​

Red Hat’s approach is hardly the only entry in the rapidly evolving virtualization-to-Kubernetes migration market. VMware Tanzu, Google Anthos, IBM Cloud Paks, and native Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with Windows Server containers all stake their own ground.
Distinctively, OpenShift Virtualization’s foundation in KubeVirt and its direct integration as a self-managed operator in Azure’s fully managed OpenShift clusters provides a more seamless, open source–rooted pathway for those already invested in OpenShift’s ecosystem or seeking to maximize both portability and vendor flexibility.
Whereas other solutions sometimes force a hard distinction—VM workload hosting in one product, container orchestration in another—OpenShift Virtualization merges these capabilities under Kubernetes-native APIs and management planes, blurring the line between “legacy” and “cloud-native” within a proven enterprise context.

Future Prospects: Toward a Truly Hybrid Multicloud Fabric​

With hybrid and multicloud adoption accelerating, the agility to operate workloads everywhere—on-premises, across multiple public clouds, and at the edge—has become a strategic imperative. Red Hat’s preview release signals intent to support these realities, offering a migration bridge that reduces cloud lock-in and facilitates workload portability.
Development is continuing apace, and feedback from organizations piloting the public preview will almost certainly shape further enhancements, with anticipated GA bringing broader regional support, deeper automation, and richer monitoring and governance features.
Microsoft and Red Hat’s ongoing partnership signals that enterprises can expect:

• Continued investment in Kubernetes-native virtualization
• Enhanced security, compliance, and observability features
• Extended interoperability across more Azure regions and hybrid scenarios
• Strategic co-development and support models, reducing risk for even the most conservative adopters

Conclusion: A Pragmatic Pathway to Cloud-Native Modernization​

Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization’s arrival on Azure—albeit in preview form—marks a pivotal milestone in the evolution of hybrid cloud computing. By bringing VM and container workloads under a single, unified management umbrella, the platform offers a pragmatic, phased approach to modernization: businesses can evolve at their own pace, without abandoning the stability of legacy workloads or the agility of modern cloud-native development.
While risks and caveats remain, and careful planning is essential, the joint efforts of Red Hat and Microsoft are making it increasingly feasible to break down silos, optimize resources, and unleash the full potential of both traditional and modern application architectures.
For organizations facing the crossroads of digital transformation—caught between the inertia of legacy IT and the imperative of continuous innovation—OpenShift Virtualization on Azure Red Hat OpenShift offers not just a technical solution, but a strategic vision for the hybrid infrastructure of the future.

---

Source: IT Brief Australia Red Hat brings OpenShift Virtualization preview to Azure users

 

[ChatGPT]

Red Hat's recent announcement of the public preview of Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization on Microsoft Azure Red Hat OpenShift marks a significant advancement in cloud-native virtualization. This development offers organizations a streamlined pathway to modernize their virtual machine (VM) workloads by integrating them into a scalable, Kubernetes-based platform.
Understanding Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is an extension of the OpenShift platform, enabling the management of both containerized applications and traditional VMs within a unified environment. This integration facilitates a smoother transition for organizations moving from legacy virtualization solutions to modern, cloud-native infrastructures.
Key Features and Benefits

• Accelerated VM Migration: The platform provides built-in migration tools and automation capabilities, such as those offered by Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management. These tools simplify the migration process, minimize disruptions, and enable teams to transition swiftly to modern infrastructure.
• Simplified Operations: By offering a unified view of operations, Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization allows for seamless management of both VMs and containers across hybrid cloud environments. Automated deployment and management of OpenShift clusters further reduce complexity and operational risks.
• Infrastructure Modernization: Adopting this Kubernetes-based platform positions organizations closer to achieving their cloud-native application modernization goals. Azure Red Hat OpenShift brings modern application development processes and tools to VMs, expediting the modernization of VM-based applications.
• Resource Optimization: The integration enhances DevOps productivity and decreases application deployment times. Further optimization can be realized with Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization on Azure Red Hat OpenShift, allowing organizations to maximize resource utilization.

Strategic Implications
The collaboration between Red Hat and Microsoft underscores a shared commitment to providing enterprises with flexible, secure, and scalable solutions for their hybrid cloud strategies. By integrating Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization with Azure Red Hat OpenShift, organizations can more effectively modernize existing critical VM infrastructure while continuing to evolve with new innovations that meet future business needs.
Conclusion
The public preview of Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization on Microsoft Azure Red Hat OpenShift represents a pivotal step in the evolution of enterprise virtualization. By offering a unified platform for managing both VMs and containers, this solution empowers organizations to accelerate their modernization efforts, simplify operations, and optimize resources in a secure and scalable manner.

---

Source: telecomtv.com Red Hat powers modern virtualisation on Microsoft Azure