// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * virt/about_virt/about-virt.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: REFERENCE
[id="virt-vmware-comparison_{context}"]
= Comparing {VirtProductName} to {vmw-full}

[role="_abstract"]
If you are familiar with {vmw-first}, the following table lists {VirtProductName} components that you can use to accomplish similar tasks.

However, because {VirtProductName} is conceptually different from {vmw-short}, and much of its functionality comes from the underlying {product-title}, {VirtProductName} does not have direct alternatives for all {vmw-short} concepts or components.

.Mapping of {vmw-short} concepts to their closest {VirtProductName} counterparts
[options="header"]
[cols="2,2,3"]
|===
|{vmw-short} concept |{VirtProductName} |Explanation

|Datastore
a|Persistent volume (PV)

Persistent volume claim (PVC)

ifdef::openshift-dedicated[]
|Stores VM disks. A PV represents existing storage and is attached to a VM through a PVC. When configured for shared access, PVCs can be mounted by multiple VMs simultaneously.
endif::openshift-dedicated[]
ifndef::openshift-dedicated[]
|Stores VM disks. A PV represents existing storage and is attached to a VM through a PVC. When created with the `ReadWriteMany` (RWX) access mode, PVCs can be mounted by multiple VMs simultaneously.
endif::openshift-dedicated[]

|Dynamic Resource Scheduling (DRS)
a|Pod eviction policy

Descheduler

|Provides active resource balancing. A combination of pod eviction policies and a descheduler allows VMs to be live migrated to more appropriate nodes to keep node resource utilization manageable.

|NSX

a|
ifndef::openshift-dedicated[]
Multus
endif::openshift-dedicated[]
OVN-Kubernetes

ifndef::openshift-dedicated[]
Third-party container network interface (CNI) plug-ins
endif::openshift-dedicated[]

|Provides an overlay network configuration. There is no direct equivalent for NSX in {VirtProductName}, but you can use the OVN-Kubernetes network provider
ifdef::openshift-dedicated[]
.
endif::openshift-dedicated[]
ifndef::openshift-dedicated[]
or install certified third-party CNI plug-ins.
endif::openshift-dedicated[]

|Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM)
|Storage class
|Provides policy-based storage selection. Storage classes represent various storage types and describe storage capabilities, such as quality of service, backup policy, reclaim policy, and whether volume expansion is allowed. A PVC can request a specific storage class to satisfy application requirements.

a|vCenter

vRealize Operations

|OpenShift Metrics and Monitoring
|Provides host and VM metrics. You can view metrics and monitor the overall health of the cluster and VMs by using the {product-title} web console.

|vMotion
|Live migration
ifdef::openshift-dedicated[]
|Moves a running VM to another node without interruption. For live migration to be available, the PVC attached to the VM must use storage that supports live migration.
endif::openshift-dedicated[]
ifndef::openshift-dedicated[]
|Moves a running VM to another node without interruption. For live migration to be available, the PVC attached to the VM must have the `ReadWriteMany` (RWX) access mode.

a|vSwitch

DvSwitch

a|NMState Operator

Multus

|Provides a physical network configuration. You can use the NMState Operator to apply state-driven network configuration and manage various network interface types, including Linux bridges and network bonds. With Multus, you can attach multiple network interfaces and connect VMs to external networks.
endif::openshift-dedicated[]
|===
